abstract: an abbreviated summary of a document that includes the key information: names, dates, relationships (son, widow), role (witness, executor, bondsman), etc.
citation: the formatted information about a genealogical source that connects that source to each piece of family information it provided.
derivative record: one that has been copied, digitized, summarized, abstracted, extracted, indexed, transcribed or otherwise created from another source. Try to track derivative records to the original. When you must use a derivative source, be sure to cite as the derivative version.
direct evidence: information in a source that directly answers a research question. For example, if the research question was “What was his birth date?” then direct evidence of that answer would be a record stating the birth date as 12 May 1835.
extract: a quoted passage…
