The topic of this research project is fired cartridge casing analysis. This is the process of analyzing casings that have been left behind at a crime scene. This topic is vital because in Forensics, sometimes there is a crime scene when there is no other evidence found except for the casings. It may not seem as significant as a gun with fingerprints, but these can be just as important. The project will entail analyzing known evidence and searching for individual and class characteristics; once completed, the next step is to analyze unknown evidence and try to link the unknowns to known samples. There have been many experiments conducted in Forensic Science that have been conducted on a much larger scale. The research question is: With careful analysis, can class characteristics on a fired cartridge casing be significant enough to identify a specific gun that fired it? Hypothesis: After careful and thorough analysis, there will be significant characteristics to distinguish different guns.
The procedure for this project will be
to analyze individual known cartridge casings. Each casing is from 8 different
9mm handguns. Once a thorough analysis has been conducted, ten unknown casings
will be provided and analyzed, then compared to my known casings. The characteristics
to look for are called class characteristics. Such as breech face marks and
other tool marks that can be individual to the model of the gun. This project
aims to determine if enough class characteristics can be obtained to identify
an individual characteristic.
Josie,
ReplyDeleteWow! This is incredible, seriously though. Forensics is such an interesting field, its full of so many incredible details. Its like your reverse engineering complicated scenarios, and trying to conceptualize all different outcomes. It blows my mind! That is sensational that you picked this for your research project. Crime scene investigation is next level one of the most interesting things things a person could be a part of. If you miss just one little thing, just ONE, you might not solve the case. To want to work in a field like that is admirable, and I appreciate the complexity of this. After reading your research proposal, it sounds like you have a really good hold of what you have going on. Good job, and have a great rest of your week.
Alex S