Module 1 Topic 2
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Carleton University *
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3903
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Information Systems
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Professional, Critical, and Ethical Considerations in Forensic Linguistics Educational qualifications
The main thing you need to get into FL is a graduate degree (MA or PhD) in a linguistic
discipline
Working knowledge of empirically valid research methods, including the use of:
o
Statistical measures and tests
o
Specialized software and equipment
Investigative
FL involves the conducting of linguistic analyses for a practical purpose, most
often for the identification of authorship or speaker identification
o
For example, for investigative purposes, a forensic linguist may:
Assist with law enforcement investigations
Authorship analysis
Speaker comparison
Phonological profiling
Act as an expert witness in legal proceedings
Investigating trademarks
Assisting defense
Assisting prosecution
Challenges with forensic evidence:
o
Despite common beliefs, forensic evidence can be limited or non-existent (see:
the CSI effect)
o
Identification through forensic evidence (when it is present) carries its own
challenges
For example, we might be able to narrow down a voicemail to
geographical region, but to a specific individual is very challenging
o
Forensic evidence carries a substantial legal weight
o
As a result of these challenges, this type of work as an expert witness, can be
emotionally draining
o
Also mostly part-time or occasional work, for which pay may vary
Ethical responsibilities as an expert witness
o
Whatever information we are analyzing has to meet legal criteria (varies by
country)
Admissibility
Represent that data that exists – and
only
the data that exists
o
Ensure adequate data (primary and for comparison)
o
Using appropriate statistical measures
Different statistics serve different purposes and can paint a different
picture
Present a clear expression of findings to a lay audience
o
Possible misrepresentation (use of statistics, or no?)
o
Commentary on guilt or innocence is inappropriate
o
The linguist should only comment on the likelihood
of
authorship or
involvement
Jon Benet Ramsey Case
December 26, 1996: Patsy Ramsey discovers a two and a half page ransom note demanding
$118,000 for the return of her daughter
Upon further investigation, the family is unable to locate JonBenet and contact police
A forensics team is dispatched to the house to begin an investigation; limited precautions
are taken to prevent the contamination of evidence
Despite the initial belief that JonBenet had been kidnapped, the 6-year-old's body is found
in the basement, covered in a white blanket
The investigation:
o
Numerous avenues for investigation are considered:
Lack of forced entry
Party the night before (lots of guests in the house)
Pageant career (opens the pool of suspects significantly)
DNA evidence
Stomach contents
o
FBI believe the ransom note to be inauthentic
It is unusually long
The note was written with paper and pens originating in the Ramsey
home; practice drafts are also located
o
Attention to the possible culpability of Patsy Ramsey
Her fingerprints are the only ones found on the note
The ransom note:
o
The ransom note was analyzed by a forensic pathologist at the time, Michael
Baden
Baden identified similarities between the random note and samples
of Patsy Ramsey's handwriting (NOT a FL analysis)
Notes other unusual qualities of the note (e.g., intentional
misspellings, odd punctuation)
o
However, several other handwriting experts disagree with Baden's conclusions
o
Gerard McMenamin found 15 stylistic differences (looking at the orthographic
differences qualitatively) between the ransom note and the father's pre-crime
writing and 18 between the note and the mother's pre-crime writing
Armed with this qualitative evidence, he subsequently approached
the question quantitatively
He looked at a corpus of typed and handwritten texts, finding six
variables for analysis because they occurred frequently in the
comparison corpus and were ones on which Mrs Ramsey, who still
remained a suspect, differed from the ransom note
He calculated that the likelihood of all six co-occurring
in the same text by chance was less than one in 10,000
Thus, he argued, both qualitative and quantitative
measures supported the opinion that neither Mr. nor
Mrs. Ramsey had written the ransom note
PART 2
Descriptive FL is conducted for an empirical purpose and involves the study of written or
spoken genres of legal discourse. For example:
o
Public safety services
Emergency dispatching services (i.e., 911)
Emergency alerting (e.g., Amber alerts)
Crisis services (e.g., suicide phone line)
o
Law enforcement discourse
Police interviews (i.e., with witnesses or suspects)
Police reports
Court testimony by law enforcement
o
Legal language
Courtroom discourse (e.g., jury deliberation)
Language of the law itself
Picking out ambiguity, could some information in the
legal document be misconstrued, etc.?
o
Civilian-composed forensic genres
Suicide notes
School shooter notes
Manifestos
Threats/harassment letters
o
Online crime
Social media trolling (e.g., Fake news)
Online microcosms and radicalization
Cyberstalking
Defamation
Phishing/scam emails
Twitter rape threats and group identity
o
This study investigates misogynistic abuse via social media, in particular: rape
and death threats directed at the Twitter account of feminist campaigners and
journalist, Carolien Criado-Perez
o
Using a corpus of 76,275 tweets (912,901 words) collected over a 3 month
period, the authors combine corpus linguistics and discourse studies to analyze
the construction of identity within these online communities
o
Findings showed that women were predominantly the recipients of such
threats
o
The discourse in response to these surrounded the construction of "real"
masculinity
Conversational practices of personalization in police interviews with children reporting
alleged sexual offenses
o
Videos of police interviews with children were examined using Conversation
Analysis
o
Officers personalize investigative interviews using primarily two strategies:
Sharing of personal information to create a rapport with the
interviewee (e.g., talking about family, etc.)
