RootsChat.Com
General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: Genegirl on Sunday 28 June 15 02:55 BST (UK)
-
Hello I really want to do these tests but the price is so high. I'm happy to spend that if I knew which was the most
reliable and accurate.
Which one is better? I want more comprehensive accurate results detailing many countries.
I know I have very strong British Ancestry and German I think as well. But I've been told there might be some Russian in there
too. Which one is more detailed? I like how the ancestryDNA tests looks, but I don't want to be swayed by how popular it is
and how good it appears to be.
-
I assume by which is best you are referring to which will give you the best interpretation of your ethnic makeup.
If that is what you are looking for the simple answer, in my opinion, is none of them. How these companies "determine" your ethnic makeup is by comparing your results with a panel of "typical" compositions. Where this falls down is that these sample populations are very small and even the best companies only have about 25 such groups at most - to cover a world population that is now about 6 1/2 billion. The science of ethnic genealogy is in its very early day and the results these companies give should at best be taken with a large dose of salt.
That said if you want to test you can test with any of the big three as there are Independent companies like gedmatch and prosapiagenetics where you can upload your results and get alternative analyses. When you see how much some of these alternatives differ you will realise how unreliable the analyses given actually are.
Hope that has not put you off too much. Its OK if you want to do it for amusement but the results are not definitive and companies often claim accuracy that is just not true. If you search previous posts you will find where people have given links where people have given critiques of "ethnic genealogy" testing
-
How easy are those sites to use?
They seem complicated involving software and I can't make sense of much of it.
I am female so it seems limited to tests I can do.
-
The sites are very easy to use have comprehensive instructions and a help section.
As a female you can take the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test (direct female line only) and the family finder (autosomal DNA) (looks at your DNA back about 5 generations on both male and female lines - this is the test used to find cousins of varying degrees etc)
If you have a close male relative eg brother, paternal uncle etc then they could take the yDNA test that looks at the direct male line