Genealogy Do-Over - June 2018

I am taking part in the Genealogy Do-Over this year. 

The Genealogy Do-Over tasks for June are:

1. Evaluating Evidence
2. Reviewing Online Education Options

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1. Evaluating Evidence

Since I first started my genealogy do-over in January I have been progressively educating myself about the methods for source analysis and evaluating evidence. This month I have been putting those methods into practice. 

I started by evaluating the evidence on my own birth certificate. I have purchased a copy of Evidentia 3 software (watch this YouTube video for more information about Evidentia 3 - Evidentia 3 for Beginners - June 27) which has made the process of learning to evaluate evidence much easier for me. I still have a lot to learn though. 

I classed my birth certificate as a 'Derived Record' because, while it is a certified copy of an original held by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, it is still a copy and not the original document. 

In Evidentia 3 I recorded the claims made by my birth certificate and classified the information from each claim as primary, secondary or indeterminable. I then selected the facts (e.g. birth, mother's name, father's name etc.) for which these claims gave evidence. 

Some examples of the Primary information from my birth certificate included:

• My name.
• My birth date and place.
• My mother's name.
• My father's name.

Examples of the Secondary information from my birth certificate included:

• My mother's birthplace.
• My father's birthplace.

Evidentia 3 also allows you to classify the evidence provided for a fact as direct, indirect or negative. For example, my birth certificate provided direct evidence for my birth date and place - the date and place were directly stated. 

I am still finding myself a little confused when classifying information and evidence and I know I will have to continue to learn. While I continue to learn I have created some checklists in Evernote to check each time I am analysing a source and evaluating the information and evidence. 

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2. Reviewing Online Education Options

This month I have viewed the PDF Thomas MacEntee created - RESOURCES Free Online Genealogy Educational Resources. I hope to get some new ideas for genealogy education options from this resource list.

In the past, I have watched educational genealogy videos online. Examples of the YouTube channels I have subscribed to include: Ancestry, AncestryAU, AncestryUK, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, Genetic Genealogy Ireland, Guild of One-Name Studies, Calico Pie (Family Historian Software) and Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems.

I have also learned a lot in the past by reading the content on the FamilySearch Wiki.

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The full list of Genealogy Do-Over topics for 2018 is on Thomas MacEntee's Abundant Genealogy web site.

© 2018. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally posted at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2018/06/genealogy-do-over-june-2018.html 
Genealogy Do-Over is © Thomas MacEntee.