Forensics: Document/Handwriting Analysis Vocab

Counterfeiting

The act of forging or imitating something valuable, typically money or documents, with the intent to deceive or defraud.

Currency

A system of money in general use within a particular country, often the target of counterfeiting efforts in forensic investigations.

Document

Any written or printed matter that provides evidence or data relevant to forensic analysis, such as letters, contracts, or identification.

Document Analysis

A forensic process involving the examination of the content, structure, and other features of documents to determine authenticity, origin, or any alterations.

Document Analyst

A forensic expert specialized in analyzing and reconstructing documents, identifying forgeries, and verifying authenticity.

Exemplar

A standard or model document used for comparison in forensic document analysis to identify the authenticity or derivativeness of another document.

Diacritics

Marks added to letters that change their pronunciation or context; in document analysis, examining diacritics can help in identifying forgeries or the original document's authenticity.

Forgery

The illegal act of producing a false document or altering a real one with the intent to deceive.

Fraudulence/Fraud

The wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain, often involves forgery of documents.

Blind Forgery

A type of forgery created without any guiding material, often resulting in poor imitations of genuine signatures.

Simulated Forgery

A type of forgery where the forger attempts to imitate another person's handwriting or signature based on samples they have observed.

Traced Forgery

A method of forgery where the forger traces over an existing signature to create a replica, making it easier to produce deceptive documents.

Backhand Writing

A style of handwriting where the letters slant back to the left, which may have implications in analyzing authenticity in handwriting samples.

Obliteration

The act of completely erasing or destroying the content of a document, which can later be subjected to forensic analysis to reveal the original writing.

Indented Writing

Marks left on the pages beneath a document when something is written on the top page; forensics can analyze these impressions for evidence.

Watermark

A recognizable image or pattern in paper, originally used for identification of the manufacturer or authenticity, which can be crucial in document analysis.

Sizing

The treatment of paper to change its absorbency and texture, impacting how inks interact with the paper in document analysis.

Graphology

The study of handwriting, representing personality traits; sometimes used in forensic analysis for psychological profiling.

Qualitative Analysis

A method in forensic science that focuses on determining the type and characteristics of substances, rather than their quantities; ex. handwriting style, language patterns, or specific details within the text

Quantitative Analysis

A method in forensic science aimed at determining the amounts or concentrations of substances present in a sample; ex. letter formation, letter spacing, or ink characteristics

Questioned Document

Any document that is in dispute or under examination regarding its authenticity or origin.

N-Gram Tracing

A statistical analysis technique applied to writing samples for identifying authorship based on common sequences of letters or words.

Thin-Layer Chromatography

A technique used in forensic science to separate and identify compounds in a mixture, useful in analyzing inks and dyes used in document forgery.

Infrared Spectroscopy

An analytical technique used in forensic science to identify materials based on their absorbance of infrared light, aiding in analyzing inks and coatings on documents.