5.2.4 Whose ancestors are being researched?

Respondents were asked whose ancestors they investigated in their whakapapa research (Appendix 2, Question 24). It was assumed that Māori respondents would largely be researching their own ancestry so this question was included to get some insight into the motivations of non-Māori whakapapa researchers. Though there was only a small number of non-Māori respondents, each one reported that they researched the whakapapa of their spouse. In the researcher’s library experience this is a common reason for non-Māori researchers to be involved in whakapapa research, though further study that gathers data from a larger number of respondents would be needed to confirm this.

Amongst Māori respondents, overwhelmingly researchers were researching their own whakapapa, however not insignificant numbers of respondents reported that they researched on behalf of others, even those not related to themselves (Chart 6). On the whole research was undertaken for themselves and their descendants, which to some degree reflects the popularity of option a “for posterity (to keep a record for future generations)” in question 1 (see 5.2.3 Motivation for beginning whakapapa research).
Chart 6.
Legend

a. my own
b. my spouse/partner’s
c. my friend’s
d. my children’s
e. my grandchildren’s
f. those of other genealogists/whakapapa researchers
g. those of a client, as a paid researcher