[Genealogy] Data and No Thoughts, and More

Wed Dec 17 18:15:31 CST 2025

In Today's Email:

**Data Data Everywhere and Not a Thought to Think
**Full-Text Searching at FamilySearch--2026 Update
**Consultations--schedule for January 2026

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Data Data Everywhere and Not a Thought to Think
---------------------------

I gave the speech over fifteen years ago, when the amount of online
information was not what it was today. It was clear then we were headed to
a day when access to data would be significantly less restricted by
geography and other physical constraints. The title, or the final remark at
the end of the speech, I can’t remember which, was “data, data, everywhere
and not a thought to think.”

The essential point of the speech is just as true today as it was then:
access to data does not make us better researchers. Use of technology, in
and of itself, does not make us better researchers either. There are some
who are convinced that it does. Research and analysis is more than larger
amounts of data and faster computers. More information coupled with
technology does not guarantee higher quality research. A fancier calculator
will not, by itself, bring every student to the same level of skill and
understanding.

More data and better tools can make good researchers better and allow them
to operate faster when they are less bound by physical limitations and time
constraints.  These tools can also make sloppy researchers sloppier and
better equipped to spread their slop around.

Sometimes the more information to which we have access, the more difficult
it is to research–at least in some cases–as there is more chaff to separate
out from the wheat. There are times where much of the supposedly new
information is not really new at all, but instead is a rehashing of
information or compilations and conclusions from other sources. And there
are times where sorting through the research of others is an exercise in
trying to understand their madness, a slippery slope that some of us would
rather not travel down.

There is the mindset in some circles that research is “better” if it is
conducted using the most recent software available and if it is published
using all the bells and whistles that modern technology has to offer.
That’s not true at all. Good research can be done and conclusions written
without using the more recent software and genealogical database management
there is. In some circles there is the mindset that it’s not good if you
aren’t using the most up-to-date everything.

That’s not true and that’s not a bandwagon on which I choose to jump.

It’s not just about the data. It is also about the analysis and the
interpretation. And most of the time that analysis and interpretation
requires the researcher to be aware of a variety of underlying historical,
cultural, legal, and other factors impacting the records and families at
which they are looking.

That doesn’t change whether they are looking at a digital image, a
microfilm image, or the actual record.

And analysis typed up on a manual typewriter can be just as accurate as
analysis typed up on the most recent computer. Although why you’d choose to
still use a manual typewriter is another matter entirely.

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Revised Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026

-----------------------------

We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people. Available for download by
5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.

If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for January 2026

Your purchase includes:

   - *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
   - *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
   searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
   customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
   document.

We’ll be including and discussing:

*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.

*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.

*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.

*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.

*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.

*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.

*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.

*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.

*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.

Available 5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.

-----------------------------
Consultation Sale--A Gift to Yourself!
-----------------------------
Give yourself that perfect holiday genealogy gift--a research consultation.

We are still offering our genealogy consultation sale--save $40.

We will look over your problem--submitted following our easy-to-follow
guidelines-and give you a list of next steps. We will  also discuss your
problem with you. The Zoom meeting is a discussion--not a lecture.

Sale is running now but consultations will be scheduled after the first of
the year to give you time to focus on the holidays and get your
problem together.

Just putting your information together may give you ideas.

Details at:
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/consultations-with-michael/

Jump start your research without a large cash layout like required by most
genealogy research firms. Some problems can be solved with a little
guidance and not 40 hours of $75 per hour research.

------------------------

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--
-- 
------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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