Simply Forensic • Technical learning
Forensic Methods & Practice
Practical explanations of evidence recovery, laboratory analysis, validation, interpretation and reporting. Each topic asks not just how a method works, but what the result actually supports.
FEATURED PILLAR GUIDE
Forensic DNA Analysis
Start the complete learning pathway: evidence recovery, STR profiling, mixtures, likelihood ratios, interpretation, lineage markers and validation. The guide links to existing advanced reading across Simply Forensic.
Read the comprehensive DNA analysis guide →
Follow the evidence from scene to report
03 · Evaluate
Consider alternative explanations, uncertainty and the relevant propositions.
Featured methods guides
Footwear impression evidence
Photographing and recovering impressions, comparing class and acquired features, and reporting limitations.
Methods: photography, lifting, casting and test impressions.
Forensic DNA contamination control
Sensitive DNA technologies require preventive measures from scene collection through interpretation.
Methods: segregation, controls, documented workflows and quality review.
Fire investigation: cause and origin
Principles of fire investigation, scene documentation and distinctions between origin, cause and chemical findings.
Trace evidence collection and comparison
Transfer, small-trace recovery, material examination and defensible source associations.
Explore laboratory specialties
Biological examinations
Physical and chemical examinations
Comparison and digital evidence
Method quality checklist
- What is the precise scientific or forensic question?
- Is the method validated for the evidence type and intended use?
- What are its controls, limits and sources of error?
- Are the observations and inferences distinguished?
- What alternative explanations should be evaluated?
- Does the report accurately describe the strength and limits of the result?
Check the NIST OSAC Standards Library for relevant current standards. A standard listed there may have a different registry or implementation status; confirm the applicable edition and local laboratory requirements.
New practical guides in development
Additional guides will cover primer gunshot residue by SEM-EDS, forensic geology, fire debris GC-MS, glass comparison, method validation, error-rate interpretation and forensic detection dogs. These will become accessible in their relevant discipline categories as scheduled articles are published.
This collection is educational and does not replace validated laboratory SOPs, quality systems or professional competency requirements.
