I do think that the evaluation process needs some beefing up in our genealogy management programs. I can rate my citations using a 1 – 5 Star scale. I’d like to have the option to NOT SHOW any 1 or 2 star rated Citations, because I have concluded that the Source where those Citations came from is un-reliable. I don’t want to toss them, because they may help identify Negative evidence or Conflicting evidence.

From the programs I have used, we don’t have a good way to mark conflicting evidence and tools to resolve those conflicts.

Thank you for you comments.

Russ

It’s been a very interesting discussion. I hope you visit Randy Seaver’s Geneamusing Blog as well. He has a similar post, with comments.

Thank you for your comments.

Russ

~Katie~

~Katie~

I use the ToDo list all of the time. I am creating a Category in my ToDo list with the Repository Name, so that I have that list to take with me AND it will be linked to the Person.

I think, based on your comment, that I will have to do a Blog Post, not here, about how to do this.

Thank you for your comments.

Russ

RE: I rarely took at any personal trees. If and when I do, I am not looking for data, but for Sources. Perhaps that tree owner has a Source that I hadn’t looked at to date.

I agree with your ‘sourced’ / ‘unsourced’ comments. In fact, this year I am focusing on cleaning up of my 10+ year old file. Wow, has things changed. BUT I have found “unsourced” facts in my own file.

Dear MYRTLE and I did a Webinar last night on the Integrating Software with Online Discoveries. Both of us pointed out reasons for getting our research Online. We used the word Collaboration several times. That’s were we are being taken, which is not a bad thing.

If you look at the WikiTree tab on this Blog, you will see how I am doing this Collaboration for my own family. The “Facebook Generation” is helping me to gather family information, even as we speak.

As you mentioned in Randy’s Blog, we are spending our research time Online. Let’s use that to our advantage. That also suggests that we may have a responsibility to Educate the “Newbies”, when we find the Undocumented information, and encourage / education them on what they might consider doing and not throwing a tantrum. (Encourage them)

So, I think we agree on this.

Thank you for your continued dialog on this topic.

Russ

Also, for those who are SO concerned with erroneous data online, let me ask a question. When you come across information online or offline that is not sourced, what do you do? Assume it’s true? Assume it’s false? Assume nothing because you don’t have enough information to make a decision?

When I research both online or offline, any information that I come across that is sourced OR not sourced I immediately assume nothing until I can vet the information. So why is everyone so upset when they come across unsourced information? Wouldn’t the first ever genealogist have come across unsourced information? Should he or she have thrown a tantrum because it was unsourced?

Instead of getting upset at those people who do not publish sourced information both online and offline and instead of training new researchers to never publish unsourced information, perhaps it would behoove our community to instruct or suggest to question everything no matter the source [if there is one]? Wouldn’t this yield a better researcher in the long run?

Just a thought and a controversial one at that.

~Caroline