Data Volunteers

The Society has a policy of transcribing original documents and then making that information available to members through our local database. We also copy that data to the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) who then pass that data on to FindMyPast. Customers of FindMyPast then pay to see that data and part of that payment is passed to the Society.

The process

We have project coordinators who seek out new projects and these are then passed to our teams of volunteers. On completion the work is passed to our data manager who verifies the data before passing it onto FFHS.

Transcribers work from the original source documents. Originally these transcripts were handwritten, but later typed, or printed. These days that transcript is entered straight into a spreadsheet. We can sometimes obtain scanned images of the source documents but often the transcribers will have to visit the repository and use a laptop. A pre-formatted spreadsheet is provided and the transcriber then acts as the data inputter.

Data inputters are provided with some work – this is usually a transcript and may be handwritten, typed, or printed. In the past this has been provided as a paper copy but nowadays it is usually a scanned image. A pre-formatted spreadsheet is provided and the data inputter inputs the data into that spreadsheet and returns it to the coordinator, who will give it a quick review.

The spreadsheet from the inputter is then passed to a checker who checks it, and returns it to the coordinator.

The checked data is then passed to the data manager who has a number of software tools which will be used to verify the validity of the data before that data is uploaded to our database, and also submitted to FFHS.

Transcribers, Data Inputters, and Checkers

The basic instruction is simple – copy the information (or data) from the original source to the relevant columns in the spreadsheet. Most of the source documents already have the data in some form of order; usually columns, and the provided spreadsheet should have those same columns. The spreadsheet will nearly always contain columns that are irrelevant to that source and these can be ignored. The source may contain data that does not match the spreadsheet – do NOT create a new column – put it into the Notes column.

The spreadsheet includes a validation macro which can be used to identify queries. It is located in the header worksheet.

Dos and Don’ts

Type what you see; no more, no less. Any obvious comments in the transcript should be enclosed in square brackets in the Notes column.
Enter dates as 30 not 30th, and Jun not June. There is a drop down menu but it can be quicker just to type the dates.
Years prior to Lady Day should be entered using the current calendar. If you do not understand that then refer to your Coordinator. We are not embarrassed about it nor should you be.
Type Forenames as they appear. The data manager has software tools to index the abbreviations consistently.
Type Surnames in CAPITALS.
Put each person on a separate line. A baptism for e.g. Janet & John should be split onto two lines and a comment put into the Notes field e.g. [Joint baptism with xxxx]. Do not assume that they are twins unless that is stated on the source.
Use the drop down menu for relationships. The list is not complete so overtype anything that is missing e.g. 5th daughter – that is the sort of information that can be important.Leave missing fields as empty fields. Do NOT enter as ‘Blank’, ‘missing’, ‘…’, ‘-‘ etc. We have been informed that there are some people actually called BLANK. If you think this is the case then report that to the coordinator.
Use question marks for missing or unreadable characters, one for each character.
Stick to the standard alphabet (A-Z) in the Forename and Surname fields (plus a hyphen). Initials should be entered without full-stops and separated with a space. The Notes field can be used for extra information.
Foreign names should be entered without any accents etc. The FindMyPast specifications only allow the characters on an English (UK or US) keyboard. As we are only inputting data from the North-East this is unlikely to be a problem for volunteers.
Do not be afraid to ask for help. It is better to be embarrassed early on rather than have to do the whole job again.

Auto correction and predictive text

Modern computers appear to have a mind of their own and insist upon entering words and characters that you have not typed. Do not shout at your computer – it has no effect. On the other hand shout at your computer – you will probably feel better for it. There is an undo option (usually Ctrl+Z) which will revert the correction.
Do not enter part ages as fractions (¼, ½, ¾). These should be entered as whole numbers in the Age column and as text in the Notes column e.g. 5 1/2 months. If your software does convert them, then just leave them, the data manager will convert them back at a later stage.

Special cases

For burials there are no fields for date of death. If present, this should be put into the Notes field.

Monumental inscriptions

The same basic rules apply as set out above. Try and be as helpful as possible to the final customer even if it seems that you are being long-winded. There are some extra requirements re the Inscription and Notes fields. Note that everyone mentioned on the stone needs to be included, even if not buried there.

Inscriptions

The standard layout is: [stone type] text [source] [location].

There is no need to state that a stone is a standard upright one. If it is anything else try and help the customer to find it e.g. [low headstone] [laid flat] [cross on plinth] [column on plinth] [plinth only].
Type out the text as best you can. Use a slash “/” to mark the ends of lines. Use dots … to indicate unreadable text, except in Forenames and Surnames where question marks should be used.
Be honest with illegible text: if all you can make out is that there might have been four lines of text there then state that e.g. [at least four lines of text now illegible].
Give details of the source e.g. [1999 transcript by Joe BLOGGS]. If it turns out that there is any error then you can happily pass the blame on to the transcriber.
Give brief details of the location e.g. [south of the church] [north west block] [division G].

Notes

Be careful about creating ambiguities e.g. husband of Jane SMITH, blacksmith is better as: blacksmith, husband of Jane SMITH.
Enter full details of all relationships e.g. husband of Jane SMITH; wife of John SMITH; son/daughter of John SMITH and Jane.
Children should be described as son/daughter/child of John SMITH and Janet, rather than child of John and Janet SMITH
Include the place of death and/or burial if elsewhere. There is no need to state that they died in this parish.

Image names

Spaces are not allowed in these filenames; use a hyphen or underscore instead.
Do NOT use numbers with leading zeroes e.g. 007.jpg. When these are entered into the spreadsheet the software will convert 007 to the number 7. Either start your numbering at 101, or 1001, or with a leading letter.
There is no need to include the name of the church/cemetery in the filename as long as each image name is unique for this project. Try and make the image name link up with the location. If the stone is [north of the church] then north-001 or n-001 is better than my-church-789.
For multiple images of the same stone use suffixes. Try to use sensible letters e.g. l (left), r (right), p (plinth), g (general view), b (back).
Some stones cannot be photographed with one image. These can be photoshopped to give a single image. In that case give them the suffix x.
Include a map or description to explain the logic behind your filenames. This can be very simple: the cemetery has four blocks: south east/south west etc, and the images are: se-001 etc, sw-001 etc.

Volunteering

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact one of the coordinators: Coordinator

Last updated 15th September 2015

Data Inputter instructions