6 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5274CRAC6Y
Owner | Master Forensic Science |
Coordinator | dr. Maarten Blom |
Part of | Master Forensic Science, year 1 |
The course will start with an overview of the basic concepts in forensic science and the essential steps of the forensic process. For practical and didactical reasons, the process has been divided in four phases as could be seen by a forensic scientist; the investigation of the scene of the incident (crime), the analysis, the interpretation and the reporting. Each of the phases in the process will be individually explored using examples from several forensic areas of expertise. These areas of expertise are generally based on specific forensic traces and make use of various methods and techniques that can be roughly divided into two main categories: instrumental measurement based and human observation based. Chemical analysis of paint, glass, explosives, illicit drugs, fire accelerants and documents are examples of the first category. The comparison of fingerprints, handwriting, speech, tool marks and cartridge marks are examples of the latter. Some of the aforementioned areas will be used to illustrate each step of the process as well as the intertwined nature of the complete process. Moreover, evidence interpretation is subject to a paradigm shift: the classical interpretation is being replaced by an interpretation based on a more logical approach and the use of likelihood ratios (also known as Bayesian approach). Therefore, special attention will be given to this issue.
Book: Bernard Robertson, G.A. Vignaux, Charles E.H. Berger. Interpreting evidence : evaluating forensic science in the courtroom. Chichester, West Sussex, UK : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Second edition, 2016.
Selected Chapters (indicated in Canvas) from: ARW Jackson, JM Jackson. Forensic Science (3ed) Pearson: 2011. (9780273738404). This book can be accessed digitally through the UVA librabry
Other references
Inman K., Rudin N. Principles and Practice of Criminalistics. The profession of forensic science. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000. (ISBN 9780849381270)
Langford A, et al. Practical Skills in Forensic Science. 2nd ed. London: Prentice Hall, 2010. (ISBN 9780132391436)
Houck MM, Siegel JA. Fundamentals of Forensic Science. London: Academic Press, 2006. (ISBN 9780123567628)
Russey WE, Ebel HF, Bliefert C. How to write a successful science thesis. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH; 2006
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-4029/homepage/ForAuthors.html (accessed 26/08/14)
Other key papers or books may be used. In that case, they will be available through the library, Canvas, or handed out during the meetings.
Lectures, tutorials and discussions.
Every week there is lecture, a tutorial and a discussion topic and every student is expected to participate. During the tutorials the topics covered in the lectures will be reinforced with information from real cases while the discussions will be conducted on Canvas.
Activity | Hours | |
Excursie | 20 | |
Hoorcollege | 14 | |
Tentamen | 3 | |
Werkcollege | 30 | |
Self study | 101 | |
Total | 168 | (6 EC x 28 uur) |
Additional requirements for this course:
It is presupposed that all students will be present in class.
Item and weight | Details |
Final grade | |
60% Tentamen | Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory |
10% Presentation (Group) | Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory |
30% Individual assignments and discussions combined | Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory |
1 (25%) Assigment week 1 | |
1 (25%) Hand in exercise | |
1 (25%) individual assigment Transfer Evidence | |
1 (25%) Uniqueness |
Components:
1. Presentations (group assignment, individually graded; 10%)
There will be two rounds of presentations (“drug pills” and “strength of the evidence”).
2. Tutorials/discussions (30%)
Every week there is a discussion topic or an assignment and every student is expected to participate.
3. Final exam (60%)
The assignments, the presentation and the exam will be assessed on an individual base.The assignments and exam are designed to assess the theoretical and practical aspects related to the learning outcomes 1 - 8
All components will be graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with a maximum of one decimal after the point. These grades are used to calculate the final grade. In order to pass the course, all components and the final grade have to be sufficient, i.e. at least a five and a half. When a student has not fulfilled this requirement, the examiner will register the mark ‘did not fulfil all requirements’ (NAV) whether or not the averaged grade is sufficient.
The final grade will be announced at the latest 15 working days after the final course activity. Between this date and 35 working days after the final course activity, a post-exam discussion or inspection moment will be planned. This will be announced on Canvas and/or via email.
Learning outcome |
Components (see above) |
EQ1 |
EQ2 |
EQ3 |
EQ4 |
EQ 5 |
EQ 6 |
EQ 7 |
EQ 8 |
EQ 9 |
EQ 10 |
1 |
2,3 |
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
2,3 |
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2,3 |
|
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
2,3 |
|
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
2,3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
|
|
6 |
2,3 |
x |
|
|
x |
|
|
x |
|
|
|
7 |
2,3 |
|
|
|
x |
|
|
x |
|
|
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
Table of specification:the relation between the Learning Outcomes (LO) of the course, the assessment components of the course and the Exit Qualifications (EQ) of the Master’s Forensic Science (described in the Introduction in the Course Catalogue
There will be regular discussion topics or an assignment and every student is expected to participate. During the tutorials the topics covered in the lectures will be reinforced with information from real cases while the discussions will be conducted on Canvas. In general, one or more articles will be assigned and the discussion will originate from the list of key issues given with the articles. Consistency in the entire articles and relations among the research question, the chosen method and the conclusions will be often addressed. The deadlines for submission of discussions and assignments are communicated in Canvas.
For every assignment and every discussion there will be a numerical grade given. The possible grades for the tutorials/discussion are given by a conversion of a verbal scale to numerical (not delivered=0, unsatisfactory=4, satisfactory=6, good=8, excellent=10).
There will be two rounds of presentations (“drug pills” and “strength of the evidence”). The presentations will be group assignments, one on feature extraction and comparison (drug pills) and one on case assessment (strength of the evidence) using a case example. Only the second presentation will be graded (on an individual base) for which a standard assessment form will be used.
The final exam will be assessed on an individual base. The exam of this module will be on 22nd of October 2019 between 13-16 h and will be a written examination based on the content covered during the lessons.
The exam is designed to assess the theoretical and practical aspects related to the learning outcomes 1 to 7 in the following weighting:
Learning Outcome |
% |
1 |
5 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
4 |
30 |
5 |
15 |
6 |
20 |
7 |
10 |
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.
Basic concepts of chemistry: atoms and compounds.
In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.
Criminalistics and Analytical Chemistry (5 EC) | N=33 | |
Strengths
|
Notes for improvement
|
|
Response programme coordinator / lecturer:
|