H. David Sheets, PhD, director of the graduate program in data analytics, was one of 23 participants who contributed to “Forensic Handwriting Examination and Human Factors: The Report of the Expert Working Group for Human Factors in Handwriting Examination.” The report was recently published by the National Institute of Standards (NIST) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is available by clicking here.
The joint NIST/NIJ panel of experts, of which Sheets was a part, was charged with:
- Examining and analyzing the human factors in current policies, procedures, and practices within
the field of forensic handwriting examination.
- Developing practices based on scientifically sound research to reduce the likelihood of errors in
forensic document examination
- Evaluating various approaches to quantifying measurement uncertainty within forensic document
analysis
- Publishing findings and recommendations that include future research initiatives.
The working group consisted of an international group of forensic science experts in handwriting examination (working as sole practitioners or in larger forensic laboratories), legal scholars, academics in forensic science, statisticians, cognitive scientists and representatives of professional organizations. The 246-page document was produced to serve as a technical guideline for forensic practice.
Submitted by: H. David Sheets, director, Graduate Program in Data Analytics
