Noon Scientific Method

Applications in Failure Investigation and Forensic Science
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4200-9281-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 214 Seiten

Reihe: International Forensic Science and Investigation

Most failure or accident investigations begin at the end of the story: after the explosion, after the fire has been extinguished, or after the collapse. In many instances, information about the last event and the starting event is known reasonably well. Information about what occurred between these endpoints, however, is often unclear, confusing, and perhaps contradictory. Scientific Method: Applications in Failure Investigation and Forensic Science explains how scientific investigative methods can best be used to determine why and how a particular event occurred.

While employing examples from forensic engineering, the book uses principles and ideas applicable to most of the forensic sciences. The author examines the role of the failure investigator, describes the fundamental method for investigation, discusses the optimal way to organize evidence, and explores the four most common reasons why some investigations fail. The book provides three case studies that exemplify proper report writing, contains a special chapter profiling a criminal case by noted forensic specialist Jon J. Nordby, and offers a reading list of resources for further study.

Concise and illustrative, this volume demonstrates how the scientific method can be applied to failure investigation in ways that avoid flawed reasoning while delivering convincing reconstruction scenarios. Investigators can pinpoint where things went wrong, providing valuable information that can prevent another catastrophe.

Zielgruppe

Investigators in failure and accident analysis, forensic scientists, engineers, criminal justice systems professionals.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Noon, Randall K.

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Konstruktiver Ingenieurbau, Baustatik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
General

What a Failure Investigator Does
The Conclusion Pyramid
Some Common Terms of the Art
Crime versus Failure

How Accidents and Failures Occur
Eyewitness Information
Some Investigative Methods
Role in the Legal System
The Fundamental Method
The Fundamental Basis for Investigation
The Scientific Method

The Value of Falsification
Iteration: The Evolution of a Hypothesis

Lessons Learned

More about the Fundamental Method

More Historical Background

A Comparison of Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Apriorism and Aposteriorism

Sophistry

The Method of Exhaustion

Coincidence, Correlation, and Causation

Applying the Scientific Method to Determine a Root Cause

The Scientific Method and the Legal System

Convergence of Independent Methods

Occam’s Razor

Organizing Evidence

Data Collection and Efficient Sorting Schemes

Verification of Facts

Organization of Data and Evidence: Timelines

Cause-and-Effect Diagrams

A Place to Start

Event and Causal Factors Diagrams

Investigation Strategies

Four Common Reasons Why Some Investigations Fail

Introduction

Reason 1: The Tail Wagging the Dog

Reason 2: Lipstick on a Corpse

Reason 3: Elementary, My Dear Watson, Elementary

Reason 4: Dilution of the Solution

Report Writing: Three Case Studies

Reporting the Findings of an Investigation

Three Sample Reports

Misplaced Method in the Science of Murder

Jon J. Nordby, PhD, D-ABMDI
Introduction

The Scene

Further Search of the Premises

The State’s Expert Reconstructs the Murder from the Clues

Revisiting the Scene Science: The Problem of Data

Testing to Develop Scientific Inferences from Data

Scientific Inferences from the Decedent’s Sweater

Scientific Inferences from the Suspect’s Glasses

Scientific Conclusions about the Shooting Events

Reading List

Books and Monographs

Papers and Articles

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Randall K. Noon owns a consulting firm in Hiawatha, Kansas.