Believe it or not, my wife has been telling me this for years

Michael John Neill at rootdig.com:

with the advent of searchable databases, most genealogists are not coming anywhere close to tracking what they search for in a specific database or on a given website. ...

I've seen articles where it has been said someone cannot be found in a census. I rarely see where the specific unsuccessful searches are listed out in an attempt to defend the "can't find them statement."

Read the whole thing. Remember, the dog that didn't bark in the night-time was evidence in Sherlock Holmes' day, and it still is.