Documentation

Documentation is the written explanation for how you recreated a historical thing. Specifically, if you enter SCA Arts & Sciences Competitions, you may be asked to submit documentation for your item. This can be an index card, a page, or a full essay describing the steps you went through to make the item and what researched went into it.

If you're entering a competition, it's a good idea to ask the A&S minister early on about what kind of documentation is required for that specific event.

From the West Kingdom A&S Handbook

On the West Kingdom website:

Documentation is an important part of the competition because it's the opportunity to tell the judges about the work you've done. Here are some tips for good documentation:

• Provide some historical context for the piece: explaining research and demonstrate to the judges an understanding of how, why, when, where, and who did this sort of work in the medieval period.
• Indicate your level of expertise in the topic area.
• Provide a "recipe": explain how you made your piece, what materials / supplies were used, why any substitutions from what was actually used in period.
• Printouts of web pages may form part of a good set of documentation, they are not sufficient on their own; so include a bibliography of research sources.
• Entries must be anonymous, DO NOT put your name (mundane or SCA) on the documentation.
• Make it legible and easy to read, then staple or bind it so it won't get scattered.
• Provide three copies of documentation for each entry (one for each judge).

Resources

How to Document Entries for Arts Competitions in the SCA by Juana Isabella de Ramirez y Montoya -- A step-by-step example of what you might include in your documentation.

Demystifying Documentation by Sabrina de la Bere -- From an old version of the West A&S Handbook, but the principles still apply!

Documentation Is Not a Dirty Word by Karen Larsdatter -- Important things judges may look for.

Documentation and Beyond by Susan Reed -- An in-depth look at how documentation fits into research and vice-versa.