In my master thesis I am addressing problems emerging from computer genealogy: It is both boon and bane at the same time.
Genealogists can be set on the wrong track when confronted with hints but without any historical proof. It is easy to find those hints online, since there are a number of different databases. However, evidence-based work in genealogy is a necessity in order to get good results and it is crucial to consult historical sources, not only secondary entries in databases.
Historically found genealogy goes far beyond the comparison of a few database entries online.
Using all the emerging hints online could help when reaching a death point.
Of course, online databases are very useful to come up with hints, but there is always the need to match those hints with historical sources, to see if the hints are valid. It might be tempting to copy and paste everything you find without consultation of the historical original sources, but it is not solid work.
It is the nature of big databases that they are handled by a huge crowd of people. When errors emerge, most of the time they go unrecognized. Most of the time, a purely database-oriented approach, without regard of a proper historical context, often leads genealogists down the wrong path.
The best advice I have for the enthusiast genealogist is to clearly differentiate hints and sources, as the matching up of different evidence-qualities and grading of commodities often leads you up a blind alley.
This big issue of source quality and the importance of distinguishing of evidence-based and historically founded genealogy from conclusio-based work, that follows only the law of large numbers, is the exploratory focus of my master-thesis.
To reflect the basic research methods of genealogy and get notice of new forms of hints online is an issue, often underestimated.
One of the key questions I dedicate myself in my master thesis is: How to find a good balance of methods, that primary stays solidly evidence-based, but even use new emerging online tools in an reflected manner.