The readability of expert reports for non-scientist report-users: Reports of forensic comparison of glass

Howes, LM; Kirkbride, K. Paul; Kelty, Sally F.; Julian, Roberta; Kemp, Nenagh

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.12.031

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Reports were assessed for their content and sequence, language, and format using qualitative features. Quantitative features were included as heuristic indicators of reading difficulty (see, e.g., Howes, Kirkbride, Kelty, Julian, & Kemp, 2014). 4.…”

Section: Declaration Of Conflicting Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the Methodology for an Applied, Interdisciplinary Research Project: Documenting the Journey Toward Philosophical Clarity

Howes

2015

Journal of Mixed Methods Research

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Methodologists have urged researchers who use mixed methods to justify their methodological choices and provide greater clarity about the philosophical underpinnings and implications of their approaches. This article outlines the reasoning process undertaken in an endeavor to develop philosophical clarity for an applied, interdisciplinary, mixed methods research project about the communication of scientific evidence in the legal system. I used Greene's domains of methodology for social inquiry as a framework for addressing reflexive questions about assumptions. Flowing from the domains of values and philosophies, the logic of inquiry was developed before the implications for the integration of findings and reporting of research were outlined. Early engagement in reflexive questioning provided a foundation for methodological refinement throughout the ongoing research journey.

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Section: Declaration Of Conflicting Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the Methodology for an Applied, Interdisciplinary Research Project: Documenting the Journey Toward Philosophical Clarity

Howes

2015

Journal of Mixed Methods Research

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“…Considering the increasing number of law suits filed against physicians, especially in recent years, the importance of expert opinion in addition to accurate and ontime patient intervention means that physicians need specific training for preparing accurate judicial reports (15). Even though both clinical and judicial reports require good writing skills and extensive experience (16)(17)(18), judicial reports have a different purpose, which is reflected in their impact, quality and style (19,20). When conducting a clinical evaluation, the patient is likely the person being tested.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are the Judicial Reports Prepared in Emergency Services Consistent with Those Prepared in Forensic Medicine Department of a University Hospital?

Akbaba¹,

Das²,

Asıldağ³

et al. 2019

Eurasian J Emerg Med

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Aim:This study aimed to analyze the judicial reports prepared in emergency services and to emphasize the importance of forensic medicine education for the physicians working at these services and the reflection of the situation to the judicial authorities. Materials and Methods:Reports prepared by Forensic Medicine Department of Gaziantep University Medical Faculty were accepted as the gold standard and the judicial reports of the same patients prepared in emergency services were compared retrospectively.Results: Most reports were found to be prepared as temporary reports. The concepts of general condition, consciousness, life-threatening clinical status and simple medical interventions were frequently mentioned, while other concepts were not mentioned. The success rate of identifying cases with and without life-threatening clinical status in emergency services was 83.49% and 85.52%, respectively. The success rate of identifying cases that could and could not be treated with simple medical intervention was 84.20% and 58.62%, respectively. Conclusion:It has been determined that the problems in both mentioning basic concepts and accurate report writing cannot be solved in the judicial reports organized in emergency departments. In order to protect themselves, physicians have a tendency to report the consequences more severe than they actually are. However, it should be kept in mind that this tendency may not protect the physician, but also may cause additional legal problems.

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“…In some disciplines such as analytical chemistry, the strength of evidence may be expressed somewhat vaguely. For example, to communicate that microscopic fragments of glass found on the clothing of a suspect and broken glass obtained from a crime scene were indistinguishable in all class characteristics, forensic scientists may state that the glass from the crime scene and from the suspect “could have originated from the same source” (Aitken, 2012; Howes, Kirkbride, Kelty, Julian, & Kemp, 2014). The use of the expression “could have” does not seem to run the risk of overstating the evidence.…”

Section: Communicating the Weight Of Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following Halliday and Martin (1993), using a broad and inclusive approach to examining the language of expert reports, we considered whether such reports would be readable to police investigators and lawyers (Howes, Julian, et al, 2014; Howes, Kirkbride, et al, 2014). In these studies, we examined reports of DNA analysis and forensic comparison of glass from Australian jurisdictions.…”

Section: Communicating For Coherencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the features outlined by Halliday (1993), such as using additional technical terms in definitions, we found that a number of other features of scientific writing were present. Some reports lacked definitions of specialist terms; many reports contained multipage tables; and explanations about procedures were often located in an appendix (Howes, Julian, et al, 2014; Howes, Kirkbride, et al, 2014). The reports would also pose difficulties for nonscientists because they contained implicit assumptions about science.…”

Section: Communicating For Coherencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Discord in the Communication of Forensic Science

Howes

Kemp

2016

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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The criminal justice system is one arena in which nonscientists use scientific findings and expert opinions to aid decision making. Forensic science is a standard feature of criminal investigations, out-of-court settlements, and trials. Yet forensic science may be poorly understood by those who use it as a decision aid, with a consequent risk of contributing to miscarriages of justice. In this article, we discuss some of the contentious aspects of communicating expert opinion, and consider how research suggests that scientists might balance the competing concerns of scientific correctness and comprehensibility for nonscientists. Highlighting both research and theory, we argue that modifying language is a necessary component of ensuring understanding. However, the aim of transferring knowledge from a forensic scientist to a nonscientist is a complex task. Language modification alone is not sufficient; the practices and processes of communication require consideration. We argue that the dialogue and participation models of communication have much to offer to foster understanding of forensic science and enhance its value in the criminal justice system. We acknowledge some practical challenges to dialogue and participation approaches, and provide an example of how innovative organisational practices can help to facilitate effective interprofessional communication.

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The readability of expert reports for non-scientist report-users: Reports of forensic comparison of glass

Cited by 20 publications

References 33 publications

Developing the Methodology for an Applied, Interdisciplinary Research Project: Documenting the Journey Toward Philosophical Clarity

Developing the Methodology for an Applied, Interdisciplinary Research Project: Documenting the Journey Toward Philosophical Clarity

Are the Judicial Reports Prepared in Emergency Services Consistent with Those Prepared in Forensic Medicine Department of a University Hospital?

Discord in the Communication of Forensic Science

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