Genetic Genealogy in Practice

by Blaine T. Bettinger, Debbie Parker Wayne

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) announces the publication of "Genetic Genealogy in Practice," the first workbook on genetic genealogy. Written by Blaine T. Bettinger, PhD, JD, and Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, the book provides family historians and genealogists who have just begun to explore genetic genealogy practical, easy to understand information that they can apply to their research. As Wayne notes in her blog, Deb’s "Delvings in Genealogy," “DNA can seem complex to many of us, but this book will guide you and help build your knowledge level one step at a time.” At their own pace, readers learn the basic concepts of genetic genealogy. They then build on that knowledge as they study the testing, analysis, and application of YDNA, X-DNA, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and autosomal DNA (atDNA) to reach and support genealogical conclusions. Each chapter includes exercises with answer keys for hands-on practice. Blaine Bettinger is an intellectual property attorney in Syracuse, New York. The author of The Genetic Genealogist blog, he is a genealogy educator, a trustee of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and organizer of the Shared cM Project, a crowdsourced project examining the associations between genetic data and genealogical relationships. Debbie Parker Wayne is a professional genealogist who has conducted research for individuals as well as for the PBS series “Finding Your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and other television shows. She is an award-winning author, the coordinator for genetic genealogy institute courses, and the DNA Project Chair for the Texas State Genealogical Society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Genetics

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Brad Garton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book! It's an overview of DNA testing options and how to use them in your genealogy research to answer specific questions. Specifically Y-DNA, mtDNA, atDNA, and X-DNA testing. There is a LOT of information in this book. The book is similar to a text book, with exercises at the end of each chapter, and extensive Appendices with additional information. I believe this book isn't going to be digested in one sitting, and more than likely repeated reviews, and practice are necessary to master the content. This is a fairly up to date book, however recent changes (May 2018) as a result of privacy laws in the EU, which removed several online tools from the web, are not reflected in the book. The book covered the most common DNA testing houses and their tools, and was VERY informative, in many cases showing me things that I was unaware of on each site. The book also incorporates helps for documenting the results of DNA testing in traditional written genealogies. I appreciate this section, but it could use more emphasis. The book did include helpful pointers to find additional references on this topic though. Highly recommended!

[Katharine Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Genetic Genealogy in Practice" - written by Blaine T Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne and published in 2016 by National Genealogical Society. This is a great introduction to various aspects of DNA - basic details, testing and interpretation. I have done a lot of autosomal testing and a little of both mtDNA and Y-DNA and appreciated the reviews. I found myself wishing I could be studying my own results rather than trying to figure out someone else's, but I guess that's to be expected. There was a little too much emphasis on Native American results. Both authors are well-known, respected experts in this field and I will continue to learn from them.

[N.W. Moors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne are two of the foremost genetic genealogists. Here he's taken a complex subject and boiled it down to concrete examples that are easier to follow. This is more of a workbook and there are different questions to answer that help a genealogist work through from DNA basics to more complex examples. He covers AncestryDNA, FTDNA, and 23andMe so there's a good spectrum of the different testing companies.
If you are serious about incorporating DNA research into your family trees, this is a great book to start you off.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Textbook.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent workbook by two industry experts covers genetic genealogy theory and current tests and tools. About one third of the book comprises exercises (with solutions) exploring how to apply the theory in practice to a wide range of genealogical problems. The book also covers how to present results professionally. I would recommend it to genealogists with an academic mindset but anyone with an interest in the subject can learn from it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something that I perused through. Looks to be a great resource because it presents problems that others have faced in DNA research and forces the reader to think about how they would solve the problem using the information they have read.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I need to sit down with our DNA reports and try to put some of this information to work. It will make more sense then. Until then, I believe this will help me in my novice stages of DNA genealogy.

[Noel Church · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had no clear audience and ad such isn't helpful a beginner to know how to fo genetic genealogy research. And it spends too much time on some 'basics' that intermediate readers will be frustrated.

[Pauleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what you need if you're a beginning genetic genealogist or you've been trying to understand how it all comes together. Highly recommended.

[Irene Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great for working with my DNA results.

[Marcy Kludt Belles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the exercises was difficult to do as the process wasn't fully explained in the chapter. It really requires a person to have a better understanding of DNA than a beginner.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well outlined

Helpful for those trying to leverage the DNA test to support their family tree research. Enjoyable read for intermediate researchers also.