Cape Breton Post July 27, 2011 Wednesday Carleton researchers launch Canadian genealogy survey in Cape Breton Ken MacLeod Cape Breton Post SYDNEY - Two Carleton University researchers have launched an online survey that seeks to understand the surge of interest in genealogy. Topics : Carleton University , Sprott School of Business , Highland Village Museum , Cape Breton , Nova Scotia , Ottawa The first stage of this national project is being piloted in Nova Scotia, starting in Cape Breton before moving on to the mainland. Genealogy is one of the fastest-growing leisure activities, with current estimates suggesting that between 20 per cent and 25 per cent of Canadians actively pursue family history projects. Del Muise, an emeritus professor of history at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the Canadian Genealogical Survey will "gauge the nature of the phenomenon." "With estimates of some 25,000,000 people in North America being able to trace their families back to Nova Scotia during the past 400 years, Nova Scotia seemed like the best place to start our data collection," said Muise, who is a New Waterford native and East Margaree resident. Muise is joined in the study by Leighann Neilson, associate professor of marketing at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business and a family historian herself. "The survey will likely have implications for the many museums, archives and local libraries that have seen an influx of visitors seeking information on their family's history," she said. "We hope to gather information on who's doing family history today and what resources they like to use. A key feature of our research will be to assess the inter-relationships between web-based research and on-site research." According to Muise, Cape Bretoners are active in tracing their roots through online social networking sites like Facebook, as well as through local institutions such as the Highland Village Museum and the Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University. "Cape Breton is a very highly developed area for genealogy," he says, but adds that the rising in interest in genealogy isn't restricted to any specific areas of the country. "It's huge. And there's no discernible difference on a provincial basis." The typical person involved in genealogical research, says Muise, is over 40, with a big spike at 55 to 65, the baby boom generation. Muise and Neilson will be visiting many local centres for genealogy research this summer, promoting the survey. The survey is available online now at cusurveycentre.ca/gensurvey. People interested can learn about the results of the survey at www.genealogyincanada.blogspot.com, where reports about the survey's progress will be posted. People will be able to comment and offer opinions on the results. "In a post-modern world, people don't have a firm sense of being rooted," said Muise, "so they pursue genealogy as a way of identifying an understandable past. One of the things we are trying to figure out is what people get out of it, and how will they pass it down."