Into which EE category of document would a "Carnet de Santé" fall?

By History-Hunter on Sun, 08/15/2021 - 17:05

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Dear Editor;

I've been pouring over the EE book to try to determine into which category of document a privately held  "Carnet de Santé" would fall.

The document is essentially a privately-held living record pertaining to a persons health, starting with when they are born, and which could continue for a lifetime, being updated by various physicians, either from their records or directly by them. In my case, the blank document was issued by the "Ministère de la Santé Publique" [The Public Health Ministry in France]. The initial pages typically provide a wealth of detail about the persons birth location and condition (completed by the hospital) and subsequent pages usually deal with subsequent inoculations and health issues (by various physicians).

None of the examples I could find address this type of privately-held "living" document by various authors. Perhaps you could suggest something?

Submitted byEEon Mon, 08/16/2021 - 09:14

History-Hunter, when my children were small and received their childhood vaccinations, the doctor who administered the first one gave me a card on which he noted the shot and the date. Every time I took that child to a doctor to get the next shot, regardless of the doctor or clinic, I took the card and a new notation was made. 

I have those cards, today, for each child. They are family artifacts. They—and your card—are covered by EE 3.25 Basic Format: Family Artifacts.

May I offer a broader perspective as well?  I've noticed in all your questions that you are a thinker. That is good. With every new type of document you encounter, you are obviously asking yourself:

  • What special characteristics does this document have?
  • How does this differ from what I've used already?

That is good. That is wonderful. But then also ask:

  • How is this similar to what I have already used?
  • What should I add to (or take away from) the basic format to fit this new document?

Even if EE were the size of the OED, it could never have an example for every type of document in the world and every variation of every type of document.  EE lays out the basic principles. It gives over 1100 examples of how to apply those principles. But when we find something that is not covered by those over 1100 examples, we find the closest example—or use the basic format—and adapt.

Submitted byHistory-Hunteron Mon, 08/16/2021 - 10:21

Dear Editor;

Thank you for your response and sorry to have bothered you with this. What was confusing me is that there really isn't a single issuing agency, but the blank booklet was issued by government and required to be started by the hospital. So, I thought of it as something between a certificate and a general artifact.

As I suspected that it would be cited as some variant of a privately held artifact and I noticed that the examples in the private holdings section of EE all have a similar look and feel, I think I can find a way of citing it that meets the 5 citation elements of Genealogical Documentation Standard and conforms to the look and feel of EE 3.25 Basic Format: Family Artifacts. I should note that the syllabus for Dr. T. W. Jones upcoming webinar on Standards for Genealogical Documentation, which I just found last night, has been a great help.

Submitted byEEon Mon, 08/16/2021 - 19:52

H-H, yes. The classic "Five W's of Reporting" (Who, What, When, Where, and Why) have also, always, been the foundation for citing sources.Jones's workbook, Mastering Genealogical Proof , modifies the fifth W to create the mantra: Who, What, When, Where, and Wherein.  EE modifies the fifth to create Who, What, When, Where, and Why should I believe this in the first place? 

In applying the Five W's, there are often multiples of each W that have to be identified. You'll find the webinar useful.