Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Why was Simple Citations created?
- How much does it cost?
- What other citation approaches are there?
- Are there any "standards" for citing family history sources?
- What genealogy software programs can use Simple Citations?
- Are the Family Historian 7 templates the same as those for RootsMagic?
Why was Simple Citations created?
Simple Citations was created because none of the software applications for maintaining family history data has ever incorporated (or developed) a standardized, simple-to-use, method to cite genealogical data in a consistent manner. Indeed, citing sources has always been a nightmare. Part of the reason for this is that the first software application to receive widespread use was Personal Ancestral File (PAF) which advocated the GEnealogical Data COMmunication (GEDCOM) standard as means to share genealogical data between computer programs. Unfortunately, GEDCOM became the de facto standard despite the fact that it was so poorly designed. Having used the earliest versions of PAF myself (which was a DOS program), the problems with inconsistent data entry were evident from the very beginning - since then, there have been many revisions of the GEDCOM "standard," none of which have adequately addressed the problems - especially those surrounding how sources should be cited. Periodic attempts to replace it with something more usable have yet to be successful (we can only hope).
Another problem is that traditional citation systems (i.e., APA, Chicago, MLA, Turabian, etc.) are all very usable for traditional sources (books, magazines, journals, etc.) but were never intended for use with genealogical materials. The information that family historians must cite are extraordinarily diverse and range from gravestones to census records; documenting these materials is nearly impossible with traditional citation systems.
How much does it cost?
Absolutely nothing. It's FREE!
What other citation approaches are there?
- Richard Lackey's Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records remains, arguably, the best book on citing genealogical sources. Unfortunately, it is now obsolete as Dr. Lackey passed away before the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic records. His book, however, is very well written and useful.
- Elizabeth Shown Mill's Evidence Explained!: Frustrated with the lack of a solid citation system, Ms. Mill's developed her own system that was, arguably, the first to consider electronic records. While she put considerable effort into her approach, it is extraordinarily complex, requires that a lot of thought must be put into citing every source, and is extremely time consuming. In addition, it produces citations that are not standardized and often inconsistent. Even the promotional materials from the publisher state that there are "more than 1,000 citation models"! (No, that's not a misprint - here's a Google search for "Evidence Explained" "more than 1,000 citation models"!) Simple Citations, on the other hand, uses just ONE TEMPLATE (subdivided into three smaller templates for ease of use)!
Are there any "standards" for citing family history sources?
No, there are no widely accepted standards on how genealogical sources should be cited.
What genealogy software programs can use Simple Citations?
Simple Citations was created for use with RootMagic (RM) as that was the first program that introduced templates for citing genealogical sources. That, of course, was a major step for users wishing to cite sources consistently. While it is possible to manually enter information into other programs using the approach advocated by Simple Citations, things are simplified greatly with the use of templates. (As noted elsewhere on this site, Simple Citations was developed around just one template which was then split into three smaller ones to simply data entry.) The RootsMagic Templates may be found here.
During 2021, another software application, Family Historian 7, added the use of templates to their program. The implementation of templates added features that were long overdue in RootsMagic. FH is now highly recommended for use with Simple Citations as entering data is far more efficient than when using RM. It should be noted that RM data imported into FH maintains the integrity of the data originally entered into the RM templates, although new templates designed specifically for FH in order to take advantage features that were never available in RM. The Family Historian 7 templates may be found here.
Are the Family Historian 7 templates the same as those for RootsMagic?
Yes and no. Simple Citations was created for use with RootsMagic (RM) as that was the first program that introduced templates for citing genealogical sources. However, more than a decade later, another software application, Family Historian 7 (FH7). was released and it also supports templates. Briefly, the RM and FH7 templates are essentially the same but FH7 has features that are not available in RM and, therefore, has some minor differences. For further information, please visit the Family Historian 7 page for details.