The History Data Service (HDS) at the University of Essex (referred to by
Ros Davis) collects databases and other digital resources which have been
transcribed, scanned or compiled from historical sources, and family
reconstitution data is one of the types of data which the HDS collects. If
you are interested in creating a database which can be used by other people
it is important to:
1. Create the data using a software package which will allow you to export
the data in an ASCII data format (most modern database and spreadsheet
packages will allow you to do this fairly easily).
2. Document the data creation process.
For further information try the HDS Guidelines for Depositors available at
http://hds.essex.ac.uk/deposit.stm <http://hds.essex.ac.uk/deposit.stm>
and Digitising History the HDS guide to creating, documenting and preserving
digital resources derived from historical documents available at
http://hds.essex.ac.uk/g2gp/digitising_history/index.html
<http://hds.essex.ac.uk/g2gp/digitising_history/index.html>
With best wishes
Cressida Chappell
Cressida Chappell, Acting Head, History Data Service, Data Archive,
University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, Phone +44 (0)1206
873984, Fax +44 (0)1206 872003, email [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> , http://hds.essex.ac.uk/
<http://hds.essex.ac.uk/>
-----Original Message-----
From: Sandie Geddes [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 10 May 1999 16:36
To: Local-history mailbase
Subject: Re: Family reconstitution
I spoke to Ros Davis at CAMPOP today - she's personally reconstituted 13
Oxfordshire parishes so knows what's involved. Her recommendation
[paraphrased] is:
use MS Access but create separate tables within the database for births,
marriages and burials, this allows for the different types of information
each register contains. Data can be manipulated later using the various
Access functions. It might be worth while creating the tables in 'form'
function using the paper version format as a guide. Don't worry about
standardising tables, concentrate on ordering the columns so they reflect
the information in the registers. Each register (and parish) is different
so standardisation between tables or users at the entry stage is unnecessary
and impractical and, in any event, only becomes crucial if you intend doing
demographic analysis.
Ros uses soundex to rationalise surnames. CAMPOP will be happy to accept
datasets but will not do the demographic analysis for you; Ros suggests
depositing datasets directly with the University of Essex, who now hold the
national archive.
I hope this information is helpful. Many thanks to all contributors to the
mailbase and to everyone who mailed me direct.
Sandie
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