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The following is a chapter from:
Trace Your Roots with DNA
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner
(reprinted with permission)
Finding Prospects
When it comes to DNA studies, more is almost always better. The more participants, the better the chances are of linking previously unknown cousins, gaining insight into origins of a surname, confirming or refuting traditional research, and solving age-old mysteries. And sometimes, only certain people have the right DNA to answer your questions. So how do you maximize participation and find the best candidates?
TWO APPROACHES
As we mentioned in the previous chapter, you can recruit people in two ways - by finding them or by making it easier for them to find you. We refer to the detective work associated with seeking out appropriate candidates as "reverse genealogy" since it usually involves tracing lines from the past to the present. Traditionally, we're trained to start with ourselves and work back through the generations, but conducting a DNA project often requires the reverse. You may, for instance, be trying to find possible descendants of a German immigrant who came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s.
And we like to call techniques used to make it easier for would-be participants to find you "broadcasting" - essentially the equivalent of leaving a trail of crumbs on the Internet. Most administrators use both reverse genealogy and broadcasting strategies, but the specifics of your project will influence how you split your time between the two.
REVERSE GENEALOGY VS. BROADCASTING
As Figure 8-1 shows, the objective you set for your projects will establish it's scope, which in turn, drives who should participate - as well as whether it would be wiser for you to pour most of your energies into reverse genealogy or broadcasting efforts.
For example, your project may be narrow in scope (e.g. to determine if Jim Wolinsky and Bob Wolinsky, who found each other on the Internet, share common ancestors). In this case, it's obvious that Jim and Bob are the ones who should participate, and there's no need to use any recruiting strategies. Or your project may be the opposite extreme - a broad study open to anyone with a particular surname, for example, to seek out any and all connections among people with the name of Swanson.
Figure 8-1: How scope affects participation and recruiting approach
| Scope |
Example |
Participation |
| Narrow |
Do Jim and Bob share a common ancestor? |
Obvious participation |
| Midrange |
Do the MA and VA Austins share a common ancestor? |
Selective participation (mostly reverse genealogy) |
| Broad |
Swanson surname |
Open participation (mostly broadcast) |
Open projects such as this - especially ones focused on common names - will usually rely heavily on broadcasting tactics since it's not realistic for you to track each person down on an individual basis. Even so, there may be cases where you'll want to dabble in reverse genealogy to locate a particularly desirable participant, such as a descendant of a famous person who shares your surname.
But more and more projects fall in the middle range where participation is less clear (for example, to determine if various Massachusetts and Virginia Austin families share a common ancestor). In such cases, you'll want to use mostly reverse genealogy techniques to follow the Y-DNA trail - either to find the participants yourself or to qualify them once they contact you. Doing this is usually not too difficult because you're simply following the sons down through the generations - and with rare exceptions (for example, a known adoption), this means following a given surname. With mtDNA-based projects, the detective mtDNA-based projects, the detective work becomes a little more challenging since you're following a maternal line and dealing with name changes each generation, but it's still very doable.
Since the majority of projects at present are broad - that is open to anyone with a given surname - it's not surprising that the broadcasting technique current enjoys the greatest popularity. But as more people launch midrange projects designed to answer specific questions, reverse genealogy is becoming a more important component of a coordinator's repertoire. Or maybe you're one of those who needs to find a proxy to test in your place - you're a woman interested in a surname project, or perhaps a man who wants to research one of his maternal lines. Whatever your situation and preference, the remainder of this chapter will provide plenty of ideas and guidance for locating as many appropriate participants as possible.
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