poor search results
Very poor search results using the new homepage. Searching for a relative who last name begins with "N", but every result comes back with a last name starting with "C". Not an even close match to the name. Brought this up previously, but the answers from support are underwhelming.
Comments
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The Search from the Home Page searches everywhere - records, the tree, genealogies, the catalog, books. I picked an "N" name at random (Norton), and search gave me over 2 million results. With the page set to the maximum of 20 results, every one on the first page was a Norton.
If you're searching for records, records search is a better place to start IMHO. If you are looking for people in the tree, the Find option will give you better results, with fewer false positives.1 -
@Ken8991 Can you recreate that search then when you are on the results page that only shows last names starting with C copy the URL and post it here? That will let others here see your exact search criteria and results. Then someone may be able to explain why your search is going awry or give some pointers as how to search better.
The search engine is quite good and tries really hard to provide what we entered to search on. That is not necessarily the same as what we think we entered for criteria. In addition, the results can get quite strange when what we think we are searching for just does not exist.
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I miss seeing the option to "search by ID" as readily available or easy to find. I was unable to see where I can search by ID. I actually could not easily find a "search bar" to ask the question! Thank you! Sister Payne
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It seems unable to narrow the criteria, despite prompts, which makes finding the details more difficult.
Could this be an issue between applications? One which - depending on the user/ interface of the device which is being used- that it is missing a step - or glitching? - in sharing the data details?
For example:
Lucy searches her MGF on her Iphone with this application. She is able to find some detail but has issue narrowing location, even when specific, or year range, even when shown & specified.
In hoping to Ancestry, more data is available. The same lack of boundaries also lives in this program however.
Same creator? Same glitch. 🫤Might be better served if there was a deviation between how these applications function as FamilySearch had a far better and user friendly interface several years ago.
It is beginning to look like it wants to be a social site -however- I am an introvert. I am not looking for social interactions. I would like accurate profile data and clarity, cited sources with the ability to verify accurate information if possible.
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Again, if you could post a specific search result list URL to illustrate the problem, it would help a lot to potentially provide an explanation for what you are seeing.
In general, the search engine on FamilySearch is quite good at finding what one is looking for if such a record exists at all. However, like almost all search engines these days it is designed to be fuzzy and overly helpful in that in addition to showing good matches, it will provide every possible combination of close matches it can find just in case they are helpful. There are however strategies to get around this often times unwanted enthusiasm for unreasonable suggestions. But those do depend on the type of search one is trying to do.
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