I interacted with the AI at ChapGPT trying to see if I could get it to give me a proper EE citation. I kept feeding the information I copied from the (Ancestry.com) image page of the census doc and it kept giving me a different result. I had asked the AI to use the Quicksheet - Citing Ancestry Databases and Images and confirmed the publication date of the document to ensure we were working on the same page. We were. It kept doing the citation incorrectly in different ways... UNTIL I gave it the format. While this kind of defeats the purpose of saving time, now that I've written it I can reuse the text many times. The result was very good. I just need to make a minor correction or two. If anyone uses ChatGPT, or just wants to try this out, have at it. By the way, it does make a few mistakes so the result needs to be checked. For example, on one attempt the AI missed adding the page number.
The way this works: I paste the first paragraph below into the chat box, then paste the "Source" data from the census image page on Ancestry. Finally, I add the person name, line, dwelling and family number, URL, and access date. Below is an example of what I typed and the result the AI gave me:
Me to AI:
Use this template to complete a citation: [Year] U.S. census, [County], [State], population schedule, [City or District], [Enumeration District], [sheet or page number], [dwelling or visited number], [family number], [name of person], imaged at Ancestry ([URL or database name] : accessed [Month Day, Year], citing National Archives microfilm publication [National Archives and Records Administration T number and Roll Number].
Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Tallahatta Springs, Clarke, Alabama; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0019; FHL microfilm: 2339742 Description District: 0019; Description: PRECINCT 16, TALLABATTA SPRINGS Source Information Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data:United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Name of person Thalia Hutto, line 52, page 5B, Dwelling 92, family 98, URL https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4531769_00926 accessed 10 February 2023.
AI to me:
1930 U.S. census, Clarke, Alabama, population schedule, Tallahatta Springs, Enumeration District 0019, page 5B, dwelling 92, family 98, Thalia Hutto, imaged at Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4531769_00926 : accessed 10 February 2023), citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, Roll 2,667.
