Building a citation for records found through a search engine on one web site which provides a name search capability to a second website which hosts archives containing the actual images

By RWagner245@aol.com on Sat, 07/24/2021 - 10:42

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Building a citation for records found through a search engine on one web site which provides a name search capability to a second website which hosts archives containing the actual images.

Start a search on the geneteka.genealodzy.pl website for births where Aniela Falecki is mentioned (https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=eng&bdm=B&w=10pl&rid=435&search_lastname=Falecki&search_name=aniela&search_lastname2=&search_name2=&from_date=&to_date=)

Say we are interested in the baptism of Jozef Jan Kukawka.  The button labeled “SKAN” takes us to the appropriate record set on Archiwum Państwowe w Suwałkach [State Archives in Suwałki] (https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/14209320).  The landing page is titled “Księga duplikat aktów kościoła parafialnego wiżayńskiego na rok 1835 służące-obejmujące metryki urodzonych, zaślubionych i zeszłych” [Book of duplicate records of the parish church in Wiżajńy for 1835 including birth, marriage and burial certificates].  This description matches the title on the cover of the record book [scan 2].  The record set includes reference code of “63/169/0/1/58” and a collection name of “Akta stanu cywilnego parafii rzymskokatolickiej w Wiżajnach” [Files of the civil status of the Roman Catholic parish in Wiżajny].  Note also that the record set is from a filming done by the Genealogical Society of Utah.  From the geneteka search results, we know that the entry we seek is baptism number 35 in that year. 

The entry for the baptism of Jozef Jan Kukawka is on the seventh image.  There is a “Link” button on the right side that will allow you to copy a direct link to the image [https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/e8a789a396493d421f1d1512c98abc4b86c1305b67d9c8e82d9c568c0028d40c].  So, we can download the image, extract the information, and enter it into our database. 

The state archive in Suwalki website does not have a capability to search record content for information.  That search capability is only provided by the geneteka web site. The problem I have is how to cite the source so that others and find the record.

 

Using EE 7.18 as a guide I get a very long citation that captures everything I think is important.  The problem is that each record I find will include the long search path, possibly unique to each individual.  Should the path information be handled in a less verbose way or in a different manner?

  1. Wizajny Catholic Church (Wizajny, Poland), “Księga duplikat aktów kościoła parafialnego wiżayńskiego na rok 1835 służące-obejmujące metryki urodzonych, zaślubionych i zeszłych” [Book of duplicate records of the parish church in Wiżajńy for 1835 including birth, marriage and burial certificates], page 8, baptism number 35, Jozef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835; accessed as “Akta stanu cywilnego parafii rzymskokatolickiej w Wiżajnach” [Files of the civil status of the Roman Catholic parish in Wiżajny], browsable images,” Archiwum Państwowe w Suwałkach” (https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/14209320 : reference code 63/169/0/1/58, image 7 of 66 : 24 Jul 2021), citing filming done by the Genealogical Society of Utah, path: search via geneteka web site for births in Podlaskie province, Wizajny Parish, last name = Falecki, first name = Aniela, (https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=eng&bdm=B&w=10pl&rid=435&search_lastname=Falecki&search_name=aniela&search_lastname2=&search_name2=&from_date=&to_date=)
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The uploaded file is essentially the same as my description, except that it has the actual geneteka search results.

Submitted byEEon Sat, 07/24/2021 - 19:14

RWagner, the reason the citation seems overlong (and will be confusing to most of your readers) is because you are merging two different sources into one citation. The site that provides a searchable index, and the database that constitutes that index, is one source. The imaged documents and the site that that delivers those images is another source. Would you try splitting the two?

OK, I have created the following two citations, one for the search engine and one for the images on the archive site.  I still feel that the archive citation needs to somehow be linked to the search engine citation because the record on the archive site would probably not be found without the pointer provided by the search engine.

  1. Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne (PTG), “Genealogiczna kartoteka - baza urodzen, malzenstw i zgonow” [Genealogical record - database of births, marriages, and deaths], geneteka  (https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=eng&bdm=B&w=10pl&rid=435&search_lastname=Falecki&search_name=aniela&search_lastname2=&search_name2=&from_date=&to_date= : accessed 25 Jul 2021), entry for birth of Jozef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835, Wizajny Parish, 1835, entry number 23, path: search parameters:  births, Podlaskie province, Wizajny Parish, last name = Falecki, first name = Aniela

 

  1. Wizajny Catholic Church (Wizajny, Poland), “Księga duplikat aktów kościoła parafialnego wiżayńskiego na rok 1835 służące-obejmujące metryki urodzonych, zaślubionych i zeszłych” [Book of duplicate records of the parish church in Wiżajńy for 1835 including birth, marriage and burial certificates], page 8, baptism number 35, Jozef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835; accessed as “Akta stanu cywilnego parafii rzymskokatolickiej w Wiżajnach” [Files of the civil status of the Roman Catholic parish in Wiżajny], browsable images,” Archiwum Państwowe w Suwałkach” (https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/14209320 : reference code 63/169/0/1/58, image 7 of 66 : 24 Jul 2021), citing filming done by the Genealogical Society of Utah.

