Have you ever encountered a website that seemed like it contained your genealogy missing link, only to discover the site's search index took you to a similar looking - but completely unrelated - result? You probably felt cheated and frustrated that you came so close and didn't have anything to show for your efforts. Sometimes the explanation for your dead end centers around an error in the transcription of an original source document.
Search indexes on the Web are built with algorithms that identify text and connect it to what you request as you interface with with the engine engine. But what if the text was wrong? It could be that someone typed the data wrong when they entered it - from a previous document. Or, they might have been unable to read the original source - and made a guess when they converted it to digital form. Either way, you feel like you got the raw end of the deal...
The biggest impact of a transcription error is usually that you don't find the information you sought. It could also lead to someone making a leap of faith to try to connect to something that looked similar to what they were looking for - and, if they post that on a family tree site or message board, that will spread the error further around the Net.
As I've written previously (for example, in New Year's Resolutions (2012)), you should try to avoid contributing error to available digital genealogy data. This starts with always ensuring you only trust original source documents that you read yourself - and that you add notes to show your level of certainty. Don't just go with what some search engine says is the truth. You should also consider sending a note to the webmaster for a site that has an error on it.
Always try to carefully transcribe data you find yourself - and help to fix the mistakes of others. As the saying goes: "Trust, but verify." Happy Hunting!
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