When I’ve reviewing documents, I try to pay close attention to how each person’s name is written, birth dates and places, death dates & places, where they were living at the time, and ANY other clues the documents provides – including information about other family members.

Just try to think of the process as “evidence collection”. While some sources will obvious hold more weight than others, I would still aim to present your information in such a way that allows for your readers to make their own judgments as well. There will be many cases where several conflicting sources will make some facts remain up for debate.

When using Family Tree Builder, I usually use the Text From Source field to summarize what the source document implies. For instance, I would put something something “Supports Jan 1890 NY birth” when culling information from the 1900 census. If uncertain of the birth month, you can always say something like “Implies 1899-1900 NY birth”. (It also helps to place any information about the parents names here when transcribing a birth certificate.)

If you maintain the discipline of recording your citiations in this way, you will find it much easier to compare your evidence and get a little closer to the truth.

Second, that such a small portion of folks would see and acknowledge that documentation is a critical part of the process and not optional.

I believe the industry, especially the major players in it, need to take a more active and proactive role in this issue.