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BetterGEDCOM Citation Elements

See also: file/detail/Geir%27s+high+level+considerations+on+citations+in+BetterGEDCOM.pdf

BetterGEDCOM defines a Citation Element as, "An identifiable field in a citation that is associated with particular data."

A starting place. The structure of this page will probably go through several revisions. Applications with source systems based on GEDCOM will have a small number of Citation Elements. Applications with larger source systems will have large numbers of Citation Elements. John H. Yates studied Evidence Explained (2007) and found about 550 elements in the QuickCheck models alone. Groups like Zotero have their own set of citation element-like fields. Some applications allow users to define Custom Citation Elements. Application consider formatting and other characteristics of Citation Element data fields differently. In BetterGEDCOM, we have to consider concepts of "master citation" (master source), too.

We want to start in a smart place, in the right place. The concept that follows is only one wy. If you have ideas about a better way to begin, just say so. We are eager to hear about that "better way."

Rather than work with raw citation element descriptions (whether from one Application or another, or from one Style Guide or another), we should compile and work to refine a "Smart List."

I've set up a "first list" in a Google docs spreadsheet. Let's work together to make it a smart list that can serve as a starting point.

BetterGEDCOM Citation Elements worksheet
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tt5hFiFvzKiBJYuQIZFGNAg#gid=0

I've also posted a condensed version of the elements Yates extracted from Evidence Explained (2007)--it presents only those elements in the Full Reference Note. As mentioned during Developers meetings, the extracted element labels lack the "context" of an example so that working with them could result in errors (when viewed in context, for example, Date is sometimes only Date, other times it is clearly Access Date). The condensed worksheet is titled, "Distill Full Reference Only Yates." See https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhGBiJ9HyACHdDhTaC15Y3hKWHdqSG44dmRyNnlPVFE&hl=en#gid=0


Moderator's note: Please do not refer to line numbers on the spreadsheet in discussions, as the line numbers can change.