UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
If I test fingerprints of families, do I have to have the same amount of members in each family?
Question Date: 2012-01-01
Answer 1:

It is great to see you thinking about the experimental design here. No, you do not need to have the same amount of people in each family. In order for a result to be accepted as scientific evidence, it must be statistically significant. Basically what you must show is that it is unlikely that your results could have occurred randomly. The more families and family members you can examine, the more significant your results will be. I would suggest using families within a certain size range (like 4-6 people), but the key here will be to examine as many different families as you can. Also keep in mind that it is the children that share similar genetic information (DNA), so the more children in a family the easier you will be able to see a pattern.



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use