BCG Risk Management & Mitigation 2

Question 1

A genealogist finds two men with identical names living in the same county at the same time. Which strategy BEST mitigates the risk of conflating their identities?

Accepted Answer

Use cluster research to track each man through neighbors, relatives, and associates separately

Answer

Cluster research traces each individual through his unique network of associates, reducing the risk of identity conflation when namesakes coexist.

Question 2

Under the BCG's Genealogical Proof Standard, what is the primary risk of relying on a single record to establish a lineage conclusion?

Accepted Answer

A single record may contain errors, omissions, or deliberate falsehoods that go undetected without corroboration

Answer

GPS requires a reasonably exhaustive search specifically because any single record can be flawed, making corroboration essential to sound conclusions.

Question 3

Which action BEST reduces the risk of transcription errors when working with handwritten 19th-century records?

Accepted Answer

Transcribe letter-by-letter verbatim and note uncertain characters with brackets

Answer

Verbatim transcription with bracketed uncertainties preserves the original text and flags doubtful readings for future verification.

Question 4

A genealogist discovers that a courthouse fire destroyed all deed books for a county before 1870. Which mitigation strategy is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Search substitute records such as tax lists, probate files, federal land records, and neighboring county deeds

Answer

Substitute record strategies—tax lists, probate files, federal land records—often preserve information lost when original civil records were destroyed.

Question 5

Which of the following represents a risk introduced by using an online family tree posted by an unknown contributor?

Accepted Answer

Unsourced or poorly sourced data may propagate errors that become difficult to untangle once widely copied

Answer

Unsourced online trees spread compounded errors rapidly across the genealogical community, making the original mistake increasingly hard to identify and correct.

(BCG) Board for the Certification of Genealogists Practice Test

(BCG) Board for the Certification of Genealogists Practice Test

BCG Risk Management & Mitigation 2