Free Online Genealogy Course with FutureLearn (Week 1)

[Romilly]

I've done quite a few other Future Learn Courses, which have had Live Google Hangouts, and this is the only one which has been problematic... The problems must have been with Strathclyde, - but fingers crossed that they will have ironed out the issues before another one takes place.

Romilly.

[jaybelnz]

Thumbs up on iPad  👍👍👍. That's for everyone who's doing the course!

I haven't seen the You Tube thingie yet. 

[hsfam]

Rosie - I just write down the site I got them from - Anc*y or FindMyPast or FreeR. It's then just a question of typing names into a box and hey presto there they are! I think proper genealogists would frown on that though. Should I be more professional?

tl;dr Life's too short to develop an anxiety complex over a source citation.     

I basically work from Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained but to tell you the truth, I'm not that strict at following the templates. I just adapt stuff so it makes sense to me and add enough that I can find the original source again. I'll usually make a note identifying whether it is just an index/database entry, transcription and/or whether it includes the original image. I also know that 20 years from now, the same sources/repositories/databases etc may no longer exist (such as findmypast or FreeBMD) so it is good to know where & when you found information.

I don't like to make things too difficult for myself so just copy a previous source citation and change the details. As a lot of information comes from the same sources (parish records, census, FreeBMD etc) this makes it pretty easy and just takes seconds. If the site I download from provides citations, I just use theirs and tweak a bit, if I think it is necessary (but usually don't as I'm lazy). 

When it comes right down to it, I want to have fun with my research and don't want to be weighed down. However, I know that citations are important to support and validate your research. So I do just enough that it doesn't become a burden and a joykiller. 

I'm curious. What does everyone else do? For e.g., Use the templates in your FH program, metadata in digital files, handwritten on back of hardcopies, notebooks or spreadsheets, bits of paper? Do you follow a particular format or just wing it?

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So, for example, for the 1871 UK census I have:
"1871 England Census," database and image, findmypast.com.au (http://www.findmypast.com.au : accessed 28 February 2016), entry for James Smith (age 45) & family, Bury St Pauls, Bury, Lancashire; citing PRO RG 10/3958, folio 40, p. 5; Bury registration district, Bury subdistrict, household 27.

For FreeBMD:
"England & Wales, FreeBMD Index: 1837 - 1983," database, FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl : accessed 29 February 2016), birth entry for Nancy Diggle; citing September [quarter] 1844, Bury, vol. 21, p. 273.

Online Parish Clerks:
"Baptism records for St Mary the Virgin, Bury, Lancashire, England," transcriptions, Online Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire (http://www.lan-opc.org.uk : accessed 28 February 2016), entry for Richard Diggle baptised 4 May 1804; citing "LDS Film 559157, Register: Baptisms 1799-1808, Page 72, Entry 6."

For Family Search or Trove:
I just use their citations & add bits for clarification if necessary.

[StevieSteve]

Yes, that was what I was referring to when I said it would do my nut

Mine would be

1871 Census

Census 1871 Hayes, Middlesex, England RG10/1311/60/20 GOODALL, John Repository: Ancestry

BMD

BirthRegisterYeovil1861Q4WalterJuke  Repository: GRO
Reference : 5c 483

Online Parish Registers

Baptism Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, Wales 7 MAY 1859 William Evan Breeze
Reference 2171
Repository FindMyPast

Family Search

BaptismRecordHayes1815HenryWhiffen
Reference 992523
Repository: Family Search


TroveMelbourne1862CalebBooth
Reference: Melbourne Argus 23/8/1860
Repository: Trove

The first and third is mainly generated by the data entry into the FH software itself
The others are where I have to do my own 

[3sillydogs]

I'm with StevieSteve on simplicity.  If I have an image I will just note where I got it from (most have a ref attached anyway) otherwise just a simple note saying where I found it.  I use the tree programme on my pc and attach information to each person with a simple notation.

That being said, I do like to keep "hard copies" and have a file of information kept on templates downloaded along with copies of any images I may have (in case of pc failure even though I have backup)

It's supposed to be fun so don't want to get too bogged down with "proper" ways of doing things.  To each his own I say, whatever works for you is the right way

[Millmoor]

Just to say that the Welcome to the Course article 1:1 has been updated with a more detailed summary of what is going to be covered in the remaining weeks.

William

[groom]

Just to say that the Welcome to the Course article 1:1 has been updated with a more detailed summary of what is going to be covered in the remaining weeks.

William

I think from reading some of the comments on there and on FB, quite a few people went into the course thinking it would help them break down individual brick walls. I can't see how such a course can do that, all it can do is show different records etc. Even then, people who are researching from countries such as India are going to be disappointed.

It would be interesting to know what the drop out rate is.

[jennywren001]

I wonder if anyone could recommend a few threads that illustrate how brick walls have been knocked down here at Rootschat. It would be useful to illustrate how Rootschat operates given I'm plugging it shamelessly
Jen

[Millmoor]

Any course will have a drop out rate. Having read  a large number of the comments I prefer to look at the positives. All I can see is great enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. That so many people in this first week, those new to the subject and those more experienced, have realised that it is crucial to look at sources in a critical fashion has to be a good thing.

Jen keep up the good work!

William