CensusMate spreadsheet

By KristinaClever on Thu, 09/03/2020 - 11:19

Forums

One of the analysis items I want to include in my research is the CensusMate spreadsheet published by John L Haynes (copyright 2001-2004). Could I cite it in the same format as a family group sheet?

Kristina Gow Clever, William Dunaway (1810-1840) CensusMate spreadsheet, Dunnaway research files; privately held by Kristina Gow Clever, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lillian, Alabama.

However, since this is a published form, would I need to cite it as a publication?

Haynes, John L., CensusMate: Worksheet for Genealogy and Family History (2004); analysis for William Dunnaway (1810-1840); privately held by Kristina Gow Clever, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lillian, Alabama.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Submitted byEEon Thu, 09/03/2020 - 19:56

Kristina, as a rule: whenever we cite a publication, we cite it as a publication. That said, caveats are needed here:

  1. If we use a published form and we fill in that form with our own data and analysis, then we have to be careful that our citation makes it clear the information and analysis is our own—not that of the person who created the form we used.
  2. If you cite Haynes' form as a publication, then the citation also needs publication data for that form—not just a date.

All things considered, if you feel that the form is essential to your work, it would be best to make this a three layer citation, with the last layer stating that your spreadsheet was created using the form developed by [insert full citation to the published form].

Submitted byKristinaCleveron Fri, 09/04/2020 - 11:17

The form was created by John L. Haynes with copyright and published on censusmate.com. The form is easy to use and helps with analysis of the population columns on census records up to 1840. 

The terms and conditions (http://www.censusmate.com/downloads/terms.htm) do specify that source and copyright need to be acknowledged, but the publication data is unclear. Would the website be the publisher?

form developed by John L. Haynes, CensusMate: Worksheet for Genealogy and Family History (n.p. : censusmate.com, 2004)

 

Submitted byEEon Fri, 09/04/2020 - 19:39

Kristina, if you purchased the form through the website, then that's what you would cite. In place of

(n.p.: censusmate.com, 2004)

the publication data should be in standard format for a website. The place of publication, rather than "n.p." would be the URL. Given that the publisher's name is the same as the website title and the URL—which is often the case with websites—we don't have to repeat the publisher's name a third time. As for the date, the fact that you are using a form published in 2004, if you cite only the publication date, will leave users of your citation wondering if a site that old is still active. For this reason, EE would use both a publication date and a last-access date.

(censusmate.com : published 2004; last accessed 4 September 2020).

 

Submitted byKristinaCleveron Sat, 09/05/2020 - 08:43

Thank you. I will be using this form from several Dunaway households and may be going a bit beyond what is needed for my personal files. However, when I share my analysis entered into this form, I want to be sure other researchers can find the original. My final citation: layer 1 describes the item of interest with the family files; layer 2 indicates that I hold the document; layer 3 provides information to the website where the original (blank) spreadsheet can be found.

Kristina Gow Clever, William Dunaway (1810-1840) CensusMate spreadsheet, Dunnaway research files; privately held by Kristina Gow Clever, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lillian, Alabama; form developed by John L. Haynes, CensusMate: Worksheet for Genealogy and Family History (censusmate.com : published 2004; last accessed 4 September 2020).

Now I need to get back to developing this man's timeline and alleged records. The more I look at what I did as a "baby genealogist" the more I realize this needs a lot more attention.

Submitted byV P Stroeheron Sun, 08/21/2022 - 17:00

I'd like to revisit this forum discussion in a different context. For my analysis in a particular project, I'm using the Early Federal Census Worksheet created by Donna Cox Baker, published by Golden Channel Publishing. The citation to that analysis seems fairly clear -- my work on said person; in my files; Ms. Cox's form.

But let's say that I want to provide an  image of the worksheet for this individual in a project report, with census data gleaned from 1820, 1830, and 1840 federal census records [I'm not sure why I would want to do this because the information could easily be put into a table, but I suppose the situation could arise!].

I believe that the citation for the image of the worksheet would be the same as that for the analysis. In my usual research discipline, we would add a footnote number to the figure caption and use it to cite the source of the image (in a monograph project that source information would be in the list of figures).

My question: Would I then need to cite the various census records used to create the worksheet in that footnote to satisfy citation of the source of the information within? 

Thank you in advance!

Submitted byEEon Mon, 08/22/2022 - 07:59

VP Stroeher, yes.  If the narrative of your report does not otherwise identify the exact censuses you used, with full citations, then you would be expected to attach these full citations to your chart.