Using GEDmatch (The Triangulation Tool)

The previous article in this series is Using Genome Mate (Add confirmed segments to chromosome map).

As explained in my earlier post, Using Genome Mate (Identify triangulated groups and confirm segments), we now have an understanding of the basic principals of triangulating DNA segments, and know how to manually go through our match data and identify triangulated groups. In this post, I will show how to use the GEDmatch Triangulation tool to automatically identify the triangulated segments you share with your 400 closest matches at GEDmatch and then easily import the triangulated segment results from GEDmatch into Genome Mate.

Using Genome Mate (Add confirmed segments to chromosome map)

The previous article in this series is Using Genome Mate (Identify triangulated groups and confirm segments).

In following the steps that have been previously outlined, we now know how to identify triangulated groups and confirm the segments within a triangulated group. This post will show the steps to add these triangulated segments to our chromosome map.

Using Genome Mate (Identify triangulated groups and confirm segments)

The previous article in this series is Using Genome Mate (Importing/Updating the email addresses of your matches from GEDmatch).

In following the steps that have been previously outlined, we now have imported a sizable amount of data from GEDmatch into Genome Mate. This post will show how to begin working with this data to identify groups of triangulated segments. The process of identifying triangulated groups can be very time consuming, and like genealogy itself, is something that is never ending. The concepts of identifying triangulated groups are fairly simple to grasp, but there is no shortcut to taking the necessary time to work through and analyze your DNA data. As one leading genetic genealogist, Dr. Blaine Bettinger (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com), summed it up so accurately, “Finding genetic matches is easy, but finding the common ancestor from whom we inherited a segment [of] DNA is very hard.”

Steps to DNA Matching and Chromosome Mapping with GEDmatch and Genome Mate

For awhile now, I’ve planned to write a summary of the steps to using GEDmatch and Genome Mate for chromosome mapping. Based on some great feedback and suggestions from Roberta, one of my blog readers, I’m going to go ahead and post this summary now, instead of waiting until I have completed the step by step guides for the entire process. My hope is this will help people to begin making the most efficient use of their DNA data right away, as well as letting people know what topics I will be covering next in the process. As I continue to add the rest of the step by step guides, I will update this post by adding the links to the new guides after I have completed writing them. In addition, I hope to keep evolving this post by incorporating new methods and tools that may become available for working with one’s genealogical DNA data.

Using GEDmatch Part 6 (The Phasing Tool)

The previous article in this series is Using GEDmatch Part 5 (Alternate To Triangulation Tool).

Twice within the past week, I’ve come across situations where the GEDmatch phasing tool would be very likely to help solve someone’s genealogical mystery. It seems some people may not be aware of this extremely useful, yet easy to use, tool. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few words explaining a bit about what the phasing tool does, and what the benefits of using it are, as well as show the very quick and simple steps to using the tool.

Using GEDmatch Part 5 (Alternate To Triangulation Tool)

The previous article in this series is Introduction To Using GEDmatch Part 4 (Alternate Way To Find People Who Match One Or Both Of 2 Kits).

This week, I happened to come across a fantastic blog post by Sue Griffith. In her post, she demonstrates an alternate method to the GEDmatch triangulation tool for finding overlapping segments. I really like her methodology, but the explanation of the steps seemed like it could possibly be a bit overwhelming for some people. With this post, I want to walk through Sue’s method step by step, providing additional information and screenshots, so others can also begin to take advantage of her great way to find segment overlaps.

Using GEDmatch Part 4 (Alternate Way To Find People Who Match One Or Both Of 2 Kits)

The previous article in this series is Introduction To Using GEDmatch Part 3 (The People Who Match One Or Both Of 2 Kits Tool).

As I mentioned in the previous post in this series, for some unknown reason, there are times when the GEDmatch People who match one or both of 2 kits tool does not properly report the matches between the two kits. In this post, I will show you how to conduct a check for common matches between two kits using a spreadsheet. This allows you to double check the GEDmatch tool, and has the advantage of providing you with the ability to save your results and/or check for common matches among more than two kits.

GEDmatch and GenomeMate Resources

I’ve read that it’s estimated 80% of genealogy is repetition. Repeating the same research someone else has done, repeating our own searches over again, and reviewing the same sources that others have already gone through, for example. I have little doubt this estimate is likely to be quite realistic. I’m certainly guilty of this repetition just as much as anybody. This repetitiveness also exists with genealogy blogs.

Using GEDmatch Part 3 (The People Who Match One Or Both Of 2 Kits Tool)

The previous article in this series is Introduction To Using GEDmatch Part 2 (The One-To-Many Comparison Tool).

It’s taken me awhile to post another article in this series because I was hoping the Triangulation tool would be reinstated by now. Since it has not, let’s explore the People who match one or both of 2 kits tool that has recently been reinstated. For each of the matches we get to our kit using the ‘One-to-many’ matches tool, it is very helpful to know who else happens to match both of our DNA tests. This can help us begin to identify shared segments between at least three people, forming the basis for properly triangulating the segment back to a common ancestor, or set of ancestors.

Using GEDmatch Part 2 (The One-To-Many Comparison Tool)

The previous article in this series is Introduction To Using GEDmatch.

Now that we know how to do ‘One-to-one’ comparisons at GEDmatch, and the importance of doing triangulation on matching segments, let’s take a look at the ‘One-to-many’ comparison feature available on the GEDmatch website. The ‘One-to-many’ tool will give us a list of our closest DNA matches found on the GEDmatch site.