Help, are we going to lose the genealogists? : A study regarding the future relationship between archival institutions and genealogists due to genetic ancestry testing

The purpose of this study is to understand what future role archive institutions have for genealogists as a result of genetic ancestry testing. To answer the purpose of this study, three additional research questions have been given. The research questions are as follows (1) what type of information genealogists search for when using genetic ancestry testing (2) what kind of information genealogists are able to retrieve by performing a genetic ancestry test (3) how the archive institutions perceive genealogists who perform genetic ancestry testing. Three different methods have been used to retrieve relevant source material. The methods used are netnography, introspective action research and interviews. The source material has been retrieved by analysing three different discussion forums, interviewing representatives of archive institutions as well as performing genetic ancestry testing ourselves. The theories used in the analyses is based on the theoretical framework established by Martin Saar that involves three dimensions of genealogy, and a secondary framework based on Lisa M. Givens and Donald O. Case’s particular understanding of information behaviour, as well as information seeking. The results of the study have enabled us to conclude three different future scenarios on how the archive institution’s role for genealogists will change. The first conclusion is that the DNA-services will slowly phase out the primary role archives play for the genealogists today. Instead, the commercial DNA-services will become the primary source of information. The second conclusion is that the definition of “value” in regard to the material generated by a genealogist will change, and their research will in the future be seen as valuable by the archive institutions. The third and final conclusion is that the archive institutions will begin to facilitate information and knowledge regarding different aspects of genetic ancestry testing, due to demand of archival users. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Archival Science