Quick Name Review
Why are there no US documents in the Quick Name Review? Surley there are miliion of records out there for our country!
Answers
-
It all comes down to whether or not FS has a contract with the record custodian. No contract = no records.
Another reason is that millions of records were indexed prior to the switch to AI. I myself indexed almost 350,000 records prior to the switch and there are users that indexed when the records were on microfiche.
There aren't a lot of indexing sites out there; Ancestry shut theirs down a handful of years ago. The two I use are From The Page and The National Archives' Citizen Archivist. I'm doing Virginia WWII Army discharges and Tennessee death records on FTP and just finished up Purple Heart cards dated 1942-50 on Citizen Archivist.5 -
Additionally, FS needs to pre-process a set of images (do an AI-based full text transcript, and split the image into multiple record areas if necessary) before it passes them across to Get Involved for Quick Name Review etc.
I put together a little write-up of the AI-based indexing process a couple of months ago, it is here Thoughts on FamilySearch Indexing and Get Involved.pdf if you are interested.
3 -
I just found some historical records to review in the US in the Quick Name Review. I did not specify a specific state and just reviewed whatever was available. Sometimes there is a lot of activity in certain states, like Idaho and Utah, and the collection becomes very limited. However, here is a quote from FamilySearch from their Help article: " If you do not see a review opportunity that interests you, please check back in a few weeks or months. We may have new records to share with you. https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/help-with-quick-name-review
1 -
Quick Name Review is one of the Get Involved tasks/opportunities designed for a variety of skill levels and all ages say 8yrs to 100 yrs- for @dancingintherain my observation is that Quick Name Review is only designed to verify what AI indexing saw on the original document page. If I'm right maybe Get Involved users should try Full Name Review or Verify Places?
0 -
You are correct in your observation. In Quick Name Review as well as Full Name Review, AI becomes our companion in helping us make names searchable in a timely manner. Quick Name Review is quick and easy for all ages, usually reviewing only part of a name. AI is not perfect in reading names, and neither are humans, so together we help each other review and transcribe names the best we can. This community is so valuable for sharing notes and experiences; for example, when reading old handwritten records, I find that each person has their own writing style. A friend helped me to develop a "best practice" when trying to decipher a name. I look at other words and names in the record to try to determine how that particular person makes their S's, for example, or their L's. I love the tips and encouragement we get from each other. It was thoughtful of you to encourage others to try Full Name Review or Verify Places. Quick Name Review is exactly that "Quick," and the collection can be completed in a matter of days, so more records are being added to Quick Name Review and to all the Get Involved opportunities quite often.
1 -
@dancingintherain @maryellenstevensbarnes1 Yes, I do enjoy Quick Name Review for another reason. I spend maybe 2-4 hours a day doing Family Indexing Review in Spanish Language countries and if it goes well I might finish and submit from two - five Families. Between the two tools developed to complete those Family groups it takes many minutes/hours to read and translate the handwritten records, compare with the AI translation, and attempt to fix problems that allow the Family Review to be submitted. They require experience with indexing/reviewing/translation of old records/critical thinking skills and patience. When I finish those few hours I have a headache, tense muscles and fatigue (that's just me) and find that the easier task of QNR is just what I need to unwind and relax.
I do have concerns though on QNR that we are spending too much time Reviewing clergy names rather than just Family names. My understanding is that in the current projects of QNR, FNR, and FIR we do not translate/review clergy whether it be Monsignors, church clerks/secretaries, Reverends, Presbiteros [sp], Bishops, Curates, and so forth. FIR has recently improved the experience by mostly not including the clergy names but QNR still includes them. The clergy are often written 2-6 times in each record and the AI translation is mostly wrong, repeatedly. They include the signatures of the clergy which are almost impossible to read—I'm still trying to find a reliable example of one name after 3 months, otherwise I enter "UNSURE". Can the AI be programmed not to include the clergy?
0 -
@Mary Rice I think Get Involved QNR and FNR activities are programmed/designed for participants to review each name it sees in the document only to see if AI is picking up the name exactly as written regardless of "job"/vocation titles such as clergyman, Reverend, Sisters (Catholic nuns) etc. Personally, I never enter Unsure unless I cannot read the illegible cursive or the type-overs of the 1900-2000th centuries. I have some 300+ hints for extended family names so I spend my 3-4 hrs daily much the same as you Aren't we lucky?! 😅
1 -
@maryellenstevensbarnes1 I understand better now from your reminder that QNR and FNR are just to identify if AI has accurately translated names. I get annoyed at having to check clergy names more often than the family names but that is my impatience to deal with. Yes, Unsure is reserved for untranslatable names, mostly signatures. Thanks for your assistance.
0 -
@Mary Rice You're welcome - I consider all community members as friends and as we all often say, "That's what friends do, anytime." 😎
1
