A guide to ISO 21043 forensic sciences from the perspective of the forensic-data-science paradigm

Geoffrey Stewart Morrison, Simon Elliot, June Guinness, Lisa Sonden, Denise Syndercombe Court

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Abstract

ISO 21,043 is a new international standard for forensic science. It provides requirements and recommendations designed to ensure the quality of the forensic process. It includes Parts on: 1 vocabulary; 2 recovery, transport, and storage of items; 3 analysis; 4 interpretation; and 5 reporting. We provide a guide to ISO 21043 from the perspective of the forensic-data-science paradigm, which involves the use of methods that are transparent and reproducible, are intrinsically resistant to cognitive bias, use the logically correct framework for interpretation of evidence (the likelihood-ratio framework), and are empirically calibrated and validated under casework conditions. The guide focuses primarily on vocabulary, interpretation, and reporting, and on providing guidance for forensic-service providers and examiners who want to implement methods that are both consistent with the forensic-data-science paradigm and conformant with ISO 21043.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101304
Number of pages11
JournalScience and Justice
Volume65
Issue number5
Early online date28 Jun 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).

Keywords

  • Forensic science
  • ISO standard
  • Interpretation
  • Likelihood ratio
  • Reporting
  • Vocabulary

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