RE: Indexing: Why is all data not indexed? How do I discern specifics requested?
I have just decided to try indexing with Family Search, but find the instructions confusing. For instance "event" - There are MULTIPLE events in the image... marriage, residence, date of entry into U.S., current address etc. How do I know to which event is referred and what if it is only dated on the "oath" in the next image? Do I wait to the second image and add only the date? Also... what about the additional data that is in the image...is that data being ignored and not used? I am currently looking at Missouri naturalization records. I could be including date of marriage and multiple addresses for the people in these images but there are no places to enter that data. It seems that it should all be included as "one" document for the 2 pages and enter all data available.
Best Answers
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Hi Maxine,
Congratulations in working on indexing.
You are looking to see which events need to be indexed. To find out which event is being referred too look at the project instructions. There will be instructions on what to index. Scroll down until you come to the page which reads How to Index............. I open this instruction in a new tab so that I can refer to it until I get use to the project being indexed. It takes times, so be patient. It comes. Just index the data that is being asked to index. Remember this is an index so the Patron looking at the record will know to open the index and find the full information.
If the project instructions are not coming up on your screen, on the top tool bar you will find " i " for information. There are your instructions.
Hope this helps.
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Most importantly, Ladies and Gentlemen, you are posting on a very public site. For your own safety, Please don't post your phone numbers or any personal information.
The link to the video Dellory posted is a really good source to learn about indexing!
The event date on Missouri nats is not the date of arrival. The field help specifically says Do not index the arrival date.
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Why don't you try starting with a simpler batch?
When you get a batch that is too problematic go to the Web Indexing menu at the top left of the page and click on Batch then on Return Batch in the Drop-Down Menu. The batch you have chosen has a lot of rules as to what type of document you are to index and which one you should mark NO on. To get directions for your batch go click on the 15th Icon to the right on the horizontal icon menu that is under the horizontal green line at the top of the page. Instructions will appear. Good luck with them! Scroll down to where they have a hot link that shows you how to index a particular batch. That image is worth more than most of the descriptions.
About all the information that is important that you DON'T index.... Evidently they ask us to index the minimum information that will help a researcher find a person's document... and then when the researcher does find their person's document they can open the document and discover at all the other information. Don't worry! Be happy. Nothing is ever wasted on FamilySearch Web Indexing.
Why don't you try indexing a Boston Tax Record batch? Click on Data Entry (just left of Batch in that Web Indexing menu) and click on Column entry in the drop-down menu. Then you index one column at a time being careful to not miss an entry so you come out even. You can adjust the Brightness and Contrast if the image is too dark or light by clicking on the Tools button (under the + and - in the little black vertical menu just to the upper left of your document 's image. Then click on the "rising sun" icon and adjust the image.
The first column asks for the Event Year. since the event year is nowhere to be found on the document you mark data entry blank #1 BLANK using the CTRL + B keys at the same time. Then put your cursor back in blank #1, go to the horizontal Icon menu and click on the four black bars icon that is two icons right of the "garbage can" icon and you will populate every data entry blank in the column with that one keystroke. A real time and energy saver!!! If you have too many blanks for the number of entries you are supposed to remove them using the garbage can icon. You can add blanks using the icon to the left of the garbage can.
Call or text me if you would like more help with this. Jane 801 599-8760. I don't want you getting all frustrated and quitting the web indexing. And you are right... sometimes the directions are confusing. Be sure to click on the purple circle with the question mark at the head of each column to find out specific instructions for that column. Sometimes the owners of one batch want you to spell out an abbreviation and the owners of another batch want you to type exactly what you see.
P.S. If you want an electronic "ruler" that you can click on and drag into position to guide you on a page do this:
- Click on BATCH in that horizontal menu next to the FS tree at the top left of the page.
- Click on SETTINGS and choose your ruler color and transparency
- Click on DATA ENTRY next to SETTINGS and click on SHOW RULER
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P.S. What are you doing trying to index at 3:07 AM??? And here I am at 10:53 PM!!! We should both retire to our beds early so we can get up early and use our brains at full power for the day's work. :)
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Hi Maxine and anyone else who is confused. I've been indexing for years and yes, sometimes the instructions are confusing. I'd like to mention that you may want to try indexing records that are marked "beginner" as the Missouri naturalization records are marked "intermediate". Basically we are creating a concise amount of information for a particular type of record so a descendant can locate their ancestors and the original document.
To answer your question about 'event' - the date requested is the date the person arrived to the United States as this document is a request for naturalization. CTRL+SHIFT+P will give you the instructions as well as example images you can click on that will show requested information outlined in red. Just check the title of the record you are indexing and use the example image in the project instructions to guide you. It also helps to take your time on the first batch so you can ensure you give the correct information, read the document and project instructions. If you are still unsure, just 'return batch' in the top toolbar under 'batch' and try a different set.
An answer to your question about additional information being omitted: when a person searches for the ancestor in the record, they will find the original document and be able to gather this information themselves. The point of indexing is to electronically transfer the most vital details of this particular document so we can connect the dots for someone down the family line a bit quicker than typing the document word for word. If you think about the bigger picture, a descendant will have other information on their ancestor, such as maiden name and birth year, and that will help them locate this document to get the rest of the information.
Just take your time and relax! Indexing is a stress relief :)
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Here's an indexing tutorial by Kathryn Grant of the BYU Family History Library:
This is a good resource for a beginner!
Also, questions are good, so please come back here when you have more.
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@Maxine McClanahan The answer to your question as to why not all information is indexed is two fold. One is that as stated above these are indexes to help researchers find information. The researchers need to look at the original document not just the index.
The second reason is that these records are generally owned by organization other than the church. The contract to digitalize the records includes what information the owners want us to index.
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Thanks for all the input. I have been indexing for years for other sources, so was a bit miffed by some of the rules that are here. I did try and start with a beginner batch since new to indexing here, but there were none available. I did return several batches that I opened (especially the ones marked English that were not). Even though I now better understand why some of the data is not included here, it does seem a waste as every name is a potential clue, so something like including the name of the witnesses could be pertinent to finding where someone was at a given time in history. The batches I have done in the past with others allow you to include ALL the information on the specific document. Thanks again... also, Jane Jeffries, I'm a night owl. Do my best work late, but it would not have been past 1 AM EST. :)
Also, sorry for the delayed responses, These comments dropped into my Spam folder.
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