How do you give credibility to your research that includes DNA evidence? The same way that you give credibility to research using evidence from traditional genealogy sources such as census and probate - with a source citation. Creating a source citation for the DNA matches, ethnicity reports, chromosome browsers, cluster reports, etc. that you use in your research project will back up the conclusions that you've drawn from your DNA analysis. Traditional Genealogy Source Citations When I wrote my report on Benjamin Cox, I used both traditional research and DNA analysis in discussing his hypothesized father-daughter relationship to my confirmed...
This series is about how I found my grandmother's father with DNA. To read the other posts in the series, click below: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Did you know that you can upload your Ancestry DNA test results to other select databases for free? A lot of people take a DNA test with only one company, so you can increase your chances of finding genetic matches by entering multiple databases. You never know where you'll find your genetic matches; maybe the closest one is in a database different from you! In my previous posts, I discussed...
Are you ever frustrated while writing citations? Many people are! Learning about a simplified formula for citations can lift the frustration and bring calm to an important part of genealogical research. In a previous blog post, DNA Sources, Information, and Evidence: Sorting it All Out, I wrote that you are a source—you share your DNA with a testing company. The DNA testing company extracts DNA from the saliva, or the cheek swab you sent back to the testing company by mail. Your DNA goes through the process of genotyping, which identifies the genetic variants you have. Next the company compares...
What should your research plan look like if you want to test a hypothesis with DNA evidence? Each project is unique, but all can follow the same guiding principles. In the Research Like a Pro with DNA process, we have already discussed the following steps: Step 1 Take a DNA Test: Which DNA Test Should I Take? and DNA-Recommended Testing Strategy Step 2 Assess: Understanding and Using Your DNA Results – 4 Simple Steps Step 3 Organize: Seeing the Big Picture: 3 Ways to Chart Your DNA Matches Step 4 Research Objective: What Do You Want to Know? 3 Steps...
What if you could find an automated program that would help you... - Look through your DNA matches trees to find shared ancestors - Identify triangulated groups, and - See DNA segments that you share in common with your matches Would you be interested? DNA Gedcom tools can do all of that! Rob Warthen, who founded DNAGedcom in 2013, was looking for a faster, better, more understandable way to interpret DNA test results. He and a team of super smart generous volunteers created the tools in DNAGedcom that can help all of us work with our DNA results and find...
Have you ever tried to explain your pursuit of DNA matches, and found it hard put into words? Have you ever wanted to see an image of your DNA and how it connects you to your ancestors? Chromosome mapping will help you come up with an answer! The goal in using DNA in our genealogy research is to learn which segments of our DNA we inherited from specific ancestors and use them to learn more about our parents, grandparents, and so on, back in time. Autosomal DNA is an extremely powerful tool that can help us confirm known ancestors and...
Have you wondered how to apply traditional research techniques to your DNA analysis? By breaking my DNA matches into clusters, my search was narrowed to a single family with six sons. In this post, I will explain how to use the process of elimination with genetic genealogy and traditional research to narrow your search even more and get you closer to breaking through your brick wall. You can read my previous posts where I start from the beginning of the research process here: post 1, post 2, post 3. 1. Research Descendants: Usually when we do genealogy, we focus...
When using DNA test results as evidence in genealogy, it's important to understand contextual information about DNA inheritance patterns and amounts of DNA shared between relatives. This contextual information can turn raw DNA data into genealogical evidence. In this post I will share several charts that give meaning to the data in our DNA test results. The charts I'm sharing are freely available online. Another excellent source for inheritance charts is the book Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne. The charts in the book are well done and helpful for understanding the inheritance of autosomal...
Have you heard the term "segment triangulation" associated with DNA and wondered what that meant? Perhaps you wondered if this could help you confirm an ancestor that you've researched? Which DNA testing and third party companies offer this tool? In this article, I'll define the term and show how the process can help you in your genealogy journey of discovering your genetic family tree. Pedigree Triangulation I previously wrote about pedigree triangulation and used the following visual from the ISOGG Wiki page to explain the concept. You and your DNA match both received DNA from your Most Common Recent Ancestor (MRCA)....
For most of us, the goal of genetic genealogy is to identify how our DNA matches are related to us. We want to determine our common ancestor or identify an ancestor who was previously unknown to us. Chromosome browsers help us do that. By determining that an autosomal DNA segment was inherited from a certain ancestor, we can use that segment information in the future to identify matches whose connection to us is unknown. Chromosome browsers also help us triangulate segments of DNA data shared with 2 or more genetic matches. When segment triangulation is achieved, we are able to...
