BACKGROUNDMany genealogists find DNA tests useful. The test itself is simply a saliva sample obtained by scraping the inside of the cheek. The privacy of each participant is protected by analyses being limited to “ancestral markers” rather than to the full personal DNA “fingerprint” or "signature". Participants’ names are not disclosed without their consent, and their e-mail addresses are not released to non-participants. See also Privacy Statement. If you as a prospective or existing member of our Study have concerns about privacy/confidentiality issues please e-mail the Study Administrator. The interpretation of DNA test results depends on the transmission of DNA remaining unchanged from generation to generation, apart from small and occasional changes (“mutations”) in one or more of the “markers” that make up the genetic elements of the DNA profile or signature of each individual. The DNA signatures of individual participants can be compared to establish the likelihood of common ancestry, but DNA test results are never 100% conclusive. Confidence in the interpretation of test results increases as more individuals participate and as the testing and analysis techniques continue to improve. Four applications of DNA tests are popular with genealogists:
This Study only addresses application 1(b) above (see also Ordering Additional Tests). In other words, it is not concerned with relationships through female lines identified by mitochondrial or autosomal tests, or with Deep ancestry studies of ethnicity isssues. However individual participants may of course pursue such studies privately, and the Irvine Clan Autosomal DNA Project has recently been established to develop the potential of Family Finder tests (see https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/irvine-clan/about). A summary of these findings relevant to members of this Study is now included in the main results table. The relationship of conventional genealogy and surname studies with genetic genealogy (the use of autosomal, mitochondrial and yDNA tests for genealogical purposes) is often confused. - Conventional, traditional genealogy, aka "paper trail" genealogy, involves the use of documented sources to trace genealogical relationships of a person's ancestors and cousins, regardless of surname or sex. Whenever tracing one's own ancestry it is essential to work backwards in time, from the present to the past, from the bottom up. To select a noteworthy historical individual and try to trace his descendants using documentary sources in the hope they include you, i.e. from the top down, is likely to end in failure and disappointment. - Autosomal DNA testing can assist traditional genealogical research by identifying possible cousins, male or female, back for about 5 generations. Like traditional genealogy, autosomal DNA research is "from the bottom up". Autosomal tests, such as FamilyTreeDNA's FamilyFinder test are today the cheapest and most popular genealogy DNA test. - Surname Studies research genealogical relationships within a specific surname. Such studies will typically use both traditional and yDNA test data. For rare surnames the objective is to collect all the records relating to members or the surname and trace their ancestries. For more common surnames such as Irwin such a goal is impractical, but even without such diligence there is much to learn from studying a particular surname and its various branches. See for example my book on The Irwin Surname (see Further Reading). - A Surname DNA Study such as this uses yDNA test results (primarily) to identify the branches of a surname whose members are all related to one another during the past millennium or so, but who are not related to members of other branches of the surname. Such studies are especially useful when conventional research into an ancestral surname meets a "brick wall", for the relationships identified by yDNA tests are "top down". Typically, for example, it can tell an American male Irwin (or similarly spelled surname) which Scottish or Irish branch of the surname his paternal ancestors descended from, even though his conventional genealogical research does not take his ancestry back to when his ancestors "crossed the pond". Since 2000 many Scottish Clans have launched surname DNA studies and associated websites. Such studies offer opportunities to:
Turning to the Clan
Irwin itself, the genealogical context of this surname Study is discussed at GENEALOGICAL
BACKGROUND and the book The Irwin Surname: its Origins, Diaspora and Early Branches, details of which may be found at FURTHER READING. Today over 100,000 adult males use the surname Irwin (or one of several spelling variants) throughout the British Isles, in Australasia, and, predominantly, in North America. While many such individuals possess lengthy genealogical pedigrees, almost none of these pedigrees have reliably connected the diaspora of the surname. On the other hand some 90% of the participants in this Study have been able to connect their genetic paternal ancestry with a geographical origin within the surname era. GOALS OF THE CLAN IRWIN SURNAME DNA STUDY
This website does not attempt to describe in detail the underlying principles and terminology of DNA tests for genealogists. For further guidance the following websites all give good background:
http://www.isogg.org/ http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Wiki_Welcome_Page http://www.familytreedna.com/audio-video.aspx http://blairdna.com/dna101.html http://blairdna.com/dna102.html http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/ http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/DNAdna2.htm http://www.kerchner.com/dna-info.htm http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/ http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/03/triangulation-in-genetic-genealogy.html FTDNA support a web-based seminar program at: http://www.relativeroots.net/webinars/ftdna/ For a good bit of up-to-date, background reading on the application of genetic genealogy to surnames see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3807801/ http://dnaandfamilytreeresearch.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/getting-most-out-of-your-y-dna-test.html https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/r-1b/faq For those interested in deep ancestry a good review is at http://www.la-press.com/human-dispersal-out-of-africa-a-lasting-debate-article-a555 For an excellent introduction to Next Generation Sequence testing, including BigY, see See also Further Reading and Supplementary Papers 9 - Lecture Slides
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