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Archiver > TMG > 2000-07 > 0963087926


From: "Mills" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Multiple Source Citations?
Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 15:25:26 -0500
References: <39677554.2BB27245@dpc.net>


Mike Dickson asked:
> How many sources do you cite for a piece of information -
> just the best you have or all that you have?
<snip>
<the sample ancestor charts and family group sheets in "Evidence"
<show only one footnote per piece of data.

Hmhhh. It looks like the author of Evidence! needs to revise those examples.
Truth is, the examples started out with umpteen sources for each; but the
extras got trimmed in order to keep the illustration down to one page.

Since you've invoked Evidence! as an authority, my advice is to cite
EVERYTHING. (Yes, I'm shouting <g>.) In our working notes, we need to know
*everything* we've found (or used) that is relevant to the "fact" we are
asserting; and something that appears to be the "best source" today may
prove totally unreliable.

At *publication* time, then we may choose to trim our footnotes/endnotes to
reflect our best evidence as well as the problematic evidence we feel we
should caution our readers about. That's not a research decision but an
editing decision -- to be made when we shift our material from a
genealogical database to a word-processor and begin the task of culling
chaff, finessing our prose, and perfecting our arguments.

But thanks for raising the question. It's something else to address at
revision time :).

Elizabeth Shown Mills


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