Gina Paige, president and co-founder of African Ancestry Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based company that offers DNA tests, answers some questions about the tests and how the information can be used.

What does this research reveal about the connection between DNA and race? Can one say that race is in someone's DNA?

It's not. Race is not a genetic construct. Race is a social construct.

I guess in many ways you could say these test help to underscore the reality that race is not genetic.

For example, if you live your life as an African American person, but then you have European ancestry, that doesn't mean you are not African American.

Why are people interested in tracking their family's lineage through DNA?
Well I think for African Americans there is a great interest because it's information that we don't have any other way of obtaining, as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We don't know where we came from in Africa. We are the only group in the country that can't point to a country of origin.

How can people use DNA kits to supplement documented lineage?
It bridges the gap. It's not going to pick up where someone's traditional research leads off. What it does is bridge that gap that still exists. It doesn't close the gap, it just bridges the gap.

For someone who is interested in tracking their ancestry with DNA kits, what is the best way to get started?

Well, they need to determine what ancestry they are interested in finding out. Do they want to know their maternal ancestry? Do they want to know their paternal ancestry? Maybe they want to know their grandmother's paternal ancestry. The first step is deciding which line you want to trace, just like traditional genealogy.

And then the next step is to identify the appropriate family member to take the test. And I say that because if you are a female and you want to trace your paternal ancestry you can't do that using your own DNA, you need a male relative from your father's side to take that test. Or if you want trace your grandmother's paternal line you don't have the DNA necessary. So you need a different family member.

Then you order the test kit. You do the swabbing, return the test kit to [the company] for DNA extraction and sequencing.

How can one determine if a company is offering legitimate DNA test and results?

The consumer has to do some research. For one, the consumer has to be very clear about what it is he or she wants the results to be. Are you looking for the percentage of different ancestries you have? Or are you looking for whether or not your ancestors are Native American or European or African? Or are you trying to identify a specific country or countries in Africa that you share ancestry with?

Then they need to ask questions of the companies:

Do you have a test that will help me determine this result?
The consumer needs to do research in terms of how well the company explains the process, answers the questions, whether the consumer feels there is enough confidentiality.

People should ask about what is done with the genetic material once the results are determined.

What does it mean when markers on the submitted DNA match DNA in a company's database?

That means with complete certainty you share common genetic ancestry either maternally or paternally with that person.

The lineages in our database are from people who have self reported that they and there families are indigenous to that area and also to an ethnic group.

When you get your results, how is the information presented and what does it reveal?

We present the results in the form of a letter; a printout of the DNA sequence with markers; a brief explanation of how to read the sequence. A map which highlights the country or countries with which they share ancestry; a certificate of ancestry; an African Ancestry guide to western and central Africa.

Why might someone's results be different than expected?
Generally speaking, the likelihood of them being different than what the person expects is low because most people have no idea what to expect.

However, when we trace paternal ancestry, paternal lineages, we find European ancestry, not African ancestry, 30 percent of the time. That can often be something that people don't expect.

How do people react to unexpected results?
In the case where people are surprised because they are not aware of any European males in that paternal line, it really ranges: some people are really upset, some are disappointed, but most people understand that there is a history of mixture in the African American community.

The other reason people are disappointed is because when they take this test they really are hoping to find African ancestry -- that is what they really want to know about.

Will the information provided about genetic lineage be enriched if family members also provide DNA samples?

It's just like your family tree. If you know who your four grandparents are, that is going to give you a better perspective of your history than if you know only one or two of them.

Many people who take our test do both the maternal and paternal lines. We do have a growing number of people who trace four lineages, for example tracing the ancestry of their four grandparents.

We have a handful of people who are really accomplished genealogists who have traced eight to 12 lineages on their family tree.

If I go back to my analogy. If you know the grandparents on your mother's side, but you don't know your grandparents on your father's side, then you only know about half of your family. The more research you do the more lines you learn about, you are descended from all those people in the family tree. It's just more information. Each individual result is as specific as it can be.

What else can one do with their results?
People do a lot of things. People travel. They use these results to decide where to travel on the continent.

People are going back to their countries of ancestry and are building schools and rebuilding hospitals.

People are forming study groups here in their communities. People are learning languages. People are adopting children from the countries that they share ancestry with.

People are passing the information along throughout their families, at family reunions, or at holiday celebrations. Using it for their kids, so they can more fully participate in ancestry related discussion in the classroom.

People are doing all kinds of things.

People are reconnecting with their culture as a result of finding their ancestry. It's not just information that they store away at the back of their head, but its information that motivates them, or transforms them to do new things.

So then it is possible to use this information to connect with people of a similar background?

Sure. We can't tell you that you are related with "Joe Smith." But yeah, they are going into communities and meeting modern day people in Sierra Leone, or meeting Yoruba people in Nigeria. Or in the case of the United States finding Bamileke people from Cameroon here in New York.

-- Interview conducted by Bryan Hayes, Online NewsHour