Submitted byEEon Sun, 07/25/2021 - 18:03

RWagner245. That is much more digestible.  EE agrees with you that both citations should appear in the same reference note; but EE would put them in separate paragraphs with a few bridge words to explain why both are cited. 

Citation 1:

Readers who are not fluent in Polish will notice a couple of things.

  • For your path, you use English words, rather than the Polish equivalent, leaving readers to wonder what search term goes in which field at the Polish language search engine.
  • The very long URL repeats the words that you use as search terms. The citation could be streamlined by (a) eliminating all the URL from the question mark to the end; and (b) using path markers.  The result would be this:

         Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne (PTG), “Genealogiczna kartoteka - baza urodzen, malzenstw i zgonow” [Genealogical record - database of births, marriages, and deaths], geneteka  (https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php? : accessed 25 July 2021), search terms Tereny: Podlaskie > Parafia: Wiżajny > Osaba: Falecki, Aniela > Józef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835.

The word count has now gone from 99 to 45.

Citation 2:

Your two layers are clearly distinct, one from the other. Layer 1 has all the essentials for the original record. Layer 2 has the essentials for the website that delivers the image; but it also has some things that should go in a Layer 3 (the source-of-the-source layer that typically begins with the word "citing ...").  Let’s focus on the data that you put in the parentheses. There are two issues here. Remember, when citing published sources, parentheses enclose the publication data—i.e. (Place of publication : date). So …

  • When you are citing a book, would you put the book’s page number inside the parentheses? No. The page number of a book goes in the field immediately after you close the parentheses. That same pattern holds when citing a website. The image number goes in the field immediately after you close the parentheses.
  • If a book tells you that its information came from xyz, would you put xyz in the parentheses that enclose the publication place and date?  No. You would add that source-of-the-source data in a third
    citing ..." layer after you finish the citation to what you are actually seeing and using. 

These adjustments would result in a citation that looks like this.

     Wizajny Catholic Church (Wizajny, Poland), “Księga duplikat aktów kościoła parafialnego wiżayńskiego na rok 1835 służące-obejmujące metryki urodzonych, zaślubionych i zeszłych” [Book of duplicate records of the parish church in Wiżajńy for 1835 including birth, marriage and burial certificates], page 8, baptism number 35, Jozef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835; accessed as “Akta stanu cywilnego parafii rzymskokatolickiej w Wiżajnach” [Files of the civil status of the Roman Catholic parish in Wiżajny], browsable images,” Archiwum Państwowe w Suwałkach (https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/14209320 : 24 Jul 2021), image 7 of 66; digitized from film made by Genealogical Society of Utah; citing archival reference code 63/169/0/1/58.

In putting the two citations together in a single reference note, EE would emphasize the original, relegating the database to the second paragraph with an explanation such as this:

     1.  Wizajny Catholic Church (Wizajny, Poland), “Księga duplikat aktów kościoła parafialnego wiżayńskiego na rok 1835 służące-obejmujące metryki urodzonych, zaślubionych i zeszłych” [Book of duplicate records of the parish church in Wiżajńy for 1835 including birth, marriage and burial certificates], page 8, baptism number 35, Jozef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835; accessed as “Akta stanu cywilnego parafii rzymskokatolickiej w Wiżajnach” [Files of the civil status of the Roman Catholic parish in Wiżajny], browsable images,” Archiwum Państwowe w Suwałkach (https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/14209320 : 24 Jul 2021), image 7 of 66; digitized from film made by Genealogical Society of Utah; citing archival reference code 63/169/0/1/58.

      The church register is not indexed. The entry was located by using an online database: Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne (PTG), “Genealogiczna kartoteka - baza urodzen, malzenstw i zgonow” [Genealogical record - database of births, marriages, and deaths], geneteka  (https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php? : accessed 25 July 2021), search terms Tereny: Podlaskie > Parafia: Wiżajny > Osaba: Falecki, Aniela > Józef Jan Kukawka, 23 Jan 1835.