Research Example -- Genealogy Databases
An example of library resources used for the topic of "Using public genealogy databases to solve crimes."
Search Strategy
Databases: OneSearch, Academic Search Complete, PsychArticles, Military and Government, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
Keywords: genetic databases, genetic genealogy, law enforcement, ethics, crimes
Beyond Bioethics: Toward a New Biopolitics by For decades, the field of bioethics has shaped the way we think about ethical problems in science, technology, and medicine. But its traditional emphasis on individual interests such as doctor-patient relationships, informed consent, and personal autonomy is minimally helpful in confronting the social and political challenges posed by new human biotechnologies such as assisted reproduction, human genetic modification, and DNA forensics.
- Should police have access to genetic genealogy databases? Capturing the Golden State Killer and other criminals using a controversial new forensic technique.On April 24, 2018, a suspect in California's notorious Golden State Killer cases was arrested after decades of eluding the police. Using a novel forensic approach, investigators identified the suspect by first identifying his relatives using a free, online genetic database populated by individuals researching their family trees.
- Problematizing consent: searching genetic genealogy datbases for law enforcement purposesGenetic genealogy databases have become particularly attractive to law
enforcement agencies, especially in the United States (US), which have
started to employ genealogists to search them with unknown origin DNA
from unidentified human remains (suicides, missing persons) or from a
serious crime scene, to help identify the victim, or a potential suspected
perpetrator, respectively.