Question

I have my DNA, now what?

Answer 1

Timm --

    I probably do not know enough to answer your "now what?" question.  The answer would depend upon what type of test you have had, among other things.  And certainly also depend upon what you already know.

   Maybe you can read some initial help at

http://www.isogg.org/

in their section for newbies.

    I have found that my testing company also has a lot of help.

   As a start, I will assume your purpose is to contact potential relatives, guided by DNA matches.  To find matches, you can search at some sites such as Y-search.org (if you have Y DNA data).  It probably helps most to post your own data there so others can find you.  There is alos a site for mitocondrial DNA.

 

---Dan W. Olds

Answer 2

My question would be, where did you order/receive your test kit from? There are an increasing number of sites that offer DNA comparisons (ie: Ancestry, FamilyTreeDna, GeneTree, etc). Each of these companies has a different test. There are also different types of tests. Tests for direct-line males, tests for females.

Each of the DNA sites also uses different 3rd-party laboratories for their results. Also to consider, there are different degrees of testing. There are 11-marker tests that compare specific gene markers, there are 32-marker tests, 48-marker tests, etc.

Generally, the more DNA markers you utilize, the closer you can get to your generation. That is, you can compare more recent ancestors with other people who have also submitted their dna. This will help you find your MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor), an ancestor you both share.

If you got the kit from one of these sites, typically you would "join the family group" - which would be a group that is researching your specific family surname. From there you can compare test results and determine if and how you are related to one another.

Hope that helps (though I am certainly no expert)

~ Matt

Comments

Can you take a look at the new DNA category and give me some feedback?  I've addressed a way to track this inside of WikiTree (I Think).  You add a section to your ancestors profile with some DNA information then put the ancestor into the DNA category.  I did a sample if it helps.

 

Thanks