Week 5 (May 1-7 2015)

This week's topics:
1) Building a Research Toolbox
2) Citing Sources

Didn't need to spend much time on getting the basics down for the topics of this week as citing sources just seems to have been second nature to me from the beginning of my genealogy habit and I've always tried to bookmark frequently vistied sites.

1) Building a Research Toolbox

Since I love to love to point and click with my mouse, over the years I have bookmarked my "go-to" websites - or in the case of Ancestry, FamilySearch, etc, my fingers automatically type in the urls.

Thomas MacEntee provided Do-Over participants with a link to his RootsTech 2015 presentation on 'Building a Research Toolbox' as well as a version of his own toolbox.  He gave links to some real gems.

I like the fact that Thomas presents an idea, explaining the rationale as well as a variety of methods and the pros and cons of each method.  He not only acknowledges that a method or format that might work for one person may not work for someone else, but he also encourages people to keep trying and modifying as one continues. 

The main purpose is to become, and stay, focused while one goes about one's genealogy research.  Working more efficiently results in more time to hunt down those illusive ancestors.

Have installed OneNote on my ipad, but encountering problems getting in on my laptop without upgrading from Office Starter 2010 to the full fledged Office package.  I'll usually have my ipad with me, leaving my laptop at home but as I do my genealogy work on the laptop, it would be easier to cut/paste sites into OneNote on the laptop, letting it synch for ipad access.

I've used Evernote over the years on a hit & miss basis and had already added the app to my ipad and iphone.  As I try to become more focused and organized, I'm trying to clean up what I have already put onto Evernote.  I have also created a folder in Evernote for my Toolbox.

But as I go about working on my genealogy on the laptop, I find I'm instinctly using the bookmarks rather than the toolbox.  However, I do feel that I have completed this week's Topic 1.


2) Citing Sources

I believe that I have alway cited my sources from the beginning of my genealogy addiction - even if it was only to record that it was verbal information from a relative, my own personal knowledge or family folklore.  But I accept that many of the citations were likely not done in proper format or providing all the necessary information. 

Some because of laziness on my part or eagerness to enter the next piece of information, but I can also blame my software.  As the years have past, the commercial software programmes have included citation templates, corresponding to Evidence Explained requirements. 

One of the reasons I had been tossing around the idea of a Do-Over of my genealogy, even before MacEntee's proposal came to light was that much of my data that had been imported from FamilyTreeMaker into RootsMagic had badly created citations.  Facts were cited and I could more than likely locate the data again, the citations were done in a free-form format and somewhat inconsistant as well as not quoting the exact information.  And too generic.  Originally I used 'WorldConnect Project' as the source for all of the trees I was accessing.  I had started creating separate citations for each tree, but have never taken the time to go back and separate out all of the citations. 

When I started using RootsMagic (version 4), it provided templates to streamline things better.  Over time, I have changed some of the old free-form citations but the time takes away from my new research.  I just accepted that the badly composed citations were there and use as guideline to locate better sources, which would be properly cited.

Reading comments from other participants on Facebook, I have come to realize that my instinct to have been citing my sources, albeit maybe not well, is not necessarily from my years of working in an academic library, but goes back to high school. 

My Grade 11 history teacher was right when he told students that we would appreciate his requirement of properly citing facts in our essays with footnotes and bibliographies.  The first essay I did for that class, I had to return to the public library to locate books I had already returned to get full bibliographic information and page numbers.  That library had outgrown its existing location and books were stacked on floors and any nook or cranny to be found as the shelves were overflowing.  Needless to say, it was quite a task to relocate the specific books I had used.  Fortunately, I had at least recorded the titles.  Anyway, lesson learned and any essay I wrote after that, I recorded full bibligraphic information and page numbers when I used data.

So when I started doing genealogy research, it was just instinctive to record the bibliographic information.  Which has worked great for books.  But my school days were long before the internet and its ever changing information and websites. 

The templates included in software has helped me to properly fill in the blanks.  I will admit that I may not always select the correct format, but in many cases I am unable an exact match.  I end up using 'Website (with multiple databases)' and avoid using 'Free form'.

I still refuse to use a unique citation for each and every census sheet used.  My database would bulge with the number of sources.  Instead, I will continue using one citation for each year and country, using the note fields to record the unique information and facts. 

The purpose of citations is that anyone could locate the data at some point in the future and I feel that my format will fulfill that requirement.  Topic 2 fulfilled.