data corrections

Question

I'm just curious. Are we supposed to/encouraged to, make transcription error corrections when adding sources to the biography or is it best to just leave them as is.  Thanks

Answer 1

I think it is a judgement call. If the image is available and you can see that it was incorrectly transcribed then I think it makes sense to correct the information in the citation. But if the information was recorded incorrectly (say by the enumerator in a census) then I leave it as is since the citation is telling us what the record says. But in the narrative in the bio or in household tables it is fine to change things to be clearer - like expanding abbreviations in occupations.

Comments

Thank you, Rob, I appreciate your direction. Even enumerators mishear what they're being told and write it down as such. Keeping the record intact would be important. I'll try and keep my bias in check when it comes to the transcription aspect. Thanks again!

Answer 2

Transcription best practices are to transcribe exactly what is on the page.

For example, the U.S National Archives says:

Type what you see and follow the order and layout as best you can. Type words exactly as they are written in the document. This includes capitalization, abbreviations, names, dates, and even misspelled words. If you happen to find a misspelled name, place, or event within the record, we encourage you to add a tag or a comment with the correct spelling of the word. 

FamilySearch has a page on making transcriptions. The main points are similar: Write exactly what is on the page.

A transcript or transcription is a true word-for-word rendering of a document with the original punctuation and spelling. All notes and marks on any page are copied as faithfully as possible in the presented formatting...Any abbreviations in the text should be transcribed ‘as is’. Usage like Jan^y or Marg^t should not be ‘interpreted’ as what you think it might mean...While we encourage the usage of day (numeral) – month (letters) – year (in full numerals) in our own writing of articles, reports, family histories, etc, in a transcript they must be exactly as presented. We do not ‘interpret’ old-style calendar dating or Quaker style as modern equivalents.

Whether the information in the document that you transcribed is or seems wrong is a different issue. If you've got a census that says someone with four children and a husband was only six years old, you should transcribe the record exactly as it it (if transcription is necessary for some reason). However, it would be silly to enter her birthdate in the profile to match that date, because it's obviously wrong. Something that obvious probably doesn't need a research note, but if it's not so obvious the a Note can be useful.

If you're saying there is an error in the source citation that you're copying from somewhere like FamilySearch or Ancestry, that's also different. Their citations are riddled with errors and frequently lack complete or correct information. There's no reason at all to use their pre-written citations. Write your own.

Answer 3

I transcribe it as is, but put a note, like "last name transcribed incorrectly", or "Emly Jan" is most likely "Emily Jane".