As good genealogists, we know that when we add information to our family history we should also cite the sources that we used. But what do we do when the source is DNA? A source citation may be sufficient in some cases, but in other cases it is not.
When does DNA need to be cited?
I have written before about how you can incorporate DNA evidence into your family tree. Actions that might warrant citing DNA are:
- adding DNA matches to your tree and information about the DNA that you share, the tests taken and so on
- adding common ancestors who were identified using DNA evidence
- adding people on the line of descent between common ancestors and DNA matches based on DNA evidence
- using DNA evidence to confirm relationships between people who are already in your tree
- removing people from your tree, if DNA evidence identifies errors
- altering relationships based on DNA evidence.
DNA source citations
The source citations for most of these actions will be fairly straightforward.
When adding a DNA match, you will probably want to cite your DNA test initially, and then add citations to documentary sources after you conduct further research to verify the relationship. Similarly, when adding people on the line of descent between common ancestors and DNA matches, you might initially just cite the family tree of your DNA match and then add citations to documentary sources after you conduct further research.
When confirming people in your tree who are great great grandparents or closer, you can rely on evidence from one or two DNA matches who are close relatives (third cousin or closer). For these, a DNA source citation is usually sufficient.
You can see from this example that a DNA source citation does not merely refer to the source, it also summarises the key evidence used to reach the conclusion. The main reason for this is that the source is not one that can be accessed by other researchers – DNA test results are available only to the tester and anyone that is provided access by the tester. So the citation needs to include sufficient information to convince another researcher that your conclusion is reasonable.
Evidence summaries and arguments
The evidence supporting other actions is more complex and a source citation may not be enough. For example, when confirming people in your tree who are more distant than great great grandparents, removing people from your tree or altering relationships.
My colleague, Veronica Williams, has written a great blog post describing the types of DNA evidence and situations in which you need more than just a source citation.
The DNA groups of the Society of Australian Genealogists are trialling a template for presenting the DNA evidence used to support a conclusion.
The purpose of a case study is to:
- help researchers practice presenting evidence so that they can provide soundly reasoned and coherently written conclusions based on a reasonably exhaustive search, critical analysis and the resolution of conflicting evidence, with complete and accurate source citations
- invite others to test the strength of the conclusion(s) and assist the researcher by offering suggestions for further analysis or research
- share and educate each other on the methodology for using DNA evidence to reach conclusions.
The template could also be used to provide a structure for a document to attach to a family tree or a blog post; or to document the process undertaken when confirming identities and relationships in a family tree.
A copy of the template can be downloaded here. If you wish to provide feedback on the template, please use the Contact page.
Generations Genealogy 