Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study

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dc.contributor.advisorKahn, Michelle
dc.contributor.authorPorter, Donovan Stuart
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-16T13:06:59Z
dc.date.available2026-01-16T13:06:59Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2026-01-15T12:21:09Z
dc.description.abstractDigital curation requires taking appropriate actions throughout the lifecycle of digital data. Digital curation of research data in a lifecycle is referred to as the custodial approach, while the pragmatic approach is the curation of digital content in everyday life, such as on websites or social media platforms (Dallas, 2016). Online genealogy, in which a genealogist is using a digital platform to construct a family tree and search for source documents, is an example of the pragmatic approach to digital curation. In this study I investigate genealogy through the lens of digital curation to discover how users curate their genealogical information on a major genealogy website, Ancestry.com. In this way, I consider how online genealogy can be studied as an example of the pragmatic approach to digital curation. This is a qualitative study making use of auto-hermeneutics – I collected data by systematic self-observation (SSO) and analysed it by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). I reconstructed my own family tree in Ancestry.com, evaluating the research hints offered to me by the website algorithm and the member-constructed family trees which contained my ancestors. I found, among other things, that Ancestry.com makes the tree construction process easy and the research hints provided by the website can be verified if caution is exercised, but the same cannot be said for the family trees constructed by Ancestry.com members, many of whom do not practise caution in this endeavour. Study recommendations include a change in the data fields Ancestry.com uses for data capture from members or a change in which it processes and displays that data to ensure that omission of data does not cause incongruous errors to be displayed; and better visibility of the website's guidance on good research techniques to avoid the perpetuation of research errors. Ancestry.com already has verification functionalities which, if applied more widely, have the potential to improve the curation of member-constructed trees.
dc.identifier.apacitationPorter, D. S. (2025). <i>Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Knowledge and Information Stewardship. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationPorter, Donovan Stuart. <i>"Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Knowledge and Information Stewardship, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationPorter, D.S. 2025. Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Knowledge and Information Stewardship. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Porter, Donovan Stuart AB - Digital curation requires taking appropriate actions throughout the lifecycle of digital data. Digital curation of research data in a lifecycle is referred to as the custodial approach, while the pragmatic approach is the curation of digital content in everyday life, such as on websites or social media platforms (Dallas, 2016). Online genealogy, in which a genealogist is using a digital platform to construct a family tree and search for source documents, is an example of the pragmatic approach to digital curation. In this study I investigate genealogy through the lens of digital curation to discover how users curate their genealogical information on a major genealogy website, Ancestry.com. In this way, I consider how online genealogy can be studied as an example of the pragmatic approach to digital curation. This is a qualitative study making use of auto-hermeneutics – I collected data by systematic self-observation (SSO) and analysed it by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). I reconstructed my own family tree in Ancestry.com, evaluating the research hints offered to me by the website algorithm and the member-constructed family trees which contained my ancestors. I found, among other things, that Ancestry.com makes the tree construction process easy and the research hints provided by the website can be verified if caution is exercised, but the same cannot be said for the family trees constructed by Ancestry.com members, many of whom do not practise caution in this endeavour. Study recommendations include a change in the data fields Ancestry.com uses for data capture from members or a change in which it processes and displays that data to ensure that omission of data does not cause incongruous errors to be displayed; and better visibility of the website's guidance on good research techniques to avoid the perpetuation of research errors. Ancestry.com already has verification functionalities which, if applied more widely, have the potential to improve the curation of member-constructed trees. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Digital curation KW - Online space LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study TI - Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationPorter DS. Constructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Knowledge and Information Stewardship, 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42591en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Knowledge and Information Stewardship
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanities
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectDigital curation
dc.subjectOnline space
dc.titleConstructing a family tree in an online space as an act of digital curation: an auto-hermeneutics study
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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