About Census Indexes

Whether using census images on CD, microfilm or online, indexing is the key to productivity, helping you to find the entries you want quickly. However using poor and inaccurate indexing just leads to frustration, so the quality of the indexes is paramount. Recognising this, TheGenealogist indexes are prepared in two stages, first releasing a surname index, then later a searchable census transcript, which is ultimately linked to online census page images.

Creating census name indexes

The Genealogist's name indexes began as a volunteer project when the first census CD sets were released, but it was soon realised that the volunteers on their own wouldn’t be able to create all the necessary indexes in a short enough time scale, as it was a mammoth task which rapidly grew as more census CD sets were released.

So a strategy was devised to speed up the process, whilst still retaining the necessary control over the project to ensure that the end results would be of the highest possible accuracy.

The original census transcription is now being carried out by a carefully selected specialist company in India. Transcripts done abroad have come in for much criticism in the past, so the company were supplied with specially designed databases and tools to help them. Quality control checks are carried out on each batch of transcribed data as it arrives in the UK, with substandard batches being rejected for reworking.

Meanwhile an elaborate, multi stage checking and correction system was set up at the The Genealogist's UK headquarters. Custom written checking and comparison software examines the data, looking for any unusual entries and flagging any that look suspicious. Their in-house team of transcribers then check and correct the flagged entries where necessary. Only the Forename, Surname and Ages are checked to begin with, so that the Name Indexes can be released as quickly as possible for subscribers to use.

Follow the other census links to find out about census transcripts and discover how to use a census name index: