How Do You Use DNA Results From Multiple Sites?

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Why Use Multiple Sites?

The most effective research advice is to focus your efforts by asking a question, and creating a plan to find the information you need to answer that question. No one site has all the sources, information, matches, or cousins. I'm going to quote here from Wikipedia:
The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) is a guideline for establishing the reliability ("proof") of a genealogical conclusion with reasonable certainty. It is important within the genealogical community for clearly communicating the quality of research performed, such as by a professional genealogist. It is also useful for helping new genealogists understand what is needed to do high-quality research.
It has five elements:
  1. reasonably exhaustive research;
  2. complete and accurate source citations;
  3. analysis and correlation of the collected information;
  4. resolution of any conflicting evidence; and
  5. a soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion. 
 - summarizing Board for Certification of Genealogists ® - The Genealogical Proof Standard 

  Reasonably exhaustive research using DNA evidence means using all sites where you can find matches, and segment information, if you are using that data to answer your question.

 This post will have two parts: first, how to get the data you need, and then how to analyze it, which will help with analysis and correlation of the collected information, above.

 Here is a short, inspiring talk showing some of the possibilities. Watch this Angie Bush/Dear Myrtle talk, the first 9 minutes or so: 

So let's dig in.

Part I: How to Get Match Segment Data

Ancestry.com

Ancestry has the largest database of DNA testers, so most people who test use that company. Ancestry raw DNA data is complete (segment data and X chromosome), and they have some innovative tools on their website. Unfortunately, there is no chromosome browser, so if you need that segment data for some of your matches, and they have not tested or uploaded elsewhere, you must persuade them to upload their raw to another site, or allow you to do so. Sites such as MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and Gedmatch offer a chromosome browser, along with other analytical tools. 23andMe also has the browser, but does not allow uploads. Nor does Ancestry, so testing with the two largest companies is the only way to use their databases.

 Ancestry has tools such as the "dots" for sorting and identifying your matches, Thrulines, which helps you find the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) and place each of your cousins into your tree correctly, and a massive database of source material which will help you make sense of the lives of your ancestors and their paths through life. So in spite of the lack of segment data, Ancestry remains indispensable.

 Long story short; at Ancestry you will need your matches to upload elsewhere if you need segment data from them.

MyHeritage.com

MyHeritage's 3.77 million kits is dwarfed by Ancestry's 16 million, but they allow uploads of raw data, have a chromosome browser and other useful tools, and is widely used by Europeans. 

 Here is a bit of their chromosome browser showing a triangulated segment (identical between a first and a fourth cousin) which indicates that the two cousins and I got this small segment of DNA from a common ancestor. 
Triangulated segment on MyHeritage chromosome browser


How to download your MyHeritage matches data? 

Quoting https://faq.myheritage.com/en/article/how-can-i-export-the-list-of-my-dna-matches:
To export the list of DNA matches for your DNA kit or a kit you manage: 
  1. Go to the DNA Matches page 
  2. Select the person for whom you want to view the DNA matches 
  3. Click on “Advanced options” on the right-hand side 
  4. Select “Export entire DNA Matches list”

 *If you have not yet uploaded your raw DNA data and gedcom to MyHeritage, or tested with that company, do it! And once you have matches, download your data, give it a descriptive name and date, and put it in a folder on your computer where you can find it. And when you begin to work with the data, work on a copy.

Gedmatch.com


You cannot buy a test from Gedmatch. It is instead a company that accepts uploads of both your raw DNA data from any company and your gedcom. In fact, if you have tested with more than one company, you can upload more than one kit, and even combine them into a "superkit" if you like. At last report their database is 1.3 million.

 Gedmatch is not pretty and rather "geeky" but it is very well documented and gives the user a wide range of choices about privacy and lots of tools. Some are available only to those who pay $10 a month, but you can pay for one month any time you want to use the "tier one" tools, and use it free the rest of the time. The match data is not downloaded like the rest; instead you generate the list, then copy/paste the data into your spreadsheet. 

 Click the test kit for which you want match information after logging in and then click the Search button. There are lots of options in the free Gedmatch and even more in the Tier 1 tools, so take a few minutes to read the help files or watch the videos linked right on each One to Many page. Choose the one which will give you the facts you need to answer your research question. 

FamilyTreeDNA.com

FTDNA is has the smallest database of the top five, estimated to be about 1 million. One of the major draws to FamilyTree is that you can test not only autosomal DNA as the rest do, but also Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which can be very useful for answering some research questions. 

 Plus, FTDNA has their own interesting tools besides their chromosome browser. And everything is easy to find, right from the login page:

The data download above is your raw DNA data, not what we're discussing in this article. Before showing you how to download your match segment list, here is one of the slick things FTDNA does with the matches on your Matches page if you upload your gedcom and take the time to link some of your matches to that tree:

It sorts your maternal and paternal matches, which is endlessly useful. 

 From FamilyTreeDNA you will do two downloads: 

 First, from the bottom of your Matches page: 
https://www.familytreedna.com/my/familyfinder ⬇ Download Matches: CSV. 

 Next, to download the segment data, go back to the main FamilyTreeDNA page and click Chromosome browser: https://www.familytreedna.com/my/family-finder/chromosome-browser and right at the top of the page:
Top section of DNA Matches page --> Download All Segments

Download all segments. 


23andMe.com

23&me is the last discussed because you cannot upload to it (not even a gedcom) and it is not quite oriented to genealogists. That said, the tools are good and they are improving, and there are 10 million people in the database. You can (in beta) link to your FamilySearch tree and regenerate that link when you have made additions or corrections, and they have made a start to a DNA match tree, which may at some point become useful. I shrank the tree so that the match names are unreadable for privacy. You can see that once some matches are identified with common ancestors, those ancestors can be properly placed. Until that analysis is done, my advice: don't start using the tree, or be prepared to remove and re-place ancestors. Once it is accurate, it might be helpful.


To download match data, after login, choose Family & Friends > View All DNA Relatives, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Download aggregate data."
Not discussed is LivingDNA, which seems finally to be supplying matches! (I have ten now, many over 50 cM.) However, their chromosome browser has not yet been activated, and whether match segment data will be available is not known.



Part II: Analyze Match Segment Data

There is an extensive listing of Autosomal DNA tools on the ISOGG Wiki: https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_tools

We'll examine the three most popular in this article. Choose the tool which will help answer your research question! 

Genome Mate Pro


If you want to check out GMP, see https://thednageek.com/getting-started-with-genome-mate-pro-part-1-installing-the-program/ and follow the series. Read ahead to see if this application will help you answer your research question. All the links you need are on the ISOGG Wiki.


DNA Painter


https://dnapainter.com/ is not as full-featured as GMP, but it is pretty, and may give you the tools you want and need to answer your research question. Be sure to check out the help files and videos -- they are excellent, and right there on the site. And lots of helpful links on the ISOGG Wiki.

Spreadsheet

Underlying all the tools is a spreadsheet. It is not pretty, but if you use the spreadsheet directly, you choose your headings and focus your data gathering in order to answer your research question. 

 You can use Excel or any other spreadsheet, including Google Sheets online. No screenshot because we all know what they look like.

 Here are some aids to get you going:


Suggestion: if you are interested in this topic, bookmark this post. Come back to it as you make your way through the process. You will mess things up and have to start over, but you will learn as you go!
Valorie Cowan Zimmerman

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