Methodology vs. Proof in Genealogy
(The above title/link takes you to James Tanner's Blog and this article.) Here is his introduction to the topic.
"Proof is a slippery subject. How do I prove anything to a person, if that person does not want to accept or believe the proof I offer? The world is full of people who believe all sorts of things based on their own concept of proof such as Aliens, UFOs etc. So how do we approach the idea of. . .
(The above title/link takes you to James Tanner's Blog and this article.) Here is his introduction to the topic.
"Proof is a slippery subject. How do I prove anything to a person, if that person does not want to accept or believe the proof I offer? The world is full of people who believe all sorts of things based on their own concept of proof such as Aliens, UFOs etc. So how do we approach the idea of. . .
"proof" in genealogy? Doesn't all proof come down to who is convinced of what?
Currently in the greater genealogical community, proof statements are in vogue. The process of producing these "proof statements" is summarized in a FamilySearch Research Wiki article entitle 'Evaluate the Evidence'." Thanks to Jame Tanner for putting this together. Be sure to take a look at his Blog, Genealogy's Star. He always encourages us to learn more.) Following is the FS Wiki article Tanner refered to.
Evaluate the Evidence
Having found one or more records about a person, it is time to evaluate what you found and determine how helpful and reliable it is. For example, a birth date from a birth record is probably more accurate than a birth date derived from a census record.
Evaluating the evidence takes place in several phases. It starts as soon as you find a document that must be evaluated to see if it is relevant to the family you are researching. It continues as you transfer the information from the source to your genealogical records and compose a source footnote. In that phase you are evaluating in two ways: (1) a preliminary evaluation of the reliability of the source, and (2) a comparison and contrast of data on the source with other information about the family to see if it corroborates or contradicts other sources. Later, after research on the family is mostly completed, carefully make a final, well-reasoned re-evaluation of all the sources compared to each other to help you reach a reasonable conclusion and write a proof statement subject to theGenealogical Proof Standard.
The records you have found provide evidence relative to your objective. Evidence is information or facts about an event or a situation. The researcher must evaluate if the evidence is valid for meeting the research objective and therefore producing some level of proof. You will want to consider all relevant evidence, but remember that all evidence is not equal.
The process of genealogical research seeks information (facts about events) to answer questions(research objectives) about people. The records searched are the source of the information; therefore you must evaluate both the information you found and the record(s) in which you found it. When considering the record, evaluate its--
To read more of converning this topic, click on any of the links below to research further. All of these were listed at the end of the above information. Each is a link to the information..
This is the link to the whole article in FamilySearch Wiki - https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Evaluate_the_Evidence#Category_of_the_Record
Currently in the greater genealogical community, proof statements are in vogue. The process of producing these "proof statements" is summarized in a FamilySearch Research Wiki article entitle 'Evaluate the Evidence'." Thanks to Jame Tanner for putting this together. Be sure to take a look at his Blog, Genealogy's Star. He always encourages us to learn more.) Following is the FS Wiki article Tanner refered to.
Evaluate the Evidence
Having found one or more records about a person, it is time to evaluate what you found and determine how helpful and reliable it is. For example, a birth date from a birth record is probably more accurate than a birth date derived from a census record.
Evaluating the evidence takes place in several phases. It starts as soon as you find a document that must be evaluated to see if it is relevant to the family you are researching. It continues as you transfer the information from the source to your genealogical records and compose a source footnote. In that phase you are evaluating in two ways: (1) a preliminary evaluation of the reliability of the source, and (2) a comparison and contrast of data on the source with other information about the family to see if it corroborates or contradicts other sources. Later, after research on the family is mostly completed, carefully make a final, well-reasoned re-evaluation of all the sources compared to each other to help you reach a reasonable conclusion and write a proof statement subject to theGenealogical Proof Standard.
The records you have found provide evidence relative to your objective. Evidence is information or facts about an event or a situation. The researcher must evaluate if the evidence is valid for meeting the research objective and therefore producing some level of proof. You will want to consider all relevant evidence, but remember that all evidence is not equal.
The process of genealogical research seeks information (facts about events) to answer questions(research objectives) about people. The records searched are the source of the information; therefore you must evaluate both the information you found and the record(s) in which you found it. When considering the record, evaluate its--
- relevance
- category
- format
- origin of the information
- facts given in the records
- events described
- directness of the evidence
- When and where was the record created?
- Who created the record?
- Why was the record created?
- Who provided the information for the record?
- How was the information recorded?
- How was the record preserved?
- What kind of information is missing or incomplete in the record?
- Are there any other records that are usually associated with the record?
- Which records came just before and after this record and would they give further information?
- Is the record part of a series of records that may contain further information about the family?
- Where are other associated records located?
- How reliable is the information contained in the record?
- What other information is suggested by the record but missing?
To read more of converning this topic, click on any of the links below to research further. All of these were listed at the end of the above information. Each is a link to the information..
- 1 Relevance of the Record
- 2 Category of the Record
- 3 Format of the Record
- 4 Nature of the Information
- 5 Directness of the Evidence
- 6 Consistency and Clarity of the Facts
- 7 Likelihood of Events
- 8 Establishing Proof
This is the link to the whole article in FamilySearch Wiki - https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Evaluate_the_Evidence#Category_of_the_Record