Indexing Feedback To Increase Accuracy

LegacyUser

Jack Richter said: It would beneficial to be able to see indexing changes made by reviewers. This would be a learning experience to help indexers be more accurate. Also, if changes could be challenged reviewers could become more accurate if they misinterpreted instructions.

LegacyUser

Nancy Elaine Harrington said: I agree.

LegacyUser

Slotbuddy said: We have repeatedly asked support for this and all we hear is that this is forthcoming. No one seems to know just when. It is frustrating for all of us. You would think this would be a priority for support as it would make the projects more accurate.

LegacyUser

Juli said: It has been an ongoing plea since before I started indexing (around 2011) that there needs to be communication or feedback at all levels. Back then, indexers got some feedback, but the way it was presented (as a percentage), people mistook it for a "grade" and were unhappy with it. There was also constant begging for feedback or communication in the other direction, for telling arbitrators that they were doing it wrong. Nothing ever came of the latter, and the way they dealt with the misunderstandings surrounding the former was to get rid of it.

I think everyone who has ever been involved with indexing at any level will agree: sending your input into a big black hole like this is a recipe for Bad Things. Both indexers and reviewers will keep making the same mistakes, because nobody ever tells them that they're mistakes, and the quality of the resulting index will suffer.

LegacyUser

Slotbuddy said: Juli, you hit the nail on the head. I've been indexing and arbitrating for many years and the grading was a big factor. No need to grade anyone. All that's needed is to let the indexers see the results of the review showing the changes. Arbitrators aren't marking tests. If the reviewers are making errors, allow the indexers to respond accordingly. Anyone who can't do this in a civil manner shouldn't be allowed to index or arbitrate.

None of us are perfect; we all make errors. The idea is to correct those errors, not to cast aspersions on anyone. We just want to improve the end result not insult anyone.

LegacyUser

Jason Pierson said: Giving feedback is bubbling up near the top this year. The first feature we plan to implement is to allow reviewers to flag an indexer for training and/or abuse. Most indexers just need guidance. A handful of destructive, malicious indexers need to be identified and locked out.

Other ideas we have to improve quality include:
-let people browse finished batches to get a feel for the work of others before they start.
-let users do smaller tasks that are easier to master and require very little instruction. Today's model of indexing can be very complex.
-provide an "ask the audience" quick-vote to get opinions of others on the fly while indexing.

I wish we had more engineers to get this stuff done more quickly! We have a long list of things yet to build and everyone has an opinion on what's most important:
-mobile apps
-indexer appreciation
-recommend images to index based on a person's tree
-collaborative, simultaneous indexing (ala google docs)
-bring stats over from the old system
-features to make indexing more usable for those with disabilities
-batchless, single-image indexing (just give me another image until I decide to quit)

We're also still fixing bugs, which is an ongoing battle. With web indexing so new, we're uncovering scenarios that hadn't yet appeared. As you've all seen, we're having trouble getting you to projects where you can open a batch. It's a very complicated problem and requires some significant engineering work to do it elegantly. We didn't see this problem until we had 20-30 projects all with only a few batches still to index and hundreds of people fighting to get one checked out. You no doubt see the problem with the 99% complete projects. We're actively working on solving this and other work has been put below it in priority.

Another variable is the "coming soon" ability to correct indexed records. The need for perfect records is reduced if people can correct them later. Getting more records, even if imperfect, out to more people may be more beneficial than requiring perfect records before they get published.

Thanks for bearing with us. I know a lot has been promised over the years and sometimes it seems we don't deliver on much. We thank each of you for the work you do. Every record indexed is a potential hint or temple ordinance and that has a real impact on people's lives every single day.

--Jason
Product Manager, Indexing

VickyBush1

Hi Jason...I know your post is 3 years old now... but if you're still working with indexing...

I started indexing Belgium Namur civil birth, marriage, death records about 3 months ago and have hit the 1000 records mark. Now I have the option to review. I am not a native of Belgium--both my grandparents were. My French is not fluent, but somehow I'm able to read and understand the records with less and less challenges as I gain experience. But--I have no idea how well I'm doing. Is there any way this thread could be addressed? I'd love to simple get each batch back in a non-editable format that shows the reviewer's comments or changes. It would be extremely helpful in developing accurate.

Also, is there any individual heading a particular set of records? 99% of the questions and answers on this board are about issues we don't face with the Belgium records. Could a group be created for each Project--so we could confer with each other?

Are there particular training videos, for reviewing? I've done a few batches now and have found obvious mistakes--but again, everything I have done has been without any feedback. I can't seem to open the links some experienced indexers have posted.

I'll post this in the ideas place, too.

Vicky Bush