FSC-30019 - Advanced Topics in Forensic Analysis
Coordinator: Chrystelle Egger Room: LJ1.12 Tel: +44 1782 7 33337
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734921

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

This final year module provides advanced understanding of some specialist areas of Forensic Science which complement the core curriculum of the course at Levels 4 and 5. Topic areas include: ballistics and forensic investigation of firearms incidents, advanced analysis of paint, fibres and glass evidence. An emphasis will be made on the examination of physical evidence in court issues.
Four topics will be covered each year.

Aims
This module aims to teach students key theoretical and practical issues of some specialist areas of Forensic Science which complement the core curriculum of the course. Topic areas will cover advanced forensic analysis of ballistics, paint, glass, fibres, with particular emphasis on examination of evidence in court issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes

demonstrate a systematic knowledge and understanding of the series of specialist topics presented and how they can be applied to crime solving: 1,2
evaluate information of relevance to the topic obtained from a variety of sources including scientific literature, forensic science databases and other primary sources: 1,2
make informed judgements about the issues, limitations and current knowledge in forensic science within the specialist areas, with particular emphasis on crime scene examination/ evidence in court issues: 1,2
describe and explain how specialist disciplines can be applied to crime solving: 1,2
describe, explain and discuss standard theoretical and practical trace evidence retrieval across the series of specialist topics presented: 1,2

Study hours

Scheduled content delivery: 20 hours
Critical Review: 40 hours
Private study, write-ups: 90 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Group Essay weighted 40%
Critical Analysis of Research Area
Independent critical review (1500-2000 words) of a module-relevant publication, including data analysis and with emphasis on crime scene examination, submitted as as a small group (2-4 students).

2: Portfolio weighted 60%
Scenario Based Portfolio
A scenario-based portfolio consisting of problem solving activities related to crime scene trace evidence equivalent to 2000-2500 words.