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Advanced Evidence Spring 2023 (4 credit)

Cognitive bias in forensic pathology decisions

Itiel Dror PhD, Judy Melinek MD, Jonathan L. Arden MD, Jeff Kukucka PhD, Sarah Hawkins JD, Joye Carter MD, PhD, Daniel S. Atherton MD, Journal of Forensic Sciences (20 February 2021))

This is the study referenced in the article you just read ("With George Floyd, A Raging Debate in the Science of Death").

Reading the actual study is useful beacause (a) it gives us practice reading a scientific study (which is unfamiliar teritory for many of us; (b) it's an example of a well structured study (in contrast to the many poorly structured studies we'll read about this semester); and (c) it provides a concrete example of of the role racial bias can play in subjective forensic decisions.