Studying the Art of Citation

GPS Element #2 – Source Citations

This is part of my ongoing series on Educational Preparation for BCG Certification. It is not limited to those interested in certification, but provides ideas for any interested genealogist. There are links to the other posts in the series at the bottom of this article.

To understand the second element of the GPS, “complete, accurate citations to the source or sources of each information item,” I recommend the following:

Informal Study Options

1. If you only do one thing, it should be:

Read chapter 2 on “Fundamentals of Citation” in Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2015).

This chapter explains that “citation is an art, not a science.” It also provides the purpose, format and common practices of creating citations for a wide variety of sources. It will help you understand source citation, and make the practice of crafting citations easier. 

This book is available from Genealogical Publishing Company or Amazon.

2. If you have finished #1 then you are ready to move on.

Elizabeth Shown Mills has provided many resources for helping us learn to craft citations. Now that you have read chapter 2 in Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, you may as well browse the rest of the book. Notice that there are not only QuickCheck Models for many types of citations, but also background information on each type of source and details on what you would need to include in the citation.

3. One of the best resources available online is EvidenceExplained.com.

Elizabeth Shown Mills shares a variety of resources on this website, including:

Evidence Explained Forums – a place for you to ask questions on citation issues, evidence analysis issues, and record usage and interpretation. You should read the archives for answers to many of your questions, or questions you did not know you had.

Evidence Explained QuickLessons -  brief lessons on a variety of source, analysis and citation topics. Here are a few that are relevant to studying source citation:

     QuickLesson 1: Analysis & Citation

     QuickLesson 4: NARA Citations & Finding Aids

     QuickLesson 19: Layered Citations Work Like Layered Clothing

     QuickLesson 21: Citing DNA Evidence: Five Ground Rules

     QuickLesson22: What Citation Template Do I Use?

       QuickTips – the blog at EvidenceExplained.com. Start with these posts:

            Citations: 10 Commandments for Intimidated Souls

            Citations: How Much Is Enough?

            D.O.C.U.M.E.N.T.A.T.I.O.N.

            Record Citation vs. Record Identification

4. Read chapter 4 of Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones (Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, 2013). This chapter on source citations gives a five-part model for creating citations, and several figures with examples of citations created using the model. There are also fifteen exercises to pick apart and create citations for practice.

5. Review chapter 2 on “Standards for Documenting” in Genealogy Standards: 50^th Anniversary Edition by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (Nashville: Ancestry, 2014). This chapter contains eight standards for citations including purposes, scope, elements, and format. Standard five provides an easy to remember model of who, what, when, where and wherein as elements of a citation.

Formal Learning Activities:

6. If you are an auditory learner, you might like the following recorded presentations from the 2014 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) national conference:

     Sources & Citations Simplified: From Memorabilia to Digital Data to DNA  

     by Elizabeth Shown Mills
     Why should citing sources cause angst or obsession? Learning a few basic rules lets us apply a

     common-sense approach that avoids both frustration and overkill.

     Genealogical Documentation: The What, Why, Where, and How 

     by Thomas W. Jones
     Learn how to document a family history, five characteristics of complete and accurate citations, 

     and a simplified format for citing most sources, both physical and digital.

7. If you have completed all of the above, and still want more, then you might like a full week of “Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation” with Thomas W. Jones at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh in June 2016. 

Note:

These are just ideas for you to add to your individual education plan as you choose. They are NOT meant to be a checklist where you have to read/study/participate in every option. 

Previous posts in this series:
Educational Preparation for BCG Certification  
Studying the Genealogical Proof Standard

Conducting Reasonably Exhaustive Research
Studying Evidence Analysis, Part 1

Two Gen Proof Study Groups to Begin in August

The Gen Proof study groups are organized to study the book Mastering Genealogical Proof, byThomas W. Jones. This is an exceptional textbook detailing the application of the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). The exercises will help you develop the skills you need to be comfortable applying the GPS to your genealogy work. This study program will consist of small groups of approximately 15-20 members and a mentor who will guide the discussions and answer questions. 

Registration is now open for two groups beginning in August:

Group 42 with Melanie Holtz, CG as mentor begins August 3rd. This is an ADVANCED group.

Group 43 with Cafi Cohen as mentor begins on August 17th. This is a Beginner/intermediate group.

STUDY GROUP PLATFORM
Thanks to an arrangement with ProGen, the Gen Proof Study Groups now have the opportunity to use Basecamp as a platform. Basecamp is a project management platform that allows students to pose questions, participate in discussions and upload assignments. The group will not meet at a designated time but have ongoing discussions throughout the week. The mentor will log on each day to answer questions and highlight certain concepts, and participants should check in daily also. Basecamp is the same platform used for the ProGen Study Groups so some of you are already familiar with it.
There will be no expense involved to participate (other than the cost of the book). Each Gen Proof Study Group has their own private Basecamp group where they can ask and answer questions, submit assignments and examples and discuss the book content and assignments.

Commitments -- Please take into account any travel plans or large time commitments before registering for a study group. You should plan to fully participate in all of the group discussions and so should wait for a future group if you have a vacation coming up or large projects you are working on.

Completion Certificates – In order to encourage full participation throughout the course, we are now offering completion certificates to those who fully participate and complete the mentoring program. In order to qualify you must participate in each of the discussions and complete the exercises. In order for the group to be successful we need full participation from each group member. 
 
REGISTRATION:
IF you are prepared to make a commitment to the study group, then please copy and paste the following into a new email (not a reply) to genproofstudy@gmail.com with the subject heading “Registration.”
Placement in discussion groups is on a first come first serve basis.
Gorup mentored by:
Name:
City, State:
Preferred Email Address:

GETTING STARTED
Once you have been assigned to a group you will receive a confirmation email. After your group fills, you will be contacted and given access to the private Basecamp community for your group discussions.

