* Filtering results on Ancestry

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Gowermick
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Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Gowermick »

I have done a broad christening search on Ancestry, that returned nearly 1000 results, so too many to browse through.
Down the left hand side, the list of filters tell me that 17 of these results can be found in a somerset collection - that’s manageable, and I suspect it should contain the result I’m after.
But clicking on the filter link, Ancestry tells me it has no results in that collection-eh?

Is it me, or does anyone else have similar problem. Why is it showing there are 17 results, yet failing to find them?

BTW this is not the first time I’ve experienced similar problems with these filters.
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Mark1834
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Mark1834 »

It doesn’t answer your question directly, but in general I find it much better to search individual datasets rather than a global search. From memory, there are two large Somerset baptism sets on Ancestry (split on age), so you should be able to find what you want fairly easily.
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by AdrianBruce »

I've had that same problem. But.... I just found the opposite problem!

I searched for someone, filtered down to Birth, Baptism & Christening and saw that the list of filters showed 4 results in Cheshire, England, Select Bishop's Transcripts, 1576-1933. When I selected that, I got six results, not four.

In that instance, I can see that the filtered six are actually wrong since they include two burials, even though I was supposed to be working with Birth, Baptism & Christening.

Not sure what all that means apart from showing that the assembled queries don't match...
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by AdrianBruce »

Mark1834 wrote: 23 Feb 2022 12:57 ... in general I find it much better to search individual datasets rather than a global search. ...
Kinda depends. Individual collection searching on FMP, from the search screen built for that collection, certainly is a lot better because it probably gives you better search criteria.

The problem with baptisms etc is when collections don't cover everything - such as the possibility that the two Somerset baptism collection are just CofE (say) and non-conformist baptisms are elsewhere, maybe not in a dedicated non-conformist collection, just a generic one.

I guess thinking is called for!
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Gowermick
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Gowermick »

Mark1834 wrote: 23 Feb 2022 12:57 It doesn’t answer your question directly, but in general I find it much better to search individual datasets rather than a global search. From memory, there are two large Somerset baptism sets on Ancestry (split on age), so you should be able to find what you want fairly easily.
You're missing the point Mark! Ancestry is telling me there are 17 results in Somerset, so I should see 17 results, as I would expect to see had I limited my search to Somerset in first place, but I don't!
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Gowermick
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Gowermick »

Further to my reply to Mark, sometimes I often find I'm presnted with a list with no dates whatsover. On examination of accompanying image, find the 'matching' result is 100 years outside my search criteria, and all that matches is the name.

I think the filtered list includes such undated results, but when you click on the filter, further check are carried out on the dates, so causing these to be omitted - my guess

i.e the 17 results include 17 that are undated, so they get omitted - Impressed? Not
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Mark1834
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Mark1834 »

Given the huge variety of database structures in both Ancestry and FMP, perhaps the surprising thing is that global searches work at all! A record such as a baptism could be stored in a specific regional baptism database, a general regional database of multiple record types, or a general baptism database covering multiple regions, and probably more...

Perhaps the number of near matches counts as well - eg ranking 300 vaguely similar records in one database above the single better match in another.

Global searches are great for shaking the tree and seeing what drops out if you have little information to start with, but that’s all (IMO, of course...).
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Jane
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Jane »

In general I also use single databases, so I know which original sources I have checked.

There are also odd problems which can affect the results.

Take the example of my 6xG grandfather, who was buried in Somerset and so is in Somerset parish records, this was fine, but he never (to my knowledge) lived in Somerset and his residence was given as the village in Dorset where he was living. So searching for him in the global search he shows up in the count for Dorset, but drilling down to Dorset records, which are filtered by the source location, he disappears as only his residence on the burial is is Dorset.

As Mark says it's not the fact that the global sources are a bit flaky, but the fact they sometimes work which is impressive.
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Gowermick
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by Gowermick »

You all seem to be getting sidetracked over how to search i.e specific or global, and are missing my point.

It is irrelevant how I choose to search, if I'm told there are 17 entries in a particular collection, I should be able to see those 17 results.
If there are no results in a collection, Ancestry should not tell me there are 17!
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Re: Filtering results on Ancestry

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Mike, you might be better directing your concerns to Ancestry.
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