Transcriptions Rules and Techniques

Transcription

1 Transcriptions Rules and Techniques

2 Photocopies and printers are wonderful and make it easy for us to reproduce genealogical documents and records but many people never learn the importance of copying transcriptions.

3 Transcripts are word-for-word (exact) copies that provide an easily readable version of documents. Abstracts, or summaries, help bring out a document s essential information.

4

5 Everything should be rendered exactly as found in the original source, spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and the arrangement of text.

6 Everything should be rendered exactly as found in the original source, spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and the arrangement of text. If a word is misspelled in the original, then it should be misspelled in the transcription.

7

8 If you are not sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in brackets [?]

9 If you are not sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in brackets [?] If part of the word is unclear, include [?] within the word to indicate the unclear portion

10 If you are not sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in brackets [?] If part of the word is unclear, include [?] within the word to indicate the unclear portion If you can read enough to make a guess, present a partially illegible word with the unclear portion followed by an enclosed question mark, i.e. cor[nfie?]ld

11 If you are not sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in brackets [?] If part of the word is unclear, include [?] within the word to indicate the unclear portion If you can read enough to make a guess, present a partially illegible word with the unclear portion followed by an enclosed question mark, i.e. cor[nfie?]ld If an entire phrase, sentence or paragraph is unreadable, indicate the length of the passage.

12 If you are not sure of a word or phrase then flag it with a question mark in brackets [?] If part of the word is unclear, include [?] within the word to indicate the unclear portion If you can read enough to make a guess, present a partially illegible word with the unclear portion followed by an enclosed question mark, i.e. cor[nfie?]ld If an entire phrase, sentence or paragraph is unreadable, indicate the length of the passage. If part of a word is obscured or missing but you can determine it from context, just include the missing portion within square brackets without the question mark.

13

14 Anything you add that is not included in the original document, must be included in square brackets [like this].

15 Anything you add that is not included in the original document, must be included in square brackets [like this]. If you feel a need to correct a misspelled word must be in square brackets rather than use the word sic.

16 Anything you add that is not included in the original document, must be included in square brackets [like this]. If you feel a need to correct a misspelled word must be in square brackets rather than use the word sic. Do not abuse or overuse this tool but use it only when it makes clarifications such as with people or place names or hard to read words.

17

18 If you are using a word processor for your transcription, turn off spell/grammar checker so the software does not auto-correct misspellings, punctuation, etc.

19 If you are using a word processor for your transcription, turn off spell/grammar checker so the software does not auto-correct misspellings, punctuation, etc. Your transcription is not complete until you add a citation to your original source. Anyone using your transcription should be able to locate the original.

20

21 For most documents an abstract includes names, dates, places and other information that could be of use in solving genealogical problems.

22 For most documents an abstract includes names, dates, places and other information that could be of use in solving genealogical problems. Extraneous words, such as legal language, are omitted.

23 For most documents an abstract includes names, dates, places and other information that could be of use in solving genealogical problems. Extraneous words, such as legal language, are omitted. Abstracts are especially useful for legal documents such as deeds and wills.

24 For most documents an abstract includes names, dates, places and other information that could be of use in solving genealogical problems. Extraneous words, such as legal language, are omitted. Abstracts are especially useful for legal documents such as deeds and wills. Abstracting is not complicated but it takes practice.

25

26 If you are not sure of the genealogical significance of an item, include it.

27 If you are not sure of the genealogical significance of an item, include it. If a lengthy portion of a document is genealogically significant, include it in the abstract but set it off with quotation marks.

28 If you are not sure of the genealogical significance of an item, include it. If a lengthy portion of a document is genealogically significant, include it in the abstract but set it off with quotation marks. If you are not sure if the language is boiler plate examine similar documents from the same time period (such as deed books).

29 If you are not sure of the genealogical significance of an item, include it. If a lengthy portion of a document is genealogically significant, include it in the abstract but set it off with quotation marks. If you are not sure if the language is boiler plate examine similar documents from the same time period (such as deed books). DO NOT forget to include a citation to the original source.

30 Jacob Boerema has designed a handy program called Transcript that opens the image or document on the top while leaving you room at the bottom to type (transcribe) the document or image.

31

32 Can be used with XP, Vista, and Windows 7

33 Can be used with XP, Vista, and Windows 7 Free for personal use

34 Can be used with XP, Vista, and Windows 7 Free for personal use Download it at m#downloads

35

36 Word format templates

37 Word format templates UK, Canadian, and US Census

38 Word format templates UK, Canadian, and US Census Free and downloadable

39 Word format templates UK, Canadian, and US Census Free and downloadable Genealogygenius.com

40 Abstracting & Transcribing, Genealogical Documents, Transcription Rules & Techniques by Kimberly Powell