WHAT IS EXPLANATION?
We finished chapter one having made several observations of a scene. We then proceeded to review our observations so that we had removed assumptions, bias and unsupported belief from them. We now enter the second major step of science: explanation.
Explanations are operationalized questions. When you operationalize something, you define it in such a way that it can be practically measured. So, an explanation is defining your question in such a way that you can measure that question. Measurement itself will come in step three: investigation. For now, we want to review our questions and define them in ways that can be measured. Our goal is to move from observations and questions to explanations.
THE BURDEN OF PROOF
You operationalize your explanation so that you can provide some understanding of how confident you are in it. This has specific meaning for forensic science because in a legal situation, you have a burden of proof obligation. Burden of proof is the ability of the evidence to sway the conclusion from one
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When you ground your work on the explanations provided by others who have engaged in science, you are building support for your own explanation. We call this framework a well-supported argument, because ultimately, that is what an explanation is—an argument for why an observation works the way you say it does.
Note that this well-supported argument is not automatically correct just because it is based upon supported arguments. Rather, using supported arguments bolsters your confidence that your explanation properly expounds upon your observation. However, only investigating this explanation—putting it to the test empirically, will help you understand if this is truly the case. But what the supported argument does is place your explanation into a context by which you can properly frame it for
To record a crime scene, forensic scientist can use photography, drawings, and videography. Photographs are an important record of the unaltered crime scene, Drawings or sketches provides valuable information when a photograph cannot accurately depict the scale of a room or the relationship of items to each
7) Pollen & Spore identification can provide important trace evidence in solving crimes dues to their
1. Models are analogies that allow us to clarify hypotheses—proposed explanations of relationships between causes and effects. What roles do models play in testing hypotheses?
There is partial explanation and/or reasoning behind the evidence provided, although it it needs further development or clarity.
Forensic anthropology is a subfield of physical anthropology that aims to assist in the identification of human remains and to help determine what happened to the remains (Ubelaker, 2006). A forensic anthropologist is able to aid law enforcement by narrowing down the list of possible victims. This subfield of anthropology consists of several processes and a vast list of duties that are important in providing positive identification.Even though forensic anthropology dates back many years, major advancements in this field are still being made today.
BonJour manages to defend the claim that a priori justification is necessary in order to avoid a severe, indefensible skepticism and demonstrates that any argument against a priori justification would undermine itself. This dialectical argument demonstrates that a denial of a priori justification is not only unsatisfactory, but impossible for the sake or argumentation. An empiricist critic could only appeal to pragmatism while accepting skepticism or surmount the impossible task of empirical justification of inference. This dialectical argument is by far BonJour's
The Insanity defense is mentioned as confusing to the psychiatric and legal concept. Furthermore, it is explained that the word “insane” is more of a legal word, then a medical term, and therefor to prove a person or a criminal insane, one must find the mental condition, of a criminal, severely impaired to the point of losing one’s free will. A psychiatrist may be or may not able to determine such illness, and a jury’s decision solely based on a psychiatrists’ opinion may be grounded on unreliable evidence. Retrieved from; West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008).
Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw on last night’s law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren’t even plausible concepts.
Jonathan Vogel wrote Skepticism and Inference to the Best Explanation as a solution to accept the real world hypothesis over any skeptical hypothesis. Vogel presents a compelling argument for a definitive reason to accept that the world we are experiencing is in fact the real world. I believe that Vogel’s argument falls short of proving a reason for accepting the real world hypothesis over a skeptical one. In this paper I will clearly explain Vogels argument, explain some important concepts to understand, and attempt to refute the argument.
between a cut (an injury that is longer than deep) and a stab wound (an injury
For the learner’s evidence to be sufficient, it needs to relevant and proves that the learner is competent. The evidence must mean something to the learner and must not just be used for the sake of it. The evidence must be clear and logical and must meet the learning outcomes and assessment criteria.
So, somebody can make a certain observation and come up with a hypothesis about how and why a phenomenon occurs the way it is. Hypothesis could be
knowledge that can be acquired independently by different investigators if they follow a prescribed course of observation or
1). Forensic Psychology is the application of the theories of psychology to law and the legal system. Issues of violence and its impact on individuals and/or groups delineate the main and central concerns in Forensics within the adult, juvenile, civil, and family domains. Forensic psychologists provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers, and the police. They are called upon, for example, to serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probationed offenders, and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems. Forensics encompasses a wide range of academic orientation. Synonyms for Forensic psychologists include criminal psychologist,
The empirical success of science (in the sense of giving detailed explanations and accurate predictions) accordingly provides striking empirical confirmation for realism.