Tuesday's Tip – A Tool to Organize Your Evidence (Evidentia)

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

As we genealogists become better educated and more proficient in this hobby (or obsession), the importance of conclusions being based upon real evidence becomes obvious. We also discover that this is not as simple as it seems. We encounter conflicting or incomplete evidence. We have to evaluate the validity of each fact. We frequently must treat the available facts as clues leading us down a path that will, hopefully, lead to a conclusion. Or sometimes, multiple possible conclusions.

I recently discovered a software app, Evidentia, that may help in this process. It allows you to enter and organize your evidence, link evidence to conclusions and then generate reports documenting your effort. The goal is to help you be in compliance with the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). Evidentia is not a replacement for your existing genealogical database software. Consider it a supplement for use in complex situations, with generated reports that can be pasted into your database's notes section.

The software is available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Its first version was released December 2012. Cost is $25 (download) or $29 (CD). There is also a free 30-day downloadable demo available.

I plan to download and try out the demo version on some of my more complex problems, then report my conclusions in a future blog.

If you have used Evidentia,

please post a comment about whether or not you found it useful.

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Follow QuickLessons by Elizabeth Shown Mills

If sourcing and citing your research is a daunting task and one that is many times postponed, perhaps reading the "QuickLessons" on Elizabeth Shown Mills's website Evidence Explained would be worthwhile exploring. The website centers around her well–known work, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Second Edition. It contains reviews, examples from the book, FAQs, a forum page for posing questions, and a store to purchase her book and QuickSheets, 4–page laminated "cheat sheets." The acknowledged "Queen of Citation" has posted several mini–lessons on how to deal with a variety of topics:

• Analysis & Citation
• Sources vs. Information vs. Evidence vs. Proof
• Flawed Records
• NARA Citations & Finding Aids
• Analyzing Records
• Mindmapping Records
• Family Lore and Indian Princesses
• What Constitutes Proof?
• Census Instructions? Who Needs Instructions?
• Original Records, Image Copies, and Derivatives

Visit the site and read one "QuickLesson" a day. You will appreciate Elizabeth Shown Mills's insights.

Posted by Ron Setzer

Citations and documentation – What are your thoughts?

A lively discussion occurred at Root Cellar's Reunion for the Mac segment meeting last week about citing and documenting our research. It demonstrated to me that many genealogists are not on the same page when it comes to sourcing their work. With so many different genealogical databases out there for the PC and Mac that more or less automatically give you fill in forms for your citations, you would think more of us would be inclined to keep track of our sources. Whether you use your own version or follow Elizabeth Shown Mills's examples, everyone should be documenting their efforts. Personally, I would have a hard time justifying my nearly 2 1/2 decades of research that I have done if I thought that my descendants who may became interested in their family history would find my research of little use. So my current project is going back through each of my ancestors and documenting more fully where I found my information. I want to create signposts for someone else to easily see the validity of my statements. This is not an easy project. Considerable tedious effort will be call for. Is it worth it? How do you handle your sources? Do you feel comfortable that your research will stand the test of time?
Posted by Ron Setzer