Lesson-Four - DOCUMENTATION

Documentation is very important to the person doing Genealogy research. Documentation is important for several reasons. First it proved the research and connections that have been found. It also allows someone, often oneself to go back and check the facts at a later time. Nothing is more frustrating than collecting a fact, and then six months later to have lost the document or source information. By doing good documentation of sources, other people working in the same area, or on the same family can reproduce the original data, or confirm the genealogy details.

Below are some guidelines for collecting and saving documentation on a genealogy search.

Guidelines for Documentation

1. Any statement of fact that is not common knowledge must carry its own individual statement of source.
2. Source notes have two purposes: to record the specific location of each piece of data and to record details that affect the use or evaluation of that data.
3. Sources are tracked in two basic ways: by generic lists (bibliographies) and by source notes keyed to specific facts.
4. Source notes have two basic formats: full citations and short citations.
5. Source notes for narrative accounts can be presented in four ways: footnotes, endnotes, parenthetical citations and hypertext.
6. Source notes keyed to narrative text should be numbered consecutively; the corresponding numbers should appear in correct sequence within the text.
7. Explicit source notes should also appear on ancestor charts and family group sheets.
8. Full citations should be affixed to the front side of every photocopied document and should appear on every page of a research report.
9. We should not cite sources we have not used; it is both risky and unethical to "borrow notes" from other writers.
10. Even a full citation of source may not be sufficient, legally or ethically, when copying from another work.
11. Microforms and electronic materials need extra treatment.
12. Clear citations require attention to many details.
13. Citing a source is not an end to itself; our real goal is to have the best possible
source to cite.

Taken from: Evidence Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth shown Mills, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1997, Page 18.

History of Documentation

Documentation has become much easier over the last few years, especially with the advent of computers, genealogy software and more recently the Internet. The picture below shows a typical Genealogist before computers. In the early 1900's much time and labor was required to do genealogy research. The census records that we take for granted today were not released to the public until 1942. Also the only census records available in 1942 were the 1790 through 1870 due to the 72 year privacy rule. The census records were not indexed, so all searches were done by hand. Very few of the book that are now available with birth, death and other genealogy data had been published.

Most often research had to be done at the government records building or in the cemeteries. A few records of vital statics (births, deaths & marriages)were published early in the 20th century. Genealogy research usually involved travel and a lot of correspondence. Often a genealogy researcher could be found in the geographical location that ones research was being done in, and that person could be paid to collect local data to complete a family line. Family Bibles and photographs became a major source of data.

Research has become much easier with the advent of the computer, and even more so as the Interned has been expanded. We will cove these subjects in more detail in future lessons.

Recommendations

Remembering always that genealogist are engaged in a quest for truth, family history researchers consistently —

• Record the source for each item of information that is collected.
• Test every hypothesis or theory against credible evidence, and reject those that are not supported by good evidence.
• Seek original records, or reproduced images of them when there is reasonable assurance they have not been altered, as the basis for research conclusions.
• Use compilations, communications and published works, whether paper or electronic, primarily for their value as guides to locating the original records.
• State something as a fact only when it is supported by convincing evidence, and identify the evidence when communicating the fact to others.
• Limit with words like "probable" or "possible" any statement that is based on less than convincing evidence, and state the reasons for concluding that it is probable or possible.
• Avoid misleading other researchers by either intentionally or carelessly distributing or publishing inaccurate information.
• State carefully and honestly the results of ones own research, and acknowledge all use of other researchers’ work.
• Recognize the collegial nature of genealogical research by making the work available to others through publication, or by placing copies in appropriate libraries or repositories, on a web site and by welcoming critical comment.
• Consider with open minds new evidence or the comments of others on work and the conclusions reached.

  © 1997, 2002 by National Genealogical Society 

The next lesson will go into more detail on documentation, and explain the difference between primary and secondary documents.

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