Sources in TMG

This page is an outline of a presentation on using sources in TMG presented to the California Genealogical Society's TMG User Group on Saturday, 4 June 2005. For additional information on using sources, visit these two topics on this site.

• Adding a Census Source
• Editing the Source Template

Citation Theory
• Content requirements
  • Citations provide the exact source for every statement of fact and include enough information to allow a reader to backtrack easily to the original source, or an equivalent source, to verify the author's interpretation of the document.
  • A citation provides enough information to allow another researcher to judge the validity of your interpretations and the thoroughness of your research.
  • A citation gives credit where credit is due. Don't leave yourself open to charges of plagiarism.
• Format is determined by report requirements
  • TMG's flexibility allows the user to vary citation format as required by reporting demands.

Definitions
• TMG Event: a tag or statement of fact
• Citation: links the statement of fact to the evidence (source) supporting it
• Source: the book, census, vital record, etc. that provides evidence for a statement of fact
• Repository: the place you found that source

TMG's Source Categories are style guides that dictate form and content
• Lackey (Wholly Genes' interpretation of Richard S. Lackey's Cite Your Sources)
• Mills (Wholly Genes' interpretation of Elizabeth Shown Mills's Evidence!)
• Custom (Your personal interpretation)
• TMG's default source template structures are reproduced in Appendix F - Source Templates, Getting the Most Out of The Master Genealogist, pp. 278-287.

Source Types
• Source types: census, vital record, tombstone, will, deed, book, etc.
• Design templates composed of source elements and word constants
• Choice of source elements is determined by desired content of a source citation
• Design templates determine the format of a source citation
• Design output for: full footnote, short footnote, bibliography

Source Element Groups:
• 32 unique element groups in TMG ver 6.0 (Version 5.0's 30 source groups are listed in Appendix E - Standard Source Groups and Source Elements, Getting the Most Out of The Master Genealogist, pp. 276-277.)
• Appear in different screens:
  • Source Definition Screen General Tab (Title plus any 14 unique source element groups excluding those following)
  • Source Definition Screen Supplementary Tab (Comments)
  • Source Definition Screen Attachments Tab (Repository and Repository Reference)
  • Repository Definition screen (Repository Info, Repository Memo)
  • Citation screen (Citation Detail, Citation Memo, Citation Reference)
• Behave in different ways:
  • Four element groups obey "Last name, First name" rules.
  • Title is always present on the Source Definition General Tab, even if undefined for a given source type.
  • Three available memo fields: Comments, Citation Memo, Repository Memo, can be split.
  • Citation Detail can be split.
  • Repository and Citation element groups may be renamed in theory, but actual screen names never change.
• View a table of the 32 unique element groups, standard source elements, and my custom source elements arranged first by location in TMG and then by behavior.

Source Elements:
• User-friendly names for the 32 source element groups
• User can create new source elements, but cannot create new source element groups
• Only one source element per source element group can appear in any source type definition. Define new elements carefully with this in mind.

Logical Data Entry Order
• Option (1):
  • Enter Repository information first
  • Enter the Source information
    • Enter source elements that refer to all citations to this source
    • The Source Memo provides information on the source itself and not on the evidence derived from that source.
    • Link the source to the Repository
  • Enter the Event information
  • Open Citation screen
    • Link to Source
    • Add Citation Detail to identify the exact location of the evidence within that Source
    • The Citation Memo can be used to explain evidence derived from the source, contradictory evidence, or other notes that relate to the cited event only.
• Option (2) (not possible before version 5.0):
  • Enter Event information
  • Open Citation screen to link to Source
  • Enter the Source information
  • Link to Repository and enter Repository information
  • Add Citation Detail to identify the exact location of the evidence within that Source

The Source Abbreviation: No One Right Way
• Pick an abbreviation that will always make sense to you.
• A few logical possibilities:
  • Source Type, Date, State, County
  • County, State, Source Type
  • Surname, First Name, Source Type
  • Source Type, Surname, First Name

The Citation Detail: A Few Things to Keep in Mind
• The citation detail identifies a specific page, file, line, etc. within a source and all information contained here pertains to the cited event only.
• Like memo fields, the citation detail may be split into as many as nine parts.
• The citation memo refers to the evidence as it affects the cited event.
• (The citation reference is an element group that I've never used.)
• Second Site requires all references to a citation detail to be enclosed in angle brackets: <[CD]>
• Only [CD] or [CD1] appear in GEDCOM output
• If Unique Endnotes are checked in a report definition, only [CD] or [CD1] will be printed
• If split memos are used, GEDCOM recognizes only [M1], [RM1], [CM1], etc.

The Embedded Citation
• Embedded citations can be used in an Event Memo field. This allows you to place a citation after a sentence, as opposed to placing citations only after a paragraph.
• Split citation details cannot be used in an embedded citation. The reporting results are unpleasant.
• At one time, embedded citations were not renumbered if you renumbered your sources. I haven't checked this recently.

Template Design Protocol (Examples):
• Title (source element capitalized): If field is empty, citation will read "unknown title"
• <Title> (source element in angle brackets): If field is empty, citation will ignore it
• title (source element in lower case): Empty or not, the value of this field will not appear in the citation.

Editing the Source Template: (see http://freepages.computers.rootsweb.com/~mdtmgug/source_template.htm)
• Edit the source type template (global change)
  • Changes all sources of that type except those edited locally (see below)
  • The Bibliography contains the basic identifying information that pertains to all citations to a given source. Determine all source elements required for the bibliography and use this as your basis when designing or editing a source type template.
  • Next, determine additional elements that will appear in all citations to that source.
  • Identify any source elements that will vary from citation to citation (e.q. page number). These will appear in the Citation Detail.
  • Arrange all elements according to the desired style guide and edit the source type template accordingly.
• Override the template locally for an individual source
  • Add desired source elements to the actual source definition screen and place them in the appropriate place in the output definitions; or
  • Write the citation, as you wish it to appear, in the output definitions.
  • Sources in which the global template has been overridden are not affected if the global template is redesigned.

Merging Data Sets:
• Set both data sets to the Custom Source Category type before merging.
• My advice: back up both data sets first and read the instructions carefully.

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This page copyright June 2005 by Susan Goss Johnston.
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