From Research to Data with AI 2 of 5: Cleaning Up—Fixing, Formatting, and Validating Data

In the second session of the "From Research to Data with AI" series, Fiona Brooker and Andrew Redfern provide a deep dive into the essential—though often overlooked—phase of cleaning, formatting, and validating genealogical data. While many researchers are quick to jump straight to AI-generated results, this webinar emphasizes that the quality of any family history output is only as good as the data that feeds it. By treating data extraction as a structured four-stage process—extract, clean, format, and validate—genealogists can move beyond simple transcriptions and toward a sophisticated digital archive. The session illustrates how to bridge the gap between traditional research methods and cutting-edge technology, ensuring that family trees remain accurate, consistent, and ready for future generations.

• Advanced Prompting for Edge Cases: Success with AI transcriptions often depends on instructing the tool how to handle "edge cases," such as physical document damage, illegible handwriting, or ambiguous punctuation, ensuring the AI remains a faithful transcriber rather than a creative editor.
• The Power of GEDCOM Standardization: Adhering to universal genealogical standards—such as using three-letter capitalized month abbreviations and specific date prefixes like "ABT" or "BEF"—is critical for maintaining data integrity when moving information between different AI tools and family tree software.
• Cross-Platform Data Auditing: AI excels at "gap analysis," allowing researchers to compare reports from different platforms (like Ancestry and MyHeritage) to instantly identify missing birth dates, burial locations, or inconsistent occupation records that might otherwise be missed during manual reviews.

To truly modernize a family history workflow, watching the full session is highly recommended. It offers practical, step-by-step demonstrations of how to turn messy research notes into structured, GEDCOM-ready data that can be seamlessly integrated into a digital tree. Beyond the video, the accompanying syllabus contains a wealth of additional resources, including a data standardization checklist and specialized verb lists to help craft more effective prompts. Dive into these materials to refine your research process and ensure your family's story is preserved with the highest level of technical precision.