Three Steps to Prioritizing Your DNA Research

Diahan Southard, founder of Your DNA Guide, https://www.yourdnaguide.com/, recently published an article on the Family Tree Magazine website that I thought might be of interest to you.

In the article, she outlines three steps to prioritize the DNA matches you want to research first.

Her step one is to consider your research question. What question are you trying to solve? Which ancestor are you seeking the most? If you don't know what you're looking for, you won't be able to find any information on the person.

Her step two is to identify matches who seem to be related to the person you want to research. In researching these matches, you will identify your target individual as their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), which will bring you closer to your goal. For example, if you want to learn more about your great-grandmother, you could flag a second cousin matches who share similar ancestral surnames, since the testing company has estimated that you and those matches have a great-grandparent as an MRCA. This research represents the early stages of DNA triangulation, an advanced technique that utilizes known information about two individuals to infer facts about a third, previously unknown person.

Her step three is to use shared matches. Most of the DNA testing companies provide you with a tool that highlights matches you have and a DNA match share with each other. Study these matches to help you identify even more people who will get you closer to your target individual. Using traditional genealogy research methods, take these shared DNA matches back to the ancestral couple you are researching. You’ll ultimately want to sort your shared matches beyond the second-cousin level into two groups: those related to you and those related to the other person and their ancestors.

If you have questions about your genealogy research, feel free to contact me at geneal@laurel.lib.ms.us or call 601-428-4313, ext. 111, and leave me a message. Voice mail is available. Our hours in the genealogy library are Wednesday, 1:4:45. Please stop by the circulation desk and let the staff know you need assistance in the genealogy library. Either Wesley or I will come with you to the genealogy library and assist you with your research. Thursday and Friday, our hours are 9-11:45, then 1-4:45. I am here both days to assist you.

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