The information contained within a source, whether the source is original or derivative, may be Primary Information or Secondary Information.<\/p>\n
PRIMARY INFORMATION:\u00a0 details originally\u00c2\u00a0recorded at the time or close to the time of an event by a participant, eyewitness, or official recorder of the event.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Even if details\u00c2\u00a0in a record qualify as\u00c2\u00a0Primary Information, Primary Information does not guarantee that the information is accurate .\u00a0 Errors\u00c2\u00a0might have\u00c2\u00a0made when\u00c2\u00a0the details were\u00c2\u00a0recorded .\u00a0 Nonetheless, Primary Information is usually the most accurate information available, as long as the details are recorded by someone capable of understanding the significance of the information and does so without bias .\u00a0 Frequently, the recorder is someone acting in an official capacity, such as a Registrar, Clerk, Secretary, Minister of the Peace, or Priest.<\/p>\n
SECONDARY INFORMATION:\u00a0 details originally recorded at a time or place distant from the original event or by a person who was not either a participant, eyewitness, or official recorder of the event.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Secondary Information, since it is generally recorded at a much later time than the actual event or by someone who does not have first-hand knowledge of the event, may be less reliable than Primary Information .\u00a0 As with Primary Information, the quality of Secondary Information is subject to the qualifications of the person who recorded it.<\/p>\n
I have\u00c2\u00a0placed one qualifier in the definitions of Primary and Secondary Information that most genealogical references do not, in that I have defined\u00c2\u00a0Primary and Secondary Information in terms of when the details were\u00c2\u00a0originally<\/em> recorded .\u00a0 Thus, a transcript may be a Derivative Source, but the transcript may include Primary Information if the source from which it was transcribed contains Primary Information .\u00a0 Primary Information in a Derivative Source is, however,\u00a0subject to the\u00c2\u00a0potential flaws of\u00c2\u00a0the source itself.<\/p>\n
A source often contains both primary and secondary information .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0For example, a\u00c2\u00a0Death Certificate usually contains Primary Information about the death itself, but may also include Secondary Information about the birth of the decedent.<\/p>\n
Bibliography:<\/p>\n
Devine, Donn. “Reliable Information- Whatever the Source: The Key to Sound Research.” Ancestry Magazine<\/em> 19 (January\/February 2001) .\u00a0 Online <http:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/learn\/library\/article.aspx?article=3657<\/a>> .\u00a019 August 2006.<\/p>\n
Leary, Helen F. M .\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part 1:\u00a0Definitions\u201d Evidence Analysis, A Workshop<\/em>, 1999 NGS Conference in the States, National Genealogical Society (Arlington, Virginia: NGS, 1999).<\/p>\n
The Board for Certification of Genealogists,\u00a0The BCC Genealogical Standards Manual. <\/em>Orem, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, 2000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The information contained within a source, whether the source is original or derivative, may be Primary Information or Secondary Information. PRIMARY INFORMATION:\u00a0 details originally\u00c2\u00a0recorded at the time or close to the time of an event by a participant, eyewitness, or … Continue reading