Citing documents that are included with a family history book

By VianneyH on Tue, 12/21/2021 - 10:00

Forums

I have been working on my family history for about 40 years. About 20 years ago I conceived of a book that contained copies of the actual source documents that I had used in my research. For example, I include the birth certificate, marriage certificate and death certificate for an individual, which I either had from the person, or that I ordered a copy of.

My question is a bit odd since my goal would be to include the copies (along with notes about where each was obtained) with the actual family history.  I keep each type of record in a binder with other records of the same type. Would it be acceptable to reference my "book" of birth certificates as the master source since I got copies of the documents for this purpose. I would be including the how I got the document copy as well.

I am quoting another post on this website regarding citations:

"Provide sufficient identification so the record can be found again.

Provide sufficient identification so we and others can appraise the strengths and weaknesses of what we have used."

If I provide a copy of the document (and where I got it), don't I accomplish those things?

Thank you for your time.

Vianney

Submitted byEEon Tue, 12/21/2021 - 20:36

Hello, VianneyH.

You ask: "Would it be acceptable to reference my 'book' of birth certificates as the master source since I got copies of the documents for this purpose?

Let me make sure that I understand your question. Are you saying that, in a forthcoming book, you want to cite your notebook of birth certificates as a general source for all data that comes from birth certificates, rather than citing the actual document that supports each assertion taken from this-or-that certificate?  If so, then how are others to access your privately held notebook?

As a rule, when we obtain records ourselves, we know where we obtained them. Thus, we have accurate details with which to construct a citation—and that is what others will expect to see when we assert details that we attribute to a birth certificate.

"Providing sufficient identification so we and others can appraise the strengths and weaknesses of what we have used" goes beyond just saying it came from a "birth certificate."  For example, it can make a significant difference whether you obtained a county/city-level copy or one from the state bureau of vital statistics, because there are often variances between the two. It can make a difference when you obtained a certificate because of bureaucratic changes in the level of details that are transferred to newer certificates. Etc.

Submitted byVianneyHon Wed, 12/22/2021 - 06:06

I should have been more clear about that I am including the "notebook" with the actual book as well. The book will include the family data (birth deaths marriages etc) and the copies of the records (with where the originals were gotten).

It would be similar to writing a research paper with illustrations. Any "fact" would cite the included illustration and the illustration has a note explaining it's original preveance (is that the right term obviously not the correct spelling)

So the family history book would have an appendix that included all the records themselves. See figure 24b in appendix "birth records" or something.

I understand that I could just "forge" documents or alter them in some way, but I am not selling this thing and its only purpose is to help others not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to this family branch.

I appreciate your comments and clarification

V

Submitted byVianneyHon Wed, 12/22/2021 - 06:20

I wanted to make it clear that I am not trying to be argumentative or difficult. My goal is to find a way to do what I envision as realistically as possible. If it shouldn't be done this way, I'll figure something out.

I would prefer not to have one master source for each State of the Union Department of Vital Records, etc. Does that make sense?

V

Submitted byVianneyHon Wed, 12/22/2021 - 15:54

I wanted to thank you for helping me to look at my project in a deeper way. I need to distinguish sourcing as one might do in their family tree with what I am trying to do in my project. I've decided to make each record copy into a PDF which includes the image (which I will likely enhance), the citation information, my transcription, and notes regarding anything I think needs clarification.

I am then creating some sort of tertiary source. I will be adding a section regarding the image augmentation and such so that other researchers can use their own judgement on how much they want to rely on what I am providing.

I'll watch the thread in case you respond with any concerns about my method or advice.  Thank you again for your time.

V

Submitted byEEon Thu, 12/23/2021 - 10:07

VianneyH, placing a citation into the margin of a document, where it will always appear (unless someone intentionally and unwisely decides to cut it off) is the standard. With digital images, some researchers will also put a citation into the image's meta data so that the provenance will not be lost if someone who copies the image does decide to cut away the citation.