Announcing the Creation of Genetic Genealogy Standards

Genetic Genealogy Standards

Over the past few months, a group of genealogists and scientists has been working to draft a set of Genetic Genealogy Standards that can be used to guide genealogists and test-takers as they enter and explore the world of genetic genealogy. Importantly this document is not meant to be a manual, but instead is meant to function similarly to standards like the Genealogy Standards. From the preamble of the Standards:

This document is intended to provide ethical and usage standards for the genealogical community to follow when purchasing, recommending, sharing, or writing about the results of DNA testing for ancestry.

It is the responsibility of the test-taker to understand and consider these standards before ordering  a test, and when reviewing or sharing their results. However, all genealogists who utilize or recommend DNA testing should: (1) review and understand these standards; (2) strive to meet and exceed these minimum standards; and (3) assist clients with understanding these standards.

For absolute clarity, I note that the Standards Committee is not affiliated with any other group, organization, or committee, including being completely independent and separate from ISOGG.

Public Comment Period

For the next 4 weeks, the committee asks that members of the community visit this site (“Genetic Genealogy Standards“), download and review the document and provide constructive feedback and suggestions. Is there anything we missed? Anything we got wrong? What did we get right? The document can be downloaded directly from the link above. To provide feedback, please use the feedback system provided on the same website; feedback provided on Facebook or elsewhere is too difficult to track and thus will not be considered by the Standards Committee (although we encourage discussion everywhere, just be sure to leave it at the website as well).

Please download the document and provide your feedback; the more feedback we get, the better the final product will be!