Self-deprecation (poking fun at themselves to make the child feel
more at ease)
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o
Based on these findings, the authors conclude that officer's use of such methods
is in line with current best-practices guidelines
o
The authors call for further research to better understand the most effective
methods for personalization, to further improve interviewing guidelines
Research has identified several groups that are known to be disadvantaged within the legal
system
o
In general, vulnerability hinges upon the individual's ability to provide informed
consent and their susceptibility to coercion
o
However, vulnerability is ill-defined and largely left open to interpretation,
shedding doubt on the appropriacy of this label as a qualifier in research
o
In this course: we conceptualize vulnerability as the result
of existing social and institutional barriers
Vulnerability is not intrinsic, it's not a person's fault
It emerges because of social/institutional barriers like race, SES,
educational background, etc.
Research Ethics
Qualitative research often intrudes more into the human private sphere: it is inherently
interested in people's personal views and often targets sensitive or intimate matters
o
Especially true in the area of forensics
Often deals with materials that pertain to the most sensitive periods
in someone's life
May deal with vulnerable populations
Vulnerable populations are overrepresented in prison
populations
o
Researchers should follow institutional ethics guidelines and submit the
required ethics applications and materials
o
Researchers should complete research ethics training (e.g., TCPS-2)
Data collection methods
o
Is this an existing body of data?
o
What level of contact is required between the researcher and the participant?
o
Does the research protocol involve deception?
This happens a lot in law enforcement research (research that
requires deception)
Scenario 1
o
In the first phase of a research study, a researchers wants to conduct a
discourse analysis of suicide notes. To do so, the researcher must collect a
corpus of texts for analysis. What steps should the researcher take when
approaching this type of data collection?
o
Data collection for the researcher's project might be approached in one of two
ways:
Using an existing corpus of texts
Less invasive
Removes the possibility of risk
Ease of access
Drawbacks: minimal control over the method of data
collection (e.g., transcription, original source)
Collection of a new corpus of texts
Allows the researcher to develop their own criteria for
inclusion
Full control over data collection
o
Control over accurate transcription, etc.
Drawbacks: this is extremely time consuming (i.e.,
ethics processes, identifying a source of data, etc.)
Work with human participants: considerations:
o
The amount of shared information
What is the balance between detailed, rigorous research and the
thoughtful treatment of human participants?
o
Informed consent
Can this individual provide informed consent?
Age, cognitive ability, incarceration
In the majority of cases, incarcerated individuals are not
considered to be able to give informed consent
o
Relationships
How does one empathize and relate with participants, without
leaving them feeling used after the research has concluded?
o
Participant risk
Is there a direct or indirect risk to the participant's physical or
mental wellbeing, or livelihood?
o
Sensitive information
What is the risk that the participant will provide sensitive
information during the research process?
Scenario 2
o
A researcher is investigating the courtroom discourse of child abuse cases. The
researcher is conducting a mock jury process with adult participants. As part of
the mock jury process, the researcher shares excepts of courtroom discourse
with the participants and asks them to deliberate a judgment on the case at
hand . During this process, a participant approaches the researcher and
discloses that they wish to withdraw from the study because the topic of
childhood abuse is negatively affecting their mental health. The participant also
discloses ongoing abuse. What measures should the researcher take to address
this type of situation?
This is referred to as an
adverse effect
. Several measures might be
taken, depending on the circumstances:
Remove the participant from the environment
The participant should be allowed to withdraw from the
study, and all associated data should be destroyed
Appropriate mental health resources should be
provided
Appropriate authorities may be contacted (i.e.,
paramedics, police)
Report the adverse effect to institutional ethics board
Handling data to reduce participant risk:
o
Anonymization (i.e., codes or pseudonyms)
o
Data storage (i.e., password protection, lock and key)
o
Transcription
o
Destruction of data
When presenting research findings, the researcher should:
o
Ensure that all possible identifying information has been anonymized
o
Consider the possible social repercussions of research and their research
findings
o
Involve the researched community within the research process
o
Submit findings to
peer reviewed
journals and/or conferences
FL is far from a uniform field; rather, it is a
combination of highly specialized professions
It involves work in both
investigative and
descriptive
fields
o
Law enforcement investigation
o
Legal testimony
o
Research
Work in the field carries a unique set of challenges, but also has a significant impact
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