Distinguish between the source of the date and that of the place

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You can distinguish between the source of the date and the source of the place. The surety fields in TMG provide you a way to specify which elements of the event came from which source(s). You can independently cite the source(s) for the identity of the two principals, the date, place, and memo (i.e., "1 2 D P M"). In this way, you can also document that the date is more reliable than the place, for instance. Among other uses of the surety fields, you can specify when generating a report that it should include only data which meets a certain threshold of reliability. So reports that are intended for your own use at the library/courthouse might include all of the speculative evidence while reports that are intended for public view (e-mail, published articles, web pages) can include only the most reliable data.

 

This tip was originally published in the Wholly Genes Newsletter, 3 February 2004.