Reminder - Do your corrections!

We have noticed that sometimes people get their checks back, and they forget to make all the corrections the checker said were needed. I don't mean corrections that the inputter didn't agree with. I mean the inputter entirely ignored the checking document she/he received.

We don't do checks to annoy everyone. We do them for two reasons:

1. Quality control of data
2. Ongoing training

When you get your checks back, you don't have to immediately stop what you're doing. But you must complete your corrections by the NEXT DAY. If you're in the middle of a soldier, you may do your corrections before you resume work on him the day after you receive your checks.

Also, you must READ EVERY LINE that the checker wrote. Ask questions if you need to. Make ALL necessary corrections. The checker should have made that easier for you by highlighting them in yellow.

If you don't read the checks or make the corrections, then everyone is just wasting a lot of time. Sandy will probably start randomly opening soldiers in the screens to see if the corrections have been made.

More on making corrections

It appears that when reviewing your check sheets, some of you are only looking at what is highlighted in yellow. You should be reading every single word on your check sheet. Sometimes the checker forgets to highlight something in yellow. Sometimes the checker has a question. Often it will say something like, "look at it and see what you think," OR "ask Sandy and decide."

These checks are for ongoing training not just to improve the quality of 10% of the work or to annoy inputters. Please read all of the information written on your check sheets. Make sure you understand what the checker said. If you don't understand, seek clarification. Maybe you disagree with a change the checker made. Discuss this with the checker and Sandy or me. We want to make sure we're all on the same page and that everyone is able to collect excellent data.

Making corrections

Each of you are checked at least twice a month. When you receive your check sheets, make sure you review them and make all necessary corrections. We have noticed that this does not always happen. It is important for your ongoing training and the quality of the data that these corrections be made. If you disagree with or don't understand something the checker said, please discuss it with the checker. You may also ask Sandy or me for clarification.

Additionally, sometimes an incorrect census decade must be deleted. I do this for many of you. After the deletion is made, sometimes a red X is left behind. I will not assume that this X needs to be changed to yellow. I'm happy to do that if you tell me, but I will not do it without your instruction. Therefore, if you ask me to delete a census decade, you need to make sure that it hasn't left a red X on your grid. It also doesn't hurt for you to double check that I correctly did what you asked me to do.

Corrections on Ancestry

When a name is indexed incorrectly, Ancestry has a mechanism for you to correct that name. Please email me by the end of the day on Monday, to let me know if you do this. We are trying to figure out if a lot of the names we've worked on have been corrected.

Additionally, per Noelle, please stop correcting names on Ancestry. We're trying to speed things up, and this slows us down. Also, we are working on some name matching algorithms, and we are concerned that these name corrections will interfere with the name matching tests we are doing. Please don't ask me to explain that, because I really don't understand.

A note to checkers

Here is a little checking reminder from Sandy.

Checkers:  Please be sure you are actually making the changes on the screens that you are writing down on the checking doc. If you want the inputter to make the corrections, make sure you highlight it in yellow.  I've been spot checking what checkers say they have changed, and it hasn't always been done.  I think the problem is that you write down the mistake on your check sheet first before you correct it,understandably wanting to look at the screens to type accurately the mistake the inputter made.  By the time you finish typing everything, you have forgotten that you haven't actually made the change.  Please double check that you have made the corrections!!

Be sure after making the corrections that you click SUBMIT, rather than just closing out of the screens, to make sure the program saves any changes that you made.