Different results using basic search and advance search

RootsMagic
,
1

When I do a basic search for a surname “Birk” I get 135 hits. When I do an Advanced Search for Surname equal to “Birk”, I only get 106 hits.

After further research, I found that the basic search also gives me any spouse who married a Birk.

Not sure if this is a bug or is meant to be this way.

1 Like
2

Good sleuthing. The basic Name search was designed to include assumed, possible married surnames for women even though there might not be such a Primary or Alternate Name record for the person in the database NameTable. I think the pre-RM11 Advanced Search did, too (I may be wrong), but it suffered from being able to require that two or more criteria be met for the same record of any type. The RM11 Advanced Search does and would have undergone a major redesign. Perhaps the redesign overlooked the option to “include married names” or it added too much complexity because the assumed married name for the woman takes the surname from the Primary Name record of the husband spouse.

3

Try “contains” instead of “equals”. Does that, maybe, get 135 hits ?

4

I was expecting the basic search to give me just the Birks not the birds and there spouces.

5

Basic Search shows in the surname field “Surname (or married name)”. The married name is based on the spouse they are linked to. It does not need to be an alternate name fact. It will search both primary and alternate names using basic search.

Advanced Search has deeper filter options. There are check boxes to “include married surname” and “only test primary names”.

6

I’m sort of repeating what Renee said, but you can always get the results for searching on a surname to match between Basic Search and Advanced Search. There is no bug. It’s just that basic search always searches for Birth or Married name and advanced search has no default. You have to select Birth name or you have to select Birth or Married name.

It’s always been this way, even as far back as RM1 and Family Origins. It used to be called Name Search and Search rather than Basic Search and Advanced Search, but it amounts to the same thing.