Goal #5 Objective B


Objective B:
Without the use of the course text or class notes, the student will identify how the concept of scientific reasoning is used in investigative reconstruction.
scientific reasoning -
Objective and systematic methods used to draw inferences or conclusions.

Within the scope of the scientific method, scientific reasoning activities take place, including:

induction -
A process of reasoning based upon a set of experiences or observations from which conclusions or generalizations could be drawn. The process starts with the specific and goes to the general.

Identify an example that Osterburg gave for induction? (p. 348)

Induction leads to probabilities, not certainties. When integrated over a lifetime, however, inductive experience is an important component of the so-called common sense which supposedly governs human behavior.

deduction -
A process of reasoning that commences with a generalization or a premise and by means of careful, systematic thinking moves to a particular fact or consequence. The process starts with a general and goes to the specific.

This is the reasoning process commonly used in education and training. For example, you enroll in a course called "Criminal Investigation" (a general concept). As the course evolves, you are exposed to specialized pieces of information like interviewing, interrogation, crime scene management (specific concepts).

What was the example that Osterburg gave for deduction? (p. 348)

If the original premise (general concept) is correct, then the logical consequence (specific concepts) must be valid. In logic (the science of correct reasoning), deduction leads to certainties, not probabilities.

In criminal investigation, the generalization cannot be so precisely formulated as to always be relied upon as valid.

classification -
The systematic arrangement of objects into categories (groups or classes) based upon shared traits or characteristics. The science of classification is called "taxonomy."

Biology has developed a taxonomy for organisms; chemistry for compounds; law enforcement for fingerprints, bullets, laundry marks, dry cleaner marks, typefaces and auto paints.

synthesis -
The combining of separate parts or elements. For criminal investigations this is the combining of elements that provide a coherent view of the crime and its solution.

This includes eyewitness evidence, forensic examinations, and facts disclosed by records checks.

analysis -
A activity that starts with the whole of an object, idea, or process, and attempts to break it down into constituent parts for individual study.

For example, in criminal investigations, the investigator breaks the investigation down into people, records, and physical evidence found at the crime scene.

hypothesis -
Conjecture based upon facts. It can be used as a basis for further investigation and as a guide for the investigative activities.

A hypothesis is an assertion or tentative guess that is subject to verification with facts. As more facts are acquired, the hypothesis may need to be adjusted as well to compensate for the newly identified facts.

theory -
A somewhat verified hypothesis. As a theory becomes more solidly based and evidence accumulates, it evolves into a methodological organization of knowledge applicable in any number of situations.

The ultimate theory presents a grand conceptual scheme that both predicts and explains, while keeping assumptions to a minimum.


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