Find the gaps in your research¶

Statistics sound like something for number nerds. In PastPaths they're above all a way to find what's missing: people without a place of birth, places that aren't on the map, family lines that end too early. This guide shows how to use the statistics, the calendar and the reports as a to-do list.

Everything is under Research: the People statistics, Place statistics, Calendar and Reports tabs. A summary of the statistics is also shown on the welcome page.

1. People with missing details¶

Open People statistics. The cards showing how many people are missing a place of birth or death have a View these people link. It opens the persons list filtered to exactly those people.

Work through the list a bit at a time:

Is the place in a source you already have? Fill it in.
Is the source missing? Tag the person, for example no source, so you can find your way back. See Tags and categories in practice.

This is often where an import shows its weaknesses. Many rows without a place mean the tree you brought in rested on few sources.

2. Names that don't add up¶

Under Names, the most common surnames and first names are shown. Look for spelling variants: Andersson and Anderson, Kajsa and Cajsa. The variants may be genuine – spelling often changed – but they may also be the same person entered twice.

If you suspect duplicates, use Duplicates in the persons list. → Duplicate handling

Filter by birth decade as well. A surname that suddenly turns up in one generation may be the start of a new family line – or a mistake that crept in.

3. Ages that stand out¶

Under Age and lifespan, the youngest and oldest at death are shown. A person who died at 130 almost always has the wrong year of birth or death. One who died at 0 may be right – infant mortality was high – but may also be a baptism registered as a death.

Review suspicious cases in Research branch, where the Check column shows ages in relation to parents and children.

4. Places without coordinates¶

Open Place statistics. The Missing coordinates card shows how many places aren't on the map, with a link to a filtered list.

Start with the places that have the most linked people and events – they're listed under Most linked persons and events. A coordinate there does the most for the map.

If you've imported packs from the Place Library, counties, provinces and dioceses already have coordinates. See Place packs as a foundation to build on.

5. Places that should be one¶

Under Most common countries and counties you can see if the same county exists under two names, for example Örebro County and Örebro county. Click a row to jump into the places tree, and merge the duplicates. → Read more

6. The calendar as a check¶

The calendar is fun to browse, but it also says something about your dates. Only exact dates – day, month and year – show up there.

Lots of events on 1 January? Then years have probably been saved as full dates. Change them to just the year, and they'll be shown with the right precision.
A day with many deaths? It may be an epidemic, an accident – or the same event entered several times.

At the bottom, the statistics show the most common days by event type. Click a date to see who's behind the number.

7. The reports as a check¶

Reports are made for printing and sharing, but on paper the gaps show more clearly than on screen. The report is shown on the page before you save it, so you don't need to print anything to review it.

Ancestor chart – choose yourself or a parent as the focus person. Where one line ends earlier than the others, you have your next research task. An uneven chart – four generations on your father's side, eight on your mother's – shows where you've spent your time.
Person profile – gathers a person's details, events and source citations in one place. Read it as a stranger would: are there events without a source? Details that contradict each other?
Source list – shows every source with its number of citations. A source with few or no citations is one you may have registered but never used fully. Go back to it – there are often more people in the same household examination roll.

→ Read more about the reports

Make it a habit¶

The statistics update all the time. Take a look after every larger import, and once a month otherwise. The numbers should move in the right direction: fewer without a place, fewer without coordinates.