Learn How to Meet Standards Using DNA Evidence with Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG

This all-new course is designed to deconstruct, and study researcher decisions, strategies, and methodologies employed in the correlation of documentary and genetic evidence to establish proven genealogical conclusions. Examples include case studies suitable for publication, research reports, and proof summaries/arguments useful in a Kinship Determination Project (KDP). The research problems are all long-standing genealogical brick walls that could not be solved without the skillful use of DNA and documentary sources. We will focus on a variety of strategies to meet the newly minted DNA-Related standards and the Genealogical Proof Standard.

Students will dissect familiar skills, with a DNA twist:

• Crafting a meaningful research question
• Developing and refining research plans
• Mining for evidence
• Correlating evidence
• Sorting and grouping evidence
• Analyzing with logic and inference
• Testing hypotheses
• Resolving conflicts
• Reporting of findings
• Writing clear proof arguments detailing evidence and reasoning to support the conclusion

There is a strong instructor team joining Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG, and includes:

• Catherine B. W. Desmarais, CG
• LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL
• Melissa A. Johnson, CG
• Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
• Angela Packer McGhie, CG
• David Ouimette, CG, CGL
• David Rencher, CG, AG, FIGRS, FUGA
• Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA

This course has the following prerequisites:

• Requires previous completion of the following full-week institute courses at any genealogical institute in three categories:
• Advanced Methodology, Advanced Genealogical Methods, Mastering Genealogical Proof;
• Beginning DNA, Introduction to Genetic Genealogy, Practical Genetic Genealogy;
• Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA, Intermediate DNA, Chromosome Mapping, Advanced DNA (offered Summer 2019), or SLIG Virtual DNA Practicum (offered Fall 2019)

If a registrant does not meet the prerequisites, a work sample may be submitted for consideration that correlates genetic and documentary sources to establish a conclusion meeting the Genealogical Proof Standard.

There are also pre-reading requirements:

• Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogy Standards, 2nd edition
• Thomas W. Jones, Mastering Genealogical Proof
• Debbie Parker Wayne and Blaine T. Bettinger, Genetic Genealogy in Practice
• Thomas W. Jones, Mastering Genealogical Documentation
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained (the first two chapters)
• Debbie Parker Wayne, ed. Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies
• Board for Certification of Genealogists, Rubrics for Evaluating New Applications for BCG Certification, 2019 edition; PDF, Board for Certification of Genealogists

Registration for SLIG 2020 opens July 13, 2019 at 9:00 am MDT. For more information, go here.