Detail to include in Source

[Allison Akgungor]

I am a new Reunion user and wonder how much specific detail to include in a Source.
Should it be "1871 Canadian Census Collections Canada" which I can use repeatedly for different people or should it include the detail for only one entry including family name, township, county, and page and possibly a link to the website. I will be attaching actual images when available. I want to do this right the first time.
Allison

[theKiwi]

Re: Detail to include in Source

This has come up here frequently over the years.

I, and many others believe "you can't have too many sources" and making a new source for every bit of information you find is a good strategy.

So specifically, I would make a new source for each family you find in the Census - even if it means you have 50 sources about the 1871 Census. Then each one can point to a specific page of that census directly and exactly.

And when you attach an image to the source, it is the image about exactly that source.

Roger

[Mary Arthur]

Re: Detail to include in Source

I want to make it as easy as possible for someone else to see what I saw, so, the more detail the better. I tend to use the detail field. I would say, pick one way and stick to it!

[John Hill]

Re: Detail to include in Source

I am a new Reunion user and wonder how much specific detail to include in a Source.
Should it be "1871 Canadian Census Collections Canada" which I can use repeatedly for different people or should it include the detail for only one entry including family name, township, county, and page and possibly a link to the website. I will be attaching actual images when available. I want to do this right the first time.
Allison

I take a different approach from that of Roger. For the 1871 census, for example, I have a single source for all instances and put the Piece, Folio and Page numbers in the detail field. This is all that is required to recall the image or pass the reference to someone else.

If I want to keep the image for reference myself (should I lose Internet access, say) I download it and keep it in a folder on my computer.

At present I have 72 images for the 1871 census, and a total of some 500 for all censuses. And this is only a fraction of the census citations! If each was a separate source, I would be overwhelmed!

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Detail to include in Source

Allison - you have asked the right question! This is what new users need to decide about their sources, before it becomes a major task to change. The debate over few sources or many is an old one, and you will find that people tend to support whichever policy they have been using - which is good, since it suggests everyone is happy.

That said, I am wholly with Roger. There are some very clear practical advantages to the many sources approach. For example, to summon an image of that particular page of the 1871 Census which is relevant in context, I have only to type (say) s447, and one double click brings it up. For another example, to make a new source requires very little typing - just duplicate the nearest look-alike from the list (see attached screenshot), change one or two numbers, and of course replace the image.

[Katharine Ott]

Re: Detail to include in Source

I am a new Reunion user and wonder how much specific detail to include in a Source.
Should it be "1871 Canadian Census Collections Canada" which I can use repeatedly for different people or should it include the detail for only one entry including family name, township, county, and page and possibly a link to the website. I will be attaching actual images when available. I want to do this right the first time.
Allison

I guess I use a mixture of the methods already mentioned. Generally, I add the Census Source and then use the detail portion to identify image, County/Township, roll # including FHL, pg/sheet, SD & ED, date taken and line number. But, if it's a direct ancestor, I create a separate source and include an actual image of the page. Works for me! So far.