BEFORE the start date of you group you should do the following:
1.     Begin reading Mastering Genealogical Proof. In particular read the preface, chapters 1 and 2.
2.     Read the two articles in Appendixes A and B. These articles will require multiple readings in order to absorb the information and do the exercises related to these articles. While the exercises don’t begin until chapter 2, you will need the extra time to digest these articles.
3.     If you are not familiar with the short article by William M. Litchman, CG, for learning how to read a National Genealogical Society Quarterly article, you will find his method helpful. The articles in Appendix A and B originally appeared in the NGSQ. The link to the Litchman article is http://www.unm.edu/~litchman/Analysis%20article.htm 

The discussions begin on the date designated. The first week / discussion will begin right off discussing the preface and chapter one. The second week / discussion will cover chapter 2 including the reading and exercises, and will continue with one chapter per week, according the schedule set by the mentor.

Each group will discuss key points in the reading and there will be opportunities to ask questions on the reading material, exercises, and answers to the exercises. Each mentor will highlight points they think are important and guide discussions on the Genealogical Proof Standard and other content in each chapter.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask your mentor, or email Michelle Goodrum at michelle.r.goodrum@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Michelle Goodrum
Gen Proof Study Groups Administrator

Two New Gen Proof Study Groups To Begin in April

Here is your chance to study the book Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones with a group of genealogists and discuss the concepts with a mentor. Below is an announcement from Michelle Goodrum, the administrator of the Gen Proof Study Groups.

Thanks to an arrangement with the ProGen Study Program, we are now offering Gen Proof Study Groups through the Basecamp project management website. Registration is now open for two groups beginning in April. Please read on for additional information.

Gen Proof Study Group Registration
The Gen Proof study groups are organized to study the book Mastering Genealogical Proof, by Thomas W. Jones. This is an exceptional textbook detailing the application of the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). The exercises will help you develop the skills you need to be comfortable applying the GPS to your genealogy work. This study program will consist of small groups of 10-20 members and a mentor who will guide the discussions and answer questions.

Registration is now open for two groups beginning in April:

Group 40 - Mentor Michelle Lewis
Beginning 6 April / Beginner/Intermediate level / Using the Basecamp website /
Asynchronous discussions /  One chapter per week (8 weeks)

Group 41 - Mentor Brenda Wheeler
Beginning 17 April / Advanced students / Using the Basecamp website
Text chats Friday evenings around 8-9pm Eastern. One chapter per week (8 weeks)

Study Group Platform
Thanks to an arrangement with the ProGen Study Program, the Gen Proof Study Groups now have the opportunity to use Basecamp as a platform. Basecamp is a project management platform. It is the same platform used for the ProGen Study Groups so some of you are already familiar with it.
There will be no expense involved to participate (other than the cost of the book). Each Gen Proof Study Group has their own private Basecamp group where they can ask and answer questions, submit assignments and examples and discuss the book content and assignments.

The following formats were selected for the study groups:  
• Asynchronous discussion (Group 40)-- The group will not meet at a designated time but have ongoing discussions throughout the week. The mentor will log on each day to answer questions and highlight certain concepts, and participants should check in daily also.
• Text chats (Group 41) – This group will meet on Friday evenings in a chat room for a live chat. Discussions can also take place throughout the week.
• Frequency – Both groups will meet every week for eight weeks. Please be sure you have time to read the chapter and complete all of the exercises (these may take you several hours) BEFORE each of your group discussions. Since these groups cover one chapter per week, it will be very fast paced. So you should plan on studying and participating for about 10-15 hours per week.

Commitments -- Please take into account any travel plans or large time commitments before registering for a study group. You should plan to fully participate in all of the group discussions and so should wait for a future group if you have a vacation coming up or large projects you are working on.

Completion Certificates – In order to encourage full participation throughout the course, we are now offering completion certificates to those who fully participate and complete the mentoring program. In order to qualify you must participate in each of the discussions and complete the exercises. In order for the group to be successful we need full participation from each group member. 

How to Register
IF you are prepared to make a commitment to the study group, then please email genproofstudy@gmail.com with the subject heading “Registration.”
Placement in discussion groups is on a first come first serve basis.
Gorup mentored by:
Name:
City, State:
Preferred Email Address:

Getting Started
Once you have been assigned to a group you will receive a confirmation email. After your group fills, you will be contacted and given access to the private Basecamp community for your group discussions.

BEFORE the start date of you group you should do the following:
1. Begin reading Mastering Genealogical Proof. In particular read the preface, chapters 1 and 2.
2. Read the two articles in Appendixes A and B. These articles will require multiple readings in order to absorb the information and do the exercises related to these articles. While the exercises don’t begin until chapter 2, you will need the extra time to digest these articles.
3. If you are not familiar with the short article by William M. Litchman, CG, for learning how to read a National Genealogical Society Quarterly article, you will find his method helpful. The articles in Appendix A and B originally appeared in the NGSQ. The link to the Litchman article is http://www.unm.edu/~litchman/Analysis%20article.htm

The discussions begin on the date designated. The first week / discussion will begin right off discussing the preface and chapter one. The second week / discussion will cover chapter 2 including the reading and exercises, and will continue with one chapter per week, according the schedule set by the mentor.

Each group will discuss key points in the reading and there will be opportunities to ask questions on the reading material, exercises, and answers to the exercises. Each mentor will highlight points they think are important and guide discussions on the Genealogical Proof Standard and other content in each chapter.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask your mentor, or email Michelle Goodrum at michelle.r.goodrum@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Michelle Goodrum
Gen Proof Study Groups Administrator