Abstract

Advocates of transparency in science often point to the benefits of open practices for the scientific process. Here, we