1st Edition

Scientific Method Applications in Failure Investigation and Forensic Science

By Randall K. Noon Copyright 2009
    214 Pages 47 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    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.

    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 Technology

    At 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