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    Multi-page sources?

    Hello folks,

    I would like any suggestions on how you folks might deal with this situation.

    I have many sources which are multi-page, such as Civil War Pension Files, Court Documents and the like. Currently I list the whole document as a specific source number, and then indicate the specific page number (pg. 14/78) for the source of that specific information. These documents are scanned and included with the source as a multimedia document.

    However in the olden days when listing large sources, I broke the document in pieces and listed each sub-document as its own individual source, with specific source number.

    Now that scans of those documents can be included wit the source in Reunion, I am curious as to whether I should go back to all those "split sources" and recombine them as I am doing now. It would be more consistent, but is it necessary?

    This is certainly not a "life or death" issue and I really do not need to make a lot of work for myself, but I am curious as to how others may deal with this inconsistency.

    Your thoughts would be appreciated.

    Frank
    Frank Zwolinski
    Researching: Zwolinski, Zubris, Ward, Wichlacz, Six, Sidney/Sypniewskie, Rickner, Mulligan, McElroy, Maciejewski, Loisy, Lindsay, Konjey, Konieczki, Janick, Ellis, Cornish, Chlebowski, Sass, Soch.
    MacBook Pro, OS X 10.8.5, Reunion 11, FireFox 38.0.5, Safari 6.2.2

    #2
    Re: Multi-page sources?

    Frank - like you, I love consistency. In my case, most of my sources by far are single page, single image, but a few are not. Where a vital record, for example, starts on one page and finishes on the next, I digitally cut and paste the bits together (obviously recording both page numbers). Where there are larger (e.g. whole page) parts that clearly go together

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Multi-page sources?

      I have many sources which are multi page.

      Or rather the sources come from documents which have many pages. For example, several ancestors are referred to in a book about the history of a medieval town. Each time I come across a fact or entry in the book which refers to an ancestor, I quote the document, and the page numbers as a separate source. I attach the image, photo or photocopy, whether it is one or more pages as a multimedia item, usually a multipage PDF file, so that the image is not Mac or PC specific, if that makes sense.

      My golden rule is that if in future I click on a source number in Reunion, I want that click to take me to a concise and pinpointed source which relates to that particular person. So a source might be, "Early History of Dunwich, pages 13 -15"; and a source for someone quite different might be, "Early History of Dunwich, pages 402 - 408". I wouldn't list, "Early History of Dunwich" as a source and leave someone to guess which pages are being referred to.

      You can often see good examples of this process in a list of references or notes at the back of a book, where an author includes a numbered superscript in the text, and the list of references or notes shows the document he is referring to but each individual entry refers to separate pages or Chapters etc. An example would be a long document such as an English Medieval Roll at The National Archives - Close Rolls or Patent Rolls for example. The page numbers, or specific Roll references, would be vital in pinpointing the source, and the Source isn't much use to someone looking at your research in future without all the pages mentioned.

      Hope that helps a little?
      Rupert

      Researching Large; Cuddon; Ford, Gadsdon and Fletcher

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Multi-page sources?

        Originally posted by rclrocco View Post
        ...My golden rule is that if in future I click on a source number in Reunion, I want that click to take me to a concise and pinpointed source which relates to that particular person. So a source might be, "Early History of Dunwich, pages 13 -15"; and a source for someone quite different might be, "Early History of Dunwich, pages 402 - 408". I wouldn't list, "Early History of Dunwich" as a source and leave someone to guess which pages are being referred to....
        So, you put the page numbers inside the source itself, rather than in the detail section? This would mean that you have numerous sources starting out as "Early History of Dunwich, pages ..."? And, each source would have the same PDF of the full book attached?

        Just trying to clarify in my mind.

        Kaye
        Kaye Mushalik
        -Muschalik (Poland), Stroop, Small (Ireland), Fitzsimons/Fitzsimmons (Ireland) Pessara/Pesaora/Pesarro/Pizarro (from Germany)
        -Dorrance, Eberstein, Bell
        -Late2015iMac27"Retina5K, MacOS10.14, iOS12.1, R12, Safari12.0

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Multi-page sources?

          Yes Kaye, You're right, i have multiple sources quoting the same book. But usually only one quoting pages 34 - 36 say. I like being able to see at a glance in my list of sources, each individual page reference, without having to open the source itself to hunt for detail. It means having quite a few more sources in my database but hey, this is a computer, and it should easily be able to handle a few more.
          Rupert

          Researching Large; Cuddon; Ford, Gadsdon and Fletcher

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Multi-page sources?

            Thank you all for the comments, however I still would like to hear your suggestions about my dilemma.

            Should I lave my old sources alone; those where I broke up a pension file into various components and treated each as a separate source? OR leave them alone.
            Currently I do not break up such a file, but rather use the full Pension File as the source and note the specific page in the "detail" section of the "Source citation?" Going back to undo the earlier way of doing things might be time consuming but I wonder if it is important to be THAT consistent?

            I appreciate your thoughts.

            Frank
            Frank Zwolinski
            Researching: Zwolinski, Zubris, Ward, Wichlacz, Six, Sidney/Sypniewskie, Rickner, Mulligan, McElroy, Maciejewski, Loisy, Lindsay, Konjey, Konieczki, Janick, Ellis, Cornish, Chlebowski, Sass, Soch.
            MacBook Pro, OS X 10.8.5, Reunion 11, FireFox 38.0.5, Safari 6.2.2

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Multi-page sources?

              Frank - only you can know whether you are prepared to spend the time, but if you are, then yes, I think it is preferable to split up those pension files, especially if they are long (can't picture them).

              Suppose I have a 100-page book which happens to supply different pieces of information (useful to my family file) on pages 3, 13, 23, 33 and so on. Somewhere outside of Reunion, I would keep a copy—digital, paper or both—of the whole book; when I want to read it again, I don’t really want to do that within Reunion.

              Within the family file there would be only a (separate) source for each one of those particular pages, with an image of that page, or part of a page, attached: nothing more. The advantage is that any time I want to check what my evidence is for a particular fact, I have direct and easy access to that, without a whole lot of scrolling down or leafing through.

              But, as I say, whether this result is worth (to you) the trouble of changing what you’ve already done, I can’t tell.
              Last edited by Michael Talibard; 22 February 2014, 06:39 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Multi-page sources?

                "I am curious as to whether I should go back to all those "split sources" and recombine them as I am doing now. It would be more consistent, but is it necessary?"

                In a way Frank , you answer your own question, but as Michael says it is up to you whether you go back and add the images to the previously entered sources.

                I would, and I am with my family file. For two reasons. Many of my early source entries were crude as I neither really understood how to use sources , nor was I aware of the potential of Reunion.

                Now I like a source to be as explicit as possible, with the minimum number of clicks. Having a source saying "page such and such of a book" is not much use, especially if I don't have that book to hand. And even if I do, it isn't really any use to anyone else who might one day be looking at the justification behind my research. But if I have that same source, with an image of say, the original page or a legible copy, then both the source is much more useful, and secondly, your file is so much more complete. As a side issue, with a modern phone or iPad, it is so easy to take a photo of any pages one comes across in ones research, and of course attach it to a source in Reunion.
                Rupert

                Researching Large; Cuddon; Ford, Gadsdon and Fletcher

                Comment

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