Challenge of the Week: Propose merges for duplicate profiles [closed]

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

Will you join our "Data Doctors" Challenge of the week?

Once again, Aleš has come up with something to help us work together on a category of profiles that need our help. This time it's duplicate profiles.

Duplicates are two or more profiles that represent the same person. Since our mission is to create a single family tree with one profile per person, duplicates work against this aim.

Here is the list of potential duplicate profiles.

Will you join us in reviewing them, and deciding whether they're really duplicates? If they are, propose the merge.

Record a status update every time you do one. This will earn you a point. The member with the most points at 11:59pm EDT on Sunday night will get the Winner badge this week and the bragging rights.

If you're participating, please post here to let us know. It's nice to cheer each other on. Or post if you have any questions about how to participate.

Thanks for helping!

Real-time tracking results: See your stats 
alongside other participants here.

Top 10

• Brian K. Bourn - 797
• Graeme R. Olney - 553
• Patricia A. Roche - 277
• Pam A. Dale - 239
• Sonja Hoile - 190
• Paula J. Cullen - 188
• Cindy L. Cooper - 121
• Carolyn S. Martin - 85
• N. Gauthier - 79
• Bonnie L. Saunders - 75

Comments

Challenge is active.

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Who is in charge of giving out the badges? Thought I won one recently and don't see it. Maybe I did not win???

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I will have a go too!   I have merged a few already but there seems to be quite a few already completed when it comes to merging them..

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PLEASE if you complete a merge do the appropriate clean up of duplicate headings and sources.   Make sure that you are not creating errors by merging people who are NOT really duplicates.

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I’ll give it a try.

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https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/631771/data-doctor-challenge-guide

This should explain most of it.

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I am starting today :)

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I'll see what I can add to this, baby makes it hard but we get some stuff done on down times !

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I would love to join this challenge. Starting late on it, but will do as much as I can.

Regards,

Sarah H. Shaw-Saenz

Answer 1

I am going to tackle some of the English ones.

Comments

I proposed some merges yesterday and they were individuals who had all been given a birth date after one date and a death date before another. They came up as possible duplicated siblings but the PM has sent a reply to them being children who died young. I did some research today and have found their first names and birth registration. They had all been recorded with first name as unknown.

Hopefully the PM will now update them and I told the PM where I found the names so they should have a source recorded.

I will check back with the PM if I don't hear anything more.

Just had feedback from the PM with a big thank you and she is going to use my suggestion to find some of her other unknowns,

Win Win for everyone as removes unknowns and deals with error suggestion.

Answer 2

Hey, everyone! Posting for Steve Tibbetts. He wanted me to pass along this message:

 

Spreadsheet is all updated to track what everyone is working on.

http://tinyurl.com/Doctorsheet  Spreadsheet

http://prntscr.com/hk72jy  Screenshot instructions

Using the spreadsheet is NOT mandatory.  However, it basically IS a copy of the table, it has the link for the tracker built in, a link to suggestions breakdown by country/state/province, and you can color cells or write in empty cells below to let people know what you are doing.

Posted for Steven Tibbetts. Tibbetts-150

Answer 3

Will do what I can to help out!

Answer 4

I'm in.  Will be working on my suggestion list. Just happen to have a big group there that need merging. You know, the people that are half siblings to themselves...

Answer 5

Hi! will try a few! error 106, group 1700-1799

Answer 6

I'm in, I have been working on Duplicates between global tree and unconnected a bit in the last couple of weeks, so I'll continue there.

Answer 7

I will participate in this duplicates challenge. I am new to the Data Doctors group, so can I get a badge, please and thanks.

edit ... So I started on a few of them and just want to check something.
Following the suggested list, I initiated a merge and then noticed that one of the parents was also a duplicate. I did initiate the parental merge, but did not know how to count the parent for this challenge, since the parent is not on the wikitree challenge list. Is there another way to count the parent ? Thanks

Comments

Unless the parents also have a merge suggestion there is no way to count it. I usually only suggest the parents merges and not the children's so that they don't get disconnected from one set and no longer look like matches especially if dates differ, and then when the parents merges have gone through, propose the children's merge if the profile managers haven't already. It may take a bit longer but it hopefully results in less lost profiles disconnected from everyone. I then leave a "Comment" rather than "Proposed Merge" saying this is what I have done, which counts as an action for the challenge I think. However, that's just how I go about things and proposing all the merges at once is also an option.

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Hi N.

to ask for a Data Doctor's badge, please go to this g2g post and click on "answer"

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/557300/join-the-data-doctors-project-and-become-a-data-doctor-3

Thanks!

Emma :-)

Answer 8

I'll work on some too.

Answer 9

Hi, I would like to join the challenge and work on Quebecois profiles.  The spreadsheet has a link to the category breakdowns by place (good).  That brings up the error summary list for Quebecois (good).  But every cell I click on there has a 404 error.  What next?

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/DBE_ErrorList_Challenge_5_Quebecois

Actually there are so few errors in Quebecois that I would be willing to work on them all if I could get the listings.

Comments

Here you go: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/DBE_ErrorList_CAN_QC

Compliments of Steve. You have to use Can QC. Not Quebecois.

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Thank you Chris and Steve.  This is working and I can use this list for quite a while!  Will start with the possible duplicates.

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Yes, the Can QC errorlist updates each week. Those with the word "challenge" or "Wikitree" don't. They are static reports.

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Yes the new link was helpful.  I've been working my way through . . .

I saved it for future reference in other challenges as I have good sources for Quebecois people and like to work that group.

Answer 10

Hi, I'll work on 585, FindAGrave, subgroup 1800-1899.  Should be fun.  ~ Karen

Comments

Had an interesting time with this last night -- couldn't tear myself away until about 2 a.m.  I've figured out how to work on this within the Michigan  report, so today I'll switch to the 585 Find A Grave category there.

A half hour after I merged two clear orphaned duplicates, someone else merged in another duplicate profile, and someone who manages other profiles in the family adopted the resulting profile.  Is this sort of flurry unusual?

My merge resulted in duplicate husbands and sons with last names spelled the same, except for one letter.  I was unable to determine which spelling was correct, so did not initiate the merge.  One husband and son are orphaned and the others are managed by the PM who just adopted the wife.  I wrote to the PM about the situation and asked if he planned to address the remaining duplicates.

P.S. I forgot to mention that this is my first challenge since receiving my Data Doctors badge last week.

Answer 11

I’ll look over the list.

Answer 12

I'll have a go at the Scottish ones.

Answer 13

I am willing.  Let’s see if I can figure it out.

Answer 14

I love merging the ones that need to be. I am in!

Answer 15

I'm in! Looking forward to having a go.

Answer 16

I am working on all of France merges (whichever ones Isabelle hasn't already gotten to )

Comments

Thanks, Emma - I'll be eternally grateful if you clean up some of those. I'm afraid I focussed on low-hanging fruit  !

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Zut alors! I was working with the same strategy (In other words--Isabelle can get the hard ones. MDR. ;-) )

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Some of them are pretty sticky, aren't they?

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I was showing Emma some of the ones I was running into last night and I guess she was still in last week at that time. Oops

Answer 17

Add me please. Gotta go to the 7th ring of Hell (AKA Motor Vehicle licensing) but may still have time.

Answer 18

I’m late to the party but I’ll see how many I can get done before it ticks over.

Answer 19

I'm in. Duplicates are the bane to my existence. I have see a lot on my tree already.