Convicts and early settlers

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Archival research terms

Record—information of permanent and historic value, often in paper-based form (e.g. a letter, photograph, a map), but can also be a CD, a film or a digital file

Item—a single record or many records, e.g. an item may be a single architectural drawing, a 500-page leather-bound book, or a bundle of correspondence (letters, telegrams, reports)

Series—a group of related items created, received, or used in the same activity

Agency—the Government Agency responsible for creating a series. For example, the Department of Education is the Government agency who created a series of School Admission registers for Runcorn State School. An admission register for Runcorn State School would be considered an item within that series.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The records held at QSA may contain names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have died. The terms found in the records reflect the period in which they were created. As such, some words and descriptions may be culturally insensitive. Records may also contain offensive and derogatory terms which are unacceptable today and may cause distress.