1st Edition
Scientific Method Applications in Failure Investigation and Forensic Science
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
Biography
Randall K. Noon owns a consulting firm in Hiawatha, Kansas.
The well-organized text and excellent cause-and-effect tables and graphics make the subject matter very palatable while delivering a virtual investigation blueprint. If you are remotely interested in why something fails and how to prevent a recurrence, this book is not only a great read, but an absolute must for your personal maintenance Body of Knowledge!
— Ken Bannister, writing in Maintenance TechnologyAt the end of the day a forensic reconstruction is only as reliable as the science applied
to the data, which in turn is only as reliable as the data collected, documented, and preserved. This book goes a long way in preparing or reminding a person of their obligations as a forensic investigator in order to distinguish what is reliable science and what is prejudice, chance, or just a good guess.
—Dalton Brown, writing in MVC Forensics
