Evidence Evaluation

[Buzz 0]

There are times when two or more sources provide conflicting evidence about the same event. Where should the reasons for selecting one over the other be recorded so the explanation will be reproduced in narrative reports. For example if a place of birth is different from two sources it could be that one is more reliable because of the informant. The reason for accepting one over the other should be noted, but where? In the citation detail, memo or perhaps somewhere else?

Thanks,

Buzz

[Terry Reigel 0]

The reason for accepting one over the other should be noted, but where?  In the citation detail, memo or perhaps somewhere else?

Yes.

 

I do some of both, depending on the nature of the issue. Minor issues, especially when I think one source is probably just wrong, I usually document in the CD for the citation of that source. If it's a bit more complex, I note in each citation what that source says, then cite a special "conclusions" source in which I write up the whole thing in the CD. Note that these methods put the issues in the footnotes, which is where I think they generally belong.

 

But if it's really important, I put the discussion in the memo of a tag. I have a custom "Research Notes" tag for documenting and discussing significant conflicts in sources, especially conflicts in parent/child links.

 

All this is discussed more fully in my article on Conflicting Information on my website.