Triangulate Everything!

-

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.

---

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


Valorie Cowan Zimmerman


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack? GAME CHANGER at FamilySearch

-
Image
Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a
Read more

What's the Question?

-
Image
We genealogists are often told by experienced researchers how important it is to begin with a research question. I resisted doing this for a long time, but now that I use a series of questions to guide my research, the search is more focused and actually finds more of the history of the family I'm investigating. I use a Google Doc as the  research proceeds, where I keep the question(s), the plan, timelines, checklist of resources to search, etc. all in one place. I've seen others use spreadsheets in the same way, perhaps splitting up things in tabs (Excel or Google Sheets). I prefer a document because I add source citations as I find them and I can begin writing up the case right there in the doc as the hypotheses are proven. Specific Questions in Previous Successes As beginners we often have no clue how much and what details we already know about a person, event or relationship, so it's hard to specify what we want to know. But when looking back at successful research, it
Read more

Help Save This Abused and Neglected Cemetery

-
Image
Screen capture from Google Maps History In an exchange of emails this past week in both the main SKCGS group, and in the Washington-State-Genealogy group, many facts were revealed about the history of the I.O.O.F. Comet Lodge Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Ground, the Georgetown Cemetery, the Graham Street Burying Ground and maybe more.  FindAGrave sums it up this way: "Since it was established in 1881, the Comet Lodge cemetery site has been whittled away to less than half its original 5 acres. Records are sketchy but it's safe to say that some 500 pioneers were buried here, atop unknown numbers of native Duwamish people. New burials ended in the 1930s. Since then, homes and streets were built on top of many of the plots as the neighborhood around the cemetery grew.  "Upkeep and ownership of the cemetery bounced between the city, civic groups, relatives of Comet Lodge residents, and nearby neighbors. For years, much of the property was allowed to deteriorate int
Read more