Rewording on FHAR Article #25527
I appreciate this article very much, but there is one sentence that I believe should be reworded. For me, this sentence creates confusion about who is included in this statistic.
Section #1 - Definitions - Four Generations
This is a wonderful explanation of how the statistic is calculated, but the last sentence says "These percentages are then averaged across all the adults and youth in the ward. This chart represents all adults and youth in the unit."
If I understand correctly, though, it should say, "This chart represents all adults and youth in the unit who have FamilySearch accounts."
This would reflect the change made in 2023, which is explained in Section #3 as follows: "“The “Family History Activity Report” found in Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) has been adjusted to represent only the Family Trees of members who have a FamilySearch account. "
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The article is correct. The bottom number of the percentage is the total of all the adults and youth in the unit (regardless of account status) - this is the maximum possibility in the unit. The top number now no longer contains those who don't have accounts - this is what has changed.
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Thank you for clarifying this. I am trying to teach others how to read and use this report, so I want to make sure I understand it. The wording in this article is still confusing to me. The following first statement seems to contradict the next 2 statements.
- These percentages are then averaged across all the adults and youth in the ward. This chart represents all adults and youth in the unit.
- First 4 Generations of Ancestors in the Tree: The percentage of members with FamilySearch accounts who have 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree.
- “The “Family History Activity Report” found in Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) has been adjusted to represent only the Family Trees of members who have a FamilySearch account.
I think you are saying that the old report had a denominator of only members with FS accounts and now the report has a denominator of all adults and youth in the ward. That's why the percentages lowered.
Instead of saying that the report only includes trees of members who have accounts, isn't it also true that if a member doesn't have an account, they are counted as a "0?" That is how every member is represented.
Instead of saying that the report is "The percentage of members with FamilySearch accounts who have 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree" wouldn't be more accurate to say "The percentage of 4 generations in FamilySearch that is complete, averaged for all adults and youth in the ward."
Please do not take my comments as argumentative. I just want to be confident when teaching others.
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The denominator has not changed. It has always been the total number of adults and youth in the ward.
What changed is the numerator. Previously, the ancestor percentage would be counted for everyone who had a FamilySearch account, and also for people who had never signed in to FamilySearch, but for whom their ancestry could be calculated using membership records (since membership records link a person to their spouse and parents, and if those people are also Church members, a set of ancestors can be inferred). The change is that those calculated ancestors are no longer counted -- a person has to actually have a FamilySearch account that they have signed into at least once in order to be counted. If they have no account, they now count for 0 as their portion of the numerator.
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It can get tricky to explain, but the statement "The percentage of members with FamilySearch accounts who have 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree" is incorrect. Basically it's the percentage of your 15 4-generation ancestors that is calculated. I'll explain that later, but I don't have time right now.
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From the FHAR Guide:
- Four generations: A count of the percentage of an individuals first 4 generations showing in Family Tree. These generations go through the great-grandparents and consists of 15 people. The generations counted include: yourself, 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, for a possible total of 15. If you have 15 out of 15, it is 100%. If you do not have a FamilySearch account, it is 0%. For example: If a person has themselves, 2 parents and 3 grandparents, they would have 6 out of 15, or 40%. These percentages are then averaged across all the adults and youth in the ward. This chart represents all adults and youth in the unit.
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Thank you Alan Brown. I agree that the statement "The percentage of members with FamilySearch accounts who have 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree" is incorrect. This statement implies that you either have or don't have 4 generations, rather than calculating how much is complete. That exact statement is in the FHAR Guide and it is confusing, even though the intent is correct.
Instead of thinking that we are only counting those with FamilySearch accounts, we are actually counting everyone, but they are counted as a 0 if they don't have an account. I believe this explains it: "The percentage of 4 generations in FamilySearch that is complete, averaged for all adults and youth in the ward." (This implies that your percentage is 0 is you don't have an account, or 100% if completed, as explained in the above calculations.)
Sorry to be so particular about verbage, but I want to use the correct vwords when I teach others about this report. I appreciate your help Alan and Amy.
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What Amy quoted is correct, and I think explains it pretty well. I don't understand why there are still statements in the documentation that imply it's an all or nothing statistic for people; each person can get anywhere from 0 to 15 out of 15.
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I have submitted a request to have the knowledge article updated to correct the misleading statements in the Report Information section that imply that the 4-generation statistic counts members (it counts 4-generation ancestors) or that it only counts those with a full 4 generations (people can get partial credit).
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thank you
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Alan, thanks for your input. The new report is out. Unfortunately it still has the wording, which is technically incorrect. This is wrong: "The percentage of members with FamilySearch accounts who have 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree". As we discussed it is actually the average percentage of ancestors (out of 15) that is completed in the 4 generations in FamilySearch Family Tree.
I think I can explain this statistic in my upcoming meeting, but it is confusing. One scenario I like to think of is that if every member in a ward had an account and had entered only themselves and their parents (20%), then the statistic on the report would be 20%. That is the percent of ancestors completed, even though 100% of the ward members would have an account and have some members in their 4 generations.
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In case you need to request an update in the future, here is the Help Center article "How to provide content feedback or request new instruction"
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