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Hello,
I'm trying to find a citation model in EE that works for the digitized Canadian census images on the LAC site. I'm looking at the census section on page 300 and at the National Government Records section on page 629-630, and I can't find one that quite fits. For example, I want to cite the record below, from their database, but really just use the digital image and transcribe by hand, as mistakes in the indexing are frequent. I've linked to the image below.
Thank you much,
Jon Morin
Item: Robert MITCHELL
Digitized page of Census of Canada, 1881, Page number 24, for Robert MITCHELL
View digitized page of Census of Canada, 1881 for Image No.: e008195399
JPG (Image No.: e008195399)
PDF (Image No.: e008195399)
Surname: MITCHELL
Given Name: Robert
Occupation: Shoemaker
Gender: M
Age: 47
Birth Year: 1834
Marital Status: M
Place of Birth: Ontario
Religion: Bapt
Nationality: Irish
Province: Ontario
District Name: Brant South
District Number: 159
Sub-District Name: Brantford (City)
Sub-District Number: A
Division Number: 1
Family Number: 123
Household Number: 767742
Volume Number: 13
Page Number: 24
Microfilm: C-13263
Reference: RG31 - Statistics Canada
Item Number: 4100291
Sorry for that big blob of
Sorry for that big blob of text. I just realized that the page breaks were removed when I posted.
jonjmorin:
jonjmorin:
The formatting problem is easily fixed. When you type a message, under the screen in which you type, you'll notice an option called "Text Format." Choose "Full HTML" and it will format just the way you want it. I've made the switch for you, above--and I'll answer your question separately.
Jon: You write:
Jon: You write:
“I want to cite the record below, from their database, but really just use the digital image and transcribe by hand.”
The most basic issue, where citation is concerned, is Cite what you use. If you use the image, you should cite the image. If you rely on the database, then you should cite the database. Don't mix peas and apples. You'll confuse not only anyone else who uses your research but also yourself at a later time after your recollection of this work has gone cold.
You also state that, in EE, you ‘can’t quite find a citation that fits.’ If you prefer to cite the database, then the Ancestry model, on p. 300 does indeed fit. Whether you’re using the 1831 or 1881 census doesn’t matter. Whether you’re using Ancestry’s database or LAC's database doesn’t mean you need a different format. It’s simply a matter of identifying the basic elements and substituting the appropriate data.
The one issue that matters is whether you are citing the 1881 census images or whether you are citing LAC’s database entry for that census. Those are two separate and entirely different entities, with different creators, different data, and (as you note) differing levels of reliability.
With regard to citing the images: Did you look only under "Canada" or did you also consider the QuickCheck models at the start of the census chapter? Pages 241 and 242 demonstrate citing census images that we find online. One models a French census and the other models an English census; but, again, the basic elements are the same.
In brief, online images require a layered citation {see QuickLesson 19 for more on this topic}:
The basic elements for each layer are these:
Layer 1: Original document:
Layer 2: Provider:
Source of the source:
Your provider's database (as with Ancestry) gives us a lot of details that don't belong in a citation. What we have to do is pick out the essentials, following the basic pattern above.