I would like advice on entering more recent death references as source citation details. I tend to rely on whatever Ancestry creates but the newer stuff is not always there.
Admittedly, this is 2003, but it conveys the query I have.
As you can see, the information is not presently exactly the same. So what exactly goes in my source citation?
They look the same to me, with the sole difference that the GRO Search reference says that the DOR is Q1 of 2003, while the Certificate says March of 2003. Fortunately, March is in Q1, so one is just slightly more granular than the other.
More importantly... the GRO Search Results are just that: search results, and thus unofficial.
The GRO Certificate is an official document, so use that as your source. Always use official documents when possible.
Up to 1983 the registers were quarterly, so the index entry gives the quarter when the event was registered. There is no way of telling the month of registration from the index entry alone. In 1984 the GRO moved from quarterly to annual indexes, and entries include the month of registration. But on their own site the GRO don't show the month, they have 'converted' them back to quarters. I've no idea why they have done this, except possibly for consistency with earlier years. The indexes on Ancestry and Findmypast, and the microfiche versions, include the month of registration, which in this case happens to be March, but there is no way you could tell this from the GRO's own online indexes alone.
Just wanted to add my support to Audrey's answer and to add a bit about citing references to GRO (English/Welsh) certificates.
There are now two versions of the GRO index.
Because of this, the two do not represent an exact match.
The original contemporary indexes have been digitised and 're-indexed' on a number of websites, including: FreeBMD Ancestry Findmypast
The index references up to 1983 are, however, to all intents and purposes, identical:
Note that the latter includes the mother's maiden name - a detail which was NOT shown in the 'original' indexes until 1911.
In both cases, the full GRO reference comprises the following elements:
Year of registration
Quarter of registration - usually shown either as MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC or Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
Name
Registration District Volume
Page Number
This reference is the only 'correct' way to cite a GRO certificate. The certificates themselves don't have a reference - all we have is the reference shown in the index so these ARE official references.
After 1984 an entirely different referencing system was adopted which I will attempt to describe in another answer. This one is long enough!
In the original case above the only original document involved is the register entry held by the registration office.
In addition to the year/quarter, there are three elements which make up the unique reference.
District: Wigan & Leigh ( which has a code of 0181C)
Register Number: C19B (This refers to a physical binder containing individual register pages)
Entry Number: 130 ( The individual entry in the register - which will be out of 300)
