Document Type
Working Paper
Repository Date
2011
Keywords
forensic reporting
Subject Categories
Evidence | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections
Abstract
A proficiency test is an assessment of the performance of laboratory personnel using samples whose sources are known to the proficiency test administrator but unknown to the examinee. Proficiency tests can help identify reasonable first pass estimates for the rates at which various types of errors occur. It is crucial to obtain error rate estimates because the reliability and probative value of forensic science evidence is inextricably linked to the rates at which examiners make errors. Without such information, legal decision makers have no scientifically meaningful way of thinking about the risk of false identification and false non-identification associated with forensic reports.
Repository Citation
Koehler, Jonathan, "Proficiency Tests to Estimate Error Rates in the Forensic Sciences" (2011). Faculty Working Papers. 24.
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/facultyworkingpapers/24
