Forensic Files Due: See dates on back of sheet

Case Study Notebook

Purpose: One of the goals of this course is to help you become familiar with Forensic Science topics in the news. This will help you see the relevance of what we are doing in class. For this project, you will collect, read, and evaluate newspaper, news magazine, and internet articles.

  1. The Collection: You must collect 20 articles over the semester. Each article must be related to an aspect of Forensic Science that will be studied this semester.The case/crime had to occur since 2006. It can be a cold case that has been reopened since 2006. The articles must be approximately 350 words. The articles must come from a reputable source. For each article you must do the following:

*The article must be in a loose-leaf 3 ring binder. Neatness counts.

*Each entry must have the date of the case/event (not the date you printed the article), source of the article, and your first & last name clearly written (or typed) at the top of the page.

*Each article must be summarized on a 3 x 5 or4x6 note-card that is mounted on the following page. Summary should be 5-7 completesentences. See sheet for note-card example.(MUST be handwritten)

  1. The Analysis: Once you have collected your articles, you will complete the following:
  2. Create a title page for your Forensic Files Notebook. (15 points)
  3. Organize the articles in the order listed with summaries. (15 points each)

For Part 4:

  1. Choose one of the following: must be typed (15 points)
  2. Pick three articles that interested you the most and write a 1 page essay on why you found them interesting.
  3. Write a 1 page essay explaining to me what you learned about forensics from keeping a case study notebook.

(Times New Roman 12 pt font, double space, 1 inch margins all around)

  1. The Evaluation: The Case Study Notebook will be count as 4 separate test grades. Each article/summary will be worth 15 points.You will also be graded on your title page, organization, neatness, etc.10% will be deducted for late submissions.It is very important that you get started right away!

Key Notes:

*All articles must have a title.

*Must detail a crime/case- not just information/encyclopedia, etc.

*You may cut & paste articles and put into a Word document.

Forensics Topics

You should have 2 articles representing each topic.

  1. Fingerprints
  2. Forensic Odontology
  3. Tire/shoe Impressions
  4. Trace Evidence- hair, fiber, glass, etc.
  5. `Blood Spatter
  6. Forensic Toxicology
  7. DNA
  8. Document Analysis
  9. Forensic Anthropology
  10. Forensic Ballistics

Due Dates: The project will be divided into 4 parts with 4 due dates.

Part 1: Due: January 19thTotal Points: 75 points

Title page

2 Fingerprint articles/summaries

2 Odontologyarticles/summaries

Part 2: Due: February 16thTotal Points: 90 points

2 Tire/shoe Impression articles/summaries

2 Trace Evidence articles/summaries

2 Blood Spatter articles/summaries

Part 3: Due: March 21st Total Points: 90 points

2 Toxicology articles/summaries

2 DNA articles/summaries

2 Document Analysis articles/summaries

Part 4: Due: April18th Total Points: 75 points

2 Anthropology articles/summaries

2 Ballistics articles/summaries

1 page Essay