Ethics in research
What do you do when research reveals a secret?
6 min read
Roots research may uncover information that was never told within the family. How do we handle sensitive findings, and what is worth clarifying even before the search begins?
Families turn to roots research in order to find a great-grandfather's name, to learn what became of relatives, or to return to a town that has been forgotten. But sometimes, as the research goes deeper, details that nobody ever spoke about also come to light.
Previous marriages, a family connection that was not known, a change of name, a conversion or a rupture between branches of a family — findings like these may change the way family members understand their past. They raise a professional and a human question: what do we do with the information we have found?
Truth is not a licence to publish
Even when a finding is well established, not every piece of information has to be made public. In genealogical research it is important to distinguish between delivering findings to the person who commissioned the research, sharing them with other family members, and publishing information on a website or in a public family tree.
The code of ethics of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) emphasises the importance of caution, privacy and discretion when information could harm other people. Even accurate information can be sensitive; so it is important to think not only about its reliability, but also about the right way to use it.
Alongside the ethical considerations there are legal aspects as well. Israel's Privacy Protection Law protects, among other things, certain matters relating to a person's private life. The practical meaning depends on the circumstances, so when research touches on living people or on sensitive information about them, it is important to examine carefully what can be shared, with whom and in what circumstances.
Who else is affected by the finding?
Research is sometimes commissioned by one person, but its findings may have implications for many others: siblings who were not part of the commission, relatives who are still alive, or descendants of a family branch that was not previously known.
Information about origins, parentage or family connections may carry emotional weight and sometimes practical consequences. There is no single rule that fits every case. What is needed is context, an assessment of how certain the finding is, attention to privacy, and discretion about the way the information is delivered.
DNA tests: sometimes the answer arrives without us looking for it
Home DNA tests may reveal unexpected family connections, siblings who were not known, or a gap between a family connection as it was understood until now and the genetic findings. Sometimes a person takes a test in order to learn about their origins and discovers information they never intended to look for.
Before a genetic test, then, it is worth thinking not only about what one hopes to discover, but also about the possibility that the result will raise new questions about identity, parentage and family connections. Genetic results, too, require careful interpretation, and it is not always possible to draw an unambiguous conclusion from them without further checking.
How I approach sensitive findings
A conversation beforehand
At the start of the work it is worth clarifying with those commissioning the research what they want to know, whether there are especially sensitive subjects, and how they would like an unexpected finding to be handled. The conversation cannot anticipate every possibility, but it allows expectations to be set from the outset.
Delivering findings appropriately
When information with the potential to unsettle comes to light, the way it is delivered should suit the nature of the finding and the circumstances. The aim is not only to present the information, but also to explain its source, its historical context and how certain it is.
Context, not judgement
Decisions made decades ago or longer grew out of a different social, cultural and legal world, and sometimes out of conditions of persecution and survival. My role as a researcher is to present the findings and explain the context, not to judge the people whose lives are being researched.
Care with living people
Details about people who are still alive require particular attention. Information given to the person who commissioned the research should not be assumed to be suitable for a public family tree, for publication or for sharing with other family members.
Distinguishing finding from interpretation
It is important to present what was actually found, which sources it rests on, and what is still uncertain. Where there is doubt, it should be stated explicitly rather than presenting a hypothesis as fact.
Good research is also sensitive research
The purpose of roots research is not to expose at any cost. It is to help a family understand its past through well-founded information, while taking account of the people the story touches. Sometimes the answer changes the picture we knew; sometimes it leaves questions open. Either way, it matters that it is delivered responsibly and with respect.
The ethical issues discussed in this article were raised, among others, in a lecture by Adv. and genealogist Roni Golan on ethics in genealogy, given within the "From Roots to Trees" course at Yad Vashem.
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