Triangulate Everything!

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diagram from http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/sub_landing/files/10_4-Intro-to-triangulation-MEF_0.pdf


From Known to Unknown

Perhaps you think of geometry when you hear the word triangulation, because "triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points". [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation]. 


Data Triangulation

Data scientists use the triangulation to describe using data from multiple unrelated sources in a single study, adding reliability to the findings. Is this beginning to sound familiar? We are often urged to search for multiple sources in order to reliably report precise dates, places and relationships in our research. Even within a data source such as a family Bible record of births, deaths, and marriages, if it is evident that one person noted most of the data on a page, it is less reliable than if the data was evidently recorded by many people close to the time of the events. 

Genealogists also call this correlation. If reported dates or places of birth vary widely, is there more than one person, perhaps? Correlating facts, such as in a timeline, is one way to analyze what has been found and support the conclusion that the person of interest is correctly identified.


Investigator Triangulation

Another type of triangulation is "investigator triangulation: the use of multiple investigators/researchers to study a particular phenomenon" [1] - which sounds very much like what we do once we link up to fellow researcher-cousins. This is another reason to look at other people's trees, while knowing that they are just hints -- but possibly very reliable hints. Other researchers may have access to stories and evidence we do not.


Theory Triangulation

What are the Odds tool (WATO) from DNAPainter.com

Finally, "theory triangulation is the use of multiple theories or hypotheses when examining a situation or phenomenon. The idea is to look at a situation/phenomenon from different perspectives, through different lenses, with different questions in mind" [1].  This type of triangulation is the basis of the What are the Odds (WATO) tool at DNA Painter, pictured above.


All of US Already Use Triangulation

In genealogy research we use triangulation all the time. We use one or two known facts in order to dig out unknown facts. In DNA investigations, we use "shared matches," in which one or more known relatives in the match list points towards a possible common ancestor. And in the most precise use of data triangulation for genealogy, we "map" DNA matches to segments on our own chromosomes, in order to pinpoint which ancestor gave us each of those segments.

The site MyHeritage does something handy when displaying matches; it marks triangulated segment right in the list:


MyHeritage: triangulated DNA segment

Knowing that there is a shared segment gives me the impetus to build a tree for my matches, and identify which ancestor(s) gave us the bit of DNA.


DNA Painting

Although there are other tools, including spreadsheets, DNA Painter is the site where the ultimate in DNA triangulation is easy. See the free video for more: https://familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=955

Here is part of my map:


I must admit I've not worked with it much in the past couple of years. It is quite fun though! I wrote this post with the hope of showing readers that we all are already using triangulation. Knowing this clarifies how I do research. I hope it does for you as well.

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1. https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/sub_landing/files/10_4-Intro-to-triangulation-MEF_0.pdf


Valorie Cowan Zimmerman


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