This Edition, That Edition: Does It Matter?

18 September 2014 We've all done it. We're writing something. Maybe it's an instructional article. Maybe it's the end product of a piece of research. We recall something we've read that is relevant to a point we're trying to make. We even recall where we read it—one of those Significant Books or Weighty Journals on our own library shelves. So we retrieve it, find the relevant passage, refresh our memory as to what it actually says, synthesize or quote the author's point, and then cite the source. All well and good. Or not! ...

Citations: Input vs. Output

4 September 2014 Citations exist in two stages, working notes and final form. This input vs. output issue is especially important for history researchers, given our use of so many original materials. Yes, EE does provide formats for many types of sources not treated by classic citation guides; but the more-important issue is not format. It's substance. What's critical is ...
Information Is Not Knowledge
29 August 2014 Contrary to the old cliché, facts do not speak for themselves. Facts are chameleons whose shape and color reflect their handlers. A beginning researcher and a skilled one can read the same information in a record and draw two separate conclusions, based upon ...
EE Fri, 08/29/2014 - 07:00
Researching Elusive People
27 August 2014 Biographical research is always a gamble. Our person of interest may or may not have been literate. Among those who were, many created few records to document their existence. The records we expect to find for a place and time will likely have suffered some destruction.
EE Wed, 08/27/2014 - 07:00