Continuing with the Sources and Citations Series. We talked yesterday about what a citation is and you can read that post here. Today we are going to look at the point of recording of citations, and I did touch on this yesterday and a bit earlier in the series.

If we add citations to our genealogy we add credence to our work. We are demonstrating that for every fact we can provide evidence to substantiate our claims. That adds value to our research and enables us to identify where that material is, should we want to retrace our own footsteps or for others to review it.

We have all done it, been swept away in a burst of genealogical excitement and failed to record a citation appropriately or at all. Is any citation better than none is a question worth asking ourselves.

As a history graduate, I would totally agree, that the citation should be written in a standard format and that it should be 100% accurate. As a genealogist, I would say that any citation is better than none, and we should all strive to create accurate citations. Rightly or wrongly, a strong citation suggests that the research is sound, and the evidence is backing up the facts as they are presented, with facts that cannot be confirmed, stated as such and perhaps even a hypothesis.

I will be back tomorrow, sharing some great resources and guidance that will help all of us use better citations.