FamilySearch Wiki

By RobynR on Tue, 07/21/2020 - 03:45

Forums

Dear Editor,

I have searched the terms Wiki within the forum, but did not find anything particularly relevant to my question here today.

I have also read EE 12.53 and due to my software capabilities that I already know you will not offer comment on, I am still not sure if the EE citation guideline in 12.53 should be the one I should use.

I am wanting to reference a FamilySearch wiki, that was written by Stuart Basten and is located at this URL: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Birth-Baptism_Intervals_for_Family_Historians

12.53 does not show an attribution for the an author, and I feel Stuart Basten should be included in my citation.

So I have sourced it somewhat like a book (best as I can).

Stuart Basten, Birth-Baptism Intervals for Family Historians; Wiki, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page : accessed 21 July 2020).

Was wondering what your opinion may be of the same?

Many thanks

Robyn

 

Submitted byEEon Tue, 07/21/2020 - 09:14

RobynR, you've given us a great example of why citations must be flexible and researchers must adapt. While most wiki articles don't have any specified author, there are those that do. Whenever an author is identifiable, we certainly should cite the author—not only "to give credit" but also because an author's identity often speaks to the reliability or depth of insight that an article offers.

In adding the author, you've tried to cite it "somewhat like a book," and your parenthetical comment tells us you see problems with that choice. We can't cite Basten's wiki article like a book because it doesn't have the basic characteristics of a book. It's not a standalone publication. It's simply an article at a website. It's a by-lined article, as opposed to a typical wiki essay that might be edited by random people umpteen times a day. The best way to cite this would be as an article at a website:

Stuart Basten, "Birth-Baptism Intervals for Family Historians," FamilySearch Research Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Birth-Baptism_Intervals_for_Family_Historians : accessed 21 July 2020).