4150 Cousins: What 7 DNA Ancestry Tests Can Tell You About Your Kin

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of seven commercialized DNA ancestry tests that are all available to the public, for under $400 Canadian dollars each. This research is conducted to explore the use of commercialized DNA ancestry tests. The results from each test are compared in order to determine what they are able to tell a customer. The tests used are not the only tests available, but are chosen because of their popularity, price, and what they claim to be able to report to their customer. I find the databases that the tests include online to ‘find relatives’, who are other customers having the same Haplogroup or another matching genetic identifier, to be the most troublesome aspect of the results. Specifically, it is important for the public to clearly understand that these tests are not as conclusive as they are advertised to be, so that they are not misled in thinking that the tests have the potential to show things with certainty that they cannot.