How Did 1950 Census Computer-Aided Indexing Errors Get Past Human Review?
This page was incorrectly indexed:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1F-KRK3
Careful examination of the original document shows that Alberta Pruitt should be 27, not 7, and Doris Johnson should be 23, not 3.
Also, the edit option only allows updating the names. Can this be modified to allow correction to the other fields?
I made the corrections on the Ancestry.com version of the page.
Any explanation would be appreciated. Thank you.
Answers
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The article at https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/128416/when-will-we-be-able-to-edit-every-field#latest might assist in your understanding of the general issue.
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Thank you, Paul W! So if I understand correctly, that ability is coming, but not quite fully deployed yet. Is that right? I have been able on some records to edit more fields than just the name.
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I believe so. Unfortunately, FamilySearch is not the best website when it comes to correcting errors in the indexed versions of original documents. I work on sites large and small (e.g. Find My Past and FreeREG) and reported errors are usually promptly addressed, but FamilySearch does not seem to consider this to be a priority in allocating their limited resources. However, the ability for us to make corrections is gradually being extended and improved.
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@Steve Wassom You can fully edit the 1950 US Census now and fix those ages. Here is how to do it. We'll use your example of Alberta Pruitt. From her record details page (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1F-KRK3) , click Edit. The image comes up in a new view. On the right, you see the information as it was indexed for Alberta Pruitt. To the right of Age, click the pencil icon and make the needed correction and then click Save Changes. Thank you for improving the accuracy of the census index.
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That is wonderful news! It worked great, thanks!
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