- Description
- Curriculum
You’re looking through your DNA match list, and something stops you in your tracks: An unexpected match, an unfamiliar group of shared matches…and they all share the same ethnicity that you can’t place. Sound familiar?
On day one of the workshop, you’ll work through exactly that scenario. Not as a lecture, but as a guided discovery where we work through the uncertainty in real time.
In the example case, the unknown matches all share an unexpected admixture with the test-taker — Greek! The family lore had claimed he was French Canadian. As part of the starting point, we will go beyond typical clustering tools. We’ll analyze a GEPHI network graph to reveal clues about the matches’ ancestral migration patterns. At key crossroads we’ll consider the best next step. These inflection points will hone your research planning skills.
As the case unfolds, several obstacles emerge, common to any DNA case:
- Sparse or non-existent trees
- Endogamy (this case has two endogamous population admixtures!)
- Multiple key matches with misattributed or unknown parentage
- Multiple half-sibling relationships
- Multiple test-takers with adoptions in their ancestry
- Multiple test-takers with missing or incorrect birth records
- Records in a foreign language and foreign script
- A test-taker sharing more than expected for the hypothesized relationship
To overcome these obstacles, we’ll turn to:
- Ancestry ProTools
- Chromosome mapping tools from Ancestry, GEDMatch, and MyHeritage
- Unique records
- Admixture calculations
- Most importantly, your own reasoning
Before we meet for day two, you’ll have an opportunity to submit your own unknown test-taker research question. Questions involving unexpected ethnicity will be prioritized. Two student-submitted cases will be selected and worked through live.
$260. UGA Members receive 10% off.
Coordinator:
Karen Stanbary, LCSW, AM, CG, CGG
Additional Faculty:
