Group Administration Page (GAP): Interpretation

  1. What are my options for viewing Y-DNA Results? faq id: 357
  2. Why are some haplogroups in red and others in green on the Y-DNA results chart? faq id: 358
  3. Why is my group member missing a section of his Y-DNA results? faq id: 359
  4. Should my members add their results to the Genographic Project? How much does it cost? faq id: 379
  5. Should all project members take an extensive Y-DNA SNP test like the Geno 2.0 test? faq id: 383
  6. What is the FTDNATiP Calculator? How do I use it? faq id: 385
  7. What is the SNP Assurance Program? faq id: 504
  8. A member of my project tested before you implemented the SNP Assurance Program. Will you confirm his haplogroup? faq id: 506
  9. As a Group Project Administrator, what are ways that I can reach out to potential project members? faq id: 630
  10. When planning a Family Finder Project, why is the number of generations back to my ancestor important? faq id: 872
  11. May any cousin join my Family Finder project? Does it matter if they are male or female? faq id: 873
  12. When recruiting for a Family Finder project, how closely related should any two participants be? faq id: 874
  13. What are ways that I can reach out to potential participants in my Family Finder project? faq id: 875
  14. Will Family Finder Project members be able to see their analytical data? Will they rely on me for all interpretation? faq id: 877
  15. What tools are available for group project administrators to analyze Family Finder results? faq id: 1295
  16. How can I use the Family Finder test for my Surname or paternal lineage group project? faq id: 1300
  17. Should I suggest that my group members take the Family Finder test? How do I know when to recommend Family Finder testing? faq id: 1301
  18. Why don't my project members (who are Y-DNA67 perfect matches) match each other with Family Finder? faq id: 1302
  19. For Family Finder, there is nothing that automatically becomes public like Y-chromosome DNA results. How can I share related discoveries with my project members? faq id: 1303

Questions and Answers

  1. What are my options for viewing Y-DNA Results? faq id: 357

    In the GAP (group administrator page), you have three options for viewing Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) results. They are the Y-DNA Classic Results chart, the Y-DNA Colorized Results chart, and the Y-DNA Results chart.

  2. Why are some haplogroups in red and others in green on the Y-DNA results chart? faq id: 358

    Haplogroups that are in red are predicted. Haplogroups displayed in green are confirmed by testing.

  3. Why is my group member missing a section of his Y-DNA results? faq id: 359

    If a project member is missing part of his Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) results, his testing is not complete. The lab performs testing in panels. We post results to members' accounts as they are returned by the lab.

    For example, a Y-DNA37 marker test is three separate tests: the Y-DNA1-12, Y-DNA13-25, and the Y-DNA26-37. The lab may complete a panel out of order. If the Y-DNA26-37 markers are complete before the Y-DNA13-25, the Y-DNA13-25 will appear to be missing.

  4. Should my members add their results to the Genographic Project? How much does it cost? faq id: 379

    Participation in the Genographic Project is a personal choice. The cost to donate one test result to the National Geographic Genographic Project database is $15 US.

  5. Should all project members take an extensive Y-DNA SNP test like the Geno 2.0 test? faq id: 383

    Not all members of a family group need to take an extensive Y-DNA SNP test like the Geno 2.0 test. If there is a group in your project who closely match each other, then only one of those men needs to take such a test. All other men in the family group will also belong to the same haplogroup and subclade. Once one project member has results, the others may order the single terminal SNP to confirm branch membership.

    Note: At this time, we feel that most people will find the Geno 2.0 test is the best value for Y-Chromosome deep ancestry testing. After taking the Geno 2.0 test, you will be able transfer all positive Y-Chromosome SNP results into your Family Tree DNA account. Read more...

  6. What is the FTDNATiP Calculator? How do I use it? faq id: 385

    FTDNATiP is a program that calculates Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA). It uses STR marker mutation rates for more accurate calculations.

    See also: The FTDNATiP FAQ

  7. What is the SNP Assurance Program? faq id: 504

    For accurate haplogroup assignment, Family Tree DNA provides a SNP Assurance Program. If we cannot predict a person's Y-DNA haplogroup with sufficient confidence, we test a Backbone SNP panel to identify the haplogroup assignment. When a haplogroup is in doubt, the Backbone SNP test is automatically ordered after the initial Y-DNA test results are posted.

    See Also: Y-DNA Backbone Test

  8. A member of my project tested before you implemented the SNP Assurance Program. Will you confirm his haplogroup? faq id: 506

    If your project member tested before we started the SNP Assurance Program, and their haplogroup is unpredicted on the Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page of their myFTDNA account, we will run the Backbone SNP test for them. You may then use the feedback form to send your request to our customer service.

    Note: Before requesting SNP Assurance, please write to your project member. This is to be sure they are willing and able to provide a new DNA sample should it be needed.

  9. As a Group Project Administrator, what are ways that I can reach out to potential project members? faq id: 630

    There are many ways for you to reach out to potential project members. The first step for most Group Projects is to set up the Public Project Website and Project Profile pages. If you set these up and keep them current, web search engines like Google™ will be able to find your project. You may then post announcements of and progress reports about your project on relevant mailing lists, message boards, and other social networking sites. You may also wish to contact traditional research groups such as surname and geographic societies.

    See also:

    PublicProjectWebsite

  10. When planning a Family Finder Project, why is the number of generations back to my ancestor important? faq id: 872

    With each generation, the amount of shared DNA and the likelihood of matching between cousins decreases. You need to choose a common ancestor where many project members will have matches within the project.

  11. May any cousin join my Family Finder project? Does it matter if they are male or female? faq id: 873

    Any cousin or suspected cousin who traces their ancestry to the project's ancestral couple may join your Family Finder project. It does not make a difference if they are male or female.

  12. When recruiting for a Family Finder project, how closely related should any two participants be? faq id: 874

    When you are recruiting for a Family Finder project, it is important to test as many cousins as possible from different descendant lines. Ideally, for any line the participants will be between 1st and 2nd cousins.

  13. What are ways that I can reach out to potential participants in my Family Finder project? faq id: 875

    There are many ways that you can reach out to your cousins to invite them to participate in your Family Finder project. Here are some that may work for you:

    • Call your closer relatives, such as your 1st and 2nd cousins, on the telephone or talk with them in person.
    • Write a letter to your more extended cousins, explaining the goals of your project. Offer to follow up with a telephone call.
    • Take materials explaining your project to family gatherings and reunions.
    • Contact other family historians and genealogists and enlist their help.
    • Announce your project through relevant online surname and geographic mailing lists and forums.

  14. Will Family Finder Project members be able to see their analytical data? Will they rely on me for all interpretation? faq id: 877

    Part of your responsibility as a project administrator is to interpret the genetic relationships between project members in light of traditional genealogical records. Members of your Family Finder Project will see their own matching results. They will be displayed in the Family Finder Match List and the Family Finder Chromosome Browser. They will not see the information of project members whom they do not have detectable levels of genetic sharing.

  15. What tools are available for group project administrators to analyze Family Finder results? faq id: 1295

    In GAP 2.0, there are two genetic report pages to help project administrators analyze matches within their project, Family Finder (FF) Illumina OmniExpress Matrix and Family Finder (FF) Illumina OmniExpress Results.

    See also: In GAP 2.0, what is the Family Finder Matrix page? and In GAP 2.0, what is the Family Finder Results page?

  16. How can I use the Family Finder test for my Surname or paternal lineage group project? faq id: 1300

    The Family Finder test has many uses within a surname or paternal lineage project. It helps to,

    • Bring into your project men and women who are related but lack a male cousin with the corresponding Y-chromosome DNA to test.
    • Determine if exact and one-off matches are recent or from eight to fifteen generations back.
    • Sort out the relationships for close or perfect Y-chromosome matches with other surnames.

  17. Should I suggest that my group members take the Family Finder test? How do I know when to recommend Family Finder testing? faq id: 1301

    The best way for you to know what tests to suggest to project members is to talk with them. Often, this happens when someone first tests. If it has been more than two years since they tested, it is a good idea to go over both their and the project's goals.

  18. Why don't my project members (who are Y-DNA67 perfect matches) match each other with Family Finder? faq id: 1302

    It is not unusual for the relationship to be undetected. Most Y-DNA67 exact matches are related within six generations. That is 4th cousins. Family Finder test will detect a relationship between only about half of all 4th cousins.

    See also: What is the probability that my relative and I share enough DNA to be detected by Family Finder?

  19. For Family Finder, there is nothing that automatically becomes public like Y-chromosome DNA results. How can I share related discoveries with my project members? faq id: 1303

    The Family Finder test provides sensitive information about relationships. Therefore, thought must go into presenting matching results to all project members and to the general public. Before sharing, contact the relevant project members. Please be sure they are comfortable with your plans.

    One idea for sharing is to include an item on the Results page of your public Public Project Website. For example, a simple statement like "Kit K1492 is calculated to be between a 2nd and 4th cousin to kit K1785."

    See also:

    PublicProjectWebsite