Forensic Science and Crime Scene Investigation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key forensic science concepts, cognitive observation and brain lobes, eyewitness testimony factors, evidence types, and crime scene investigation protocols.

Forensic science

Applying science to questions involving law and legal investigations.

Observation

Information obtained through senses or measurement.

Inference

An interpretation or conclusion drawn from observations and other information.

Deductive reasoning

Using a general rule or premise to reach a specific conclusion.

Inductive reasoning

Using specific observations to form a broader generalization.

Deductive reasoning structure

General rule $\rightarrow$ specific case $\rightarrow$ conclusion.

Inductive reasoning structure

Specific observations $\rightarrow$ pattern/generalization.

Sound deductive argument

An argument formed by true premises plus valid logical reasoning.

Four major cerebral lobes

Frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

Frontal lobe

The cerebral lobe responsible for planning, decision-making, reasoning, and voluntary movement.

Parietal lobe

The cerebral lobe responsible for processing body sensations such as touch and spatial information.

Temporal lobe

The cerebral lobe most associated with hearing, language-related processing, and memory.

Occipital lobe

The cerebral lobe most associated with vision and processing visual information.

Eyewitness evidence

Information a witness reports from what they perceived and remember.

Good witness

Someone who reports what they observed accurately and distinguishes facts from guesses.

Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)

Systematic examination, documentation, and processing of a crime scene.

Contamination

Unintended alteration, compromise, or introduction of material into evidence.

Crime-scene documentation

Creating records such as notes, photographs, sketches, and measurements.

Crime-scene sketch

A visual record that shows the locations and relationships of objects and evidence.

Systematic search

A planned, organized method for examining the scene for evidence.

Chain of custody

The documented history of who handled or transferred evidence and when.

Direct evidence

Evidence that establishes a fact without requiring an inference from another fact (e.g., a witness directly reporting seeing an act occur).

Circumstantial evidence

Evidence that requires an inference to connect it to a fact (e.g., a shoeprint near a scene that may connect someone to the location).

Physical evidence

Tangible evidence that can be collected or examined.

Testimonial evidence

Information provided by a person, such as a witness account.

Documentary evidence

Recorded information such as photographs or written records.

Investigator bias

A tendency for expectations or beliefs to influence observation or interpretation.

Common seven CSI steps

Secure scene, separate witnesses, scan scene, see scene, sketch scene, search scene, secure scene

Final survey

A check to confirm that processing is complete and that evidence and scene documentation are accounted for.