Tuesday's Tip - Thoughts on starting over or do-over with databases.

There has been lots of discussion online about "starting over" with a database. There are several reasons why a genealogist might choose to do this, perhaps s/he:

 (1) inherited a database and wants to "do the work" themselves,

(2) downloaded a GEDCOM into their database and now has trouble determining what is good information and what needs to be re-checked,

(3) failed to cite sources and/or perform some critical thinking about data when s/he originally entered it, or perhaps

(4) switched database programs and found that much of the data did not make the trip successfully

I would suggest that genealogists who are thinking about  starting their Legacy database over - give it a bit more thought. Why? Because Legacy offers some very good ways to check your data, look for errors, missing pieces and missing sources, and make a note of what to clean up. If you are unfamiliar with advanced tagging, take the time to learn more about it (the help section of Legacy is a good start). And then make use of tags. You can assign tags to any project you want to work on - from marriage data entry and/or marriage sources to an even more focused topic - like findagrave entries.

In short, you can spring clean (and summer, fall and winter clean) your Legacy database! Take the time to work on one project at a time (those bite size tasks) or one family at a time (work through all the vital records and connections on all the individuals in one family group). You will be surprised what you can accomplish just by doing a little bit of sprucing up over an extended time.

And remember, we are always learning about new resources, the subscription services will always be updating what they call their records (and sometimes how to cite to those sources), you will always get ahead of yourself when you research and sometimes forget to get your source in your database in the proper format. In these cases, don't start over or reinvent the wheel. Make a note of what you need to add, modify or finish and then do it and MOVE ON. It is rarely as much fun to do the same work a second time.

By all means DO IT if your database is compromised by a faulty GEDCOM (and resolve never to add one of those to your database again!) or if you find you spend more time frustrated with your current database's shortcomings than you would by starting fresh. We had some great comments in our LVUG Community about working with our databases and cleaning as we go. Why not check them out and then decide on the best use of your genealogy time.