Oh, Yes, We Really, Really Need Sociologists…

Without them, how else would we get vital research like this done?

Researching the family tree is a burgeoning pastime, partly thanks to the hit TV series Who Do You Think You Are?

But it can also open up a 'Pandora's Box' of secrets we could do without knowing, says one academic in the field.

I guess that’s ‘academic’ without the ‘w’…

Dr Anne-Marie Kramer, a historical scientist at Warwick University, said digging up the past can trigger rifts between present-day relatives, while the research also runs the risk of demolishing idealised notions about a family's origins.

Wow, I bet that took a lot of research! She must have watched at least three episodes. And read some articles in ‘Heat’…

The series, launched in 2004, regularly attracts 6million viewers and has helped fuel the interest in genealogy alongside increasing online access to family records.

But Dr Kramer said: 'In investigating their family history, researchers could open up a Pandora's Box of secrets and skeletons, such as finding there are family issues around paternity, illegitimacy or marriage close to birth of children, criminality, health and mental health, and previously unknown humble origins.

'The rifts are not confined to the historic past - bitterness and resentment towards siblings or parents can result where information is not disclosed.'

No s**t, Sherlock…

The analysis, which Dr Kramer is due to present to the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Glasgow today, is part of wider research she is carrying out on family history.

Clearly, sociologists are needed. More so than scientists and engineers….