erwinroots, a state archive is a repository that maintains records. They have both physical buildings and websites; at the latter, they post some of their records that can be accessed by anyone at any time. Some websites offer an online query form through which record searches can be requested from the staff in the building. In response, some archives will post requested records on a private page where the requestor can download it.
What approach did you use? Did you download your image from the website's collection of death certificates. Or, did you make a request, in response to which you were notified to go to a special online link created for you?
If the website carries a collection of death certificate images from which you downloaded one, then you have two things to cite: (1) the original document; or (2) the website collection through which these are obtained.
If your image is not publicly posted at a website and you had to request the record from the archives staff; then you cite original document, its physical location, and the means by which you acquired it.
EE, of course, offers models for these various situations.
erwinroots, what is the site from which you downloaded the document? Can you supply a URL? Just knowing that you downloaded an image of an original document from somewhere on the wild and wooly worldwide web is not enough to identify the document. (That's what citation is in a nutshell: identification. We identify a source so that [1] we and others can understand how reliable the information might be; and [2] we or others can find it again.)
Re the use of EE and its Kindle edition: An electronic version of any reference work has both advantages and disadvantages. With an e-book, it's harder to see and understand the "big picture," but it's also easier to search for keywords that define what we are using—either the type of record or the type of issue..
However—and this is a BIG however—understanding the sources we use and how to identify those sources cannot be done by "searching" for the one thing we need at the moment and then finding a model to follow. If we do not understand the basic principles of source identification and evidence analysis (an issue that seriously affects the reliability of what we gather and assert) and understand the fundamentals of record storage and evidence analysis (issues that determine the details we need to record) then all the different models will overwhelm us. Please do try the following:
Sit down with your Kindle edition and read (study!) the QuickStart Guide at the beginning of EE. This is where we learn the basic patterns for citations.
Read (study!) the first two chapters that lay out the basic principles for evidence analysis (chapter 1) and citation (chapter 2).
Read (study!) the first few paragraphs of each subsequent chapter—those record-based chapters. Much more specific advice for each category of records appears there at the beginning of each record chapter.
Read (study!) all the discussions within each chapter that explain specific types of records and specific quirky situations that happen with all types of records.
That careful, thoughtful reading provides us with the understanding we need to identify and assess anything we use. That reading provides us with knowledge. "Looking up" or "searching" for one specific item, because that's what we are using right now, provides us with a piece of information. Knowledge is far more valuable than information. Information applies to just one thing. Knowledge can be used for everything we do.
Erwinroots, can you supply a link to the page from which you downloaded it? Saying that you downloaded the document from some site online is the equivalent of saying: "I found a document in an archives somewhere; how do I cite it?" There are different types of documents at different kinds of archives with different organizational schemes, and different kinds of websites with different structures for relocating the documents. We need specific details to work it. As the old adage goes: The Devil is in the details!
erwinroots, a state archive…
erwinroots, a state archive is a repository that maintains records. They have both physical buildings and websites; at the latter, they post some of their records that can be accessed by anyone at any time. Some websites offer an online query form through which record searches can be requested from the staff in the building. In response, some archives will post requested records on a private page where the requestor can download it.
What approach did you use? Did you download your image from the website's collection of death certificates. Or, did you make a request, in response to which you were notified to go to a special online link created for you?
If the website carries a collection of death certificate images from which you downloaded one, then you have two things to cite: (1) the original document; or (2) the website collection through which these are obtained.
If your image is not publicly posted at a website and you had to request the record from the archives staff; then you cite original document, its physical location, and the means by which you acquired it.
EE, of course, offers models for these various situations.
I downloaded an original…
I downloaded an original document so I see either the site or the document can be citied. I do have EE on a Kindle, but it isn't easy to search.
Thank you for your help!
erwinroots, what is the site…
erwinroots, what is the site from which you downloaded the document? Can you supply a URL? Just knowing that you downloaded an image of an original document from somewhere on the wild and wooly worldwide web is not enough to identify the document. (That's what citation is in a nutshell: identification. We identify a source so that [1] we and others can understand how reliable the information might be; and [2] we or others can find it again.)
Re the use of EE and its Kindle edition: An electronic version of any reference work has both advantages and disadvantages. With an e-book, it's harder to see and understand the "big picture," but it's also easier to search for keywords that define what we are using—either the type of record or the type of issue..
However—and this is a BIG however—understanding the sources we use and how to identify those sources cannot be done by "searching" for the one thing we need at the moment and then finding a model to follow. If we do not understand the basic principles of source identification and evidence analysis (an issue that seriously affects the reliability of what we gather and assert) and understand the fundamentals of record storage and evidence analysis (issues that determine the details we need to record) then all the different models will overwhelm us. Please do try the following:
That careful, thoughtful reading provides us with the understanding we need to identify and assess anything we use. That reading provides us with knowledge. "Looking up" or "searching" for one specific item, because that's what we are using right now, provides us with a piece of information. Knowledge is far more valuable than information. Information applies to just one thing. Knowledge can be used for everything we do.
Erwinroots, can you supply a…
Erwinroots, can you supply a link to the page from which you downloaded it? Saying that you downloaded the document from some site online is the equivalent of saying: "I found a document in an archives somewhere; how do I cite it?" There are different types of documents at different kinds of archives with different organizational schemes, and different kinds of websites with different structures for relocating the documents. We need specific details to work it. As the old adage goes: The Devil is in the details!