Budowle Bruce, Bottrell Maureen C, Bunch Stephen G, Fram Robert, Harrison Diana, Meagher Stephen, Oien Cary T, Peterson Peter E, Seiger Danielle P, Smith Michael B, Smrz Melissa A, Soltis Greg L, Stacey Robert B
FBI Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2009 Jul;54(4):798-809. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01081.x. Epub 2009 May 26.
The forensic sciences are under review more so than ever before. Such review is necessary and healthy and should be a continuous process. It identifies areas for improvement in quality practices and services. The issues surrounding error, i.e., measurement error, human error, contextual bias, and confirmatory bias, and interpretation are discussed. Infrastructure is already in place to support reliability. However, more definition and clarity of terms and interpretation would facilitate communication and understanding. Material improvement across the disciplines should be sought through national programs in education and training, focused on science, the scientific method, statistics, and ethics. To provide direction for advancing the forensic sciences a list of recommendations ranging from further documentation to new research and validation to education and to accreditation is provided for consideration. The list is a starting point for discussion that could foster further thought and input in developing an overarching strategic plan for enhancing the forensic sciences.
法医学正经历着比以往任何时候都更多的审视。这种审视是必要且有益的，应该是一个持续的过程。它确定了质量实践和服务中需要改进的领域。文中讨论了围绕误差（即测量误差、人为误差、背景偏差和证实性偏差）以及解释的问题。已经有基础设施来支持可靠性。然而，术语和解释的更多定义和清晰度将有助于沟通和理解。应通过专注于科学、科学方法、统计学和伦理学的国家教育和培训计划，在各学科中寻求实质性改进。为推进法医学提供方向，列出了一系列建议，从进一步记录到新的研究与验证，再到教育和认证，以供参考。该列表是讨论的起点，有助于在制定增强法医学的总体战略计划时引发进一步思考和提供意见。
