DNA Research Flow

Have you thought about the steps to take to work through a DNA research project?  Have you ever been stuck or lost during a project and wondered what you should do next? What do you do?

I’ve thought about it a lot, and it motivated me to create DNA Process Trees that have a stepwise model/instructions/flowchart of the main steps to take when working through a DNA research objective. The steps help me maximize the research time I have available.

 

I have also added some logistical steps that prompt me to save genealogical documents, create citations, and write the research report as I research.

When I start a new project, I take the following steps:

Formulate a research objective

1. 1. 1. The research objective includes the information I want to find and incorporates key identifiers of names, dates, and locations.
      2. For example, The objective of this research is to use DNA and traditional genealogy research to identify the biological father of Sparks Shiflet. He was born in May 1877 in Greene County, Virginia, and died in April 1966 in Kay County, Oklahoma.

Separate DNA matches into genetic networks or clusters that share DNA with the tester and with each other. Use the following companies and programs:

1. 1. 1. AncestryDNA matches- use the Shared Matches feature in the DNA Matches page of the Ancestry website, the DNA2Tree app for iOS, and DNAGedcom Client to gather matches, then load the information in DNAGed.com.
      2. MyHeritage – use the AutoCluster tool on the website.
      3. Genetic Affairs – AutoClusters for 23andMe and FTDNA, AutoFastCluster for LivingDNA, Ancestry
      4. GEDmatch Clusters – choose “Clusters, Single Kit input, Basic Version.”

Used with permission from www.geneticaffairs.com

Examine DNA matches

1. 1. 1. Identify the cluster to which the DNA matches of interest belong.
      2. How much DNA do the tester and a DNA match share in the cluster of interest? Calculate the possible relationship between the tester and the match using the Shared cM Project 4.0 tool v4 in DNA Painter.
      3. Are there family trees connected to the DNA matches? If so, what shared ancestral surnames are there among the DNA matches in a cluster?
      4. Record DNA match information in Airtable.

Start building family tree charts using hints from the family trees of the DNA matches

1. 1. 1. For client research,  I create a new Ancestry tree and make it private until the connections are verified with documents. If the research objective involves unknown parentage or adoption, I make the tree unsearchable as well.
      2. Build a chart in Lucidchart.com  or Diagrams.net
      3. Lucidchart helps me see the family connections clearly and connect the DNA matches to a common ancestor and the DNA tester. Add the birth and death years of ancestors, the amount of shared DNA, and the relationship. Then color code the boxes to indicate the DNA testing company.
      4. Build quick trees for some matches that share DNA on the side of the family identified in the research objective.
      5. Search for the parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. of the DNA match, locate at least two documents that verify the links between children and parents using the following resources:
         1. 1. 1. Ancestry Hints, family tree searches, and general record searches.
               2. Look in the FamilySearch Family Tree and do general record searches.
               3. WikiTree
               4. MyHeritage trees associated with DNA matches, general record searches, and hints via the “Theory of Family Relativity,”
               5. Findmypast.com record searches.
               6. Geneanet
               7. Filae
               8. Obituaries, newspapers, general internet searches, and many more.

Pedigree Triangulation: Identify the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) shared by the tester and the match

1. 1. 1. Compare the family trees of DNA matches to identify common surnames and common ancestors.
      2. If I can’t identify an MRCA relatively quickly, I build a “hanging branch” in the tree and Lucid chart.
      3. As more ancestral connections are discovered, connect the hanging branches to the ancestors that will intersect with the MRCA.

 

Segment Triangulation: Analyze the segment data for 23andMe, FTDNA, My Heritage, and GEDmatch using Chromosome Browsers

1. 1. 1. Which segments do the DNA matches and the tester have in common?
      2. What are the sizes of the segment(s)?
      3. Which ancestor or ancestral couple does the tester and the DNA match share?

Download and Save Documents found through traditional genealogy research

1. 1. 1. Some documents may be attached to people in the family trees of the DNA matches; others are found through searching record collections.
      2. Analyze the documents.
         1. 1. Does the genealogical record identify a parent-child relationship, or give indirect evidence of a parent-child relationship?
            2. Record the analysis in the research log.
            3. Upload documents to my Airtable research log.
            4. Put document images at the end of the Research Report or in a separate Microsoft Word document.

Write citations for documents and DNA testing company reports

1. 1. 1. To make citation writing go quickly, I use citation templates that are models of information that should be included in a citation to enable a reader or me to locate the source again.
      2. Record the citation in my Airtable research log.

Write Report or Summary “As You Go”

1. 1. 1. Have one internet “window” open for viewing DNA matches, clusters, record searches, etc.
      2. Have another computer software “window” open for writing the research report.
      3. The internet “window” could have a tab open for the research report written in a Google Doc, or a research log in Google Sheets or AirTable.
      4. As records are analyzed and connections discovered, write about them in the research report.

 

Hopefully, some of the steps listed above will help as you research and identify more ancestors using your own DNA.  Best wishes as you research and develop or fine-tune your research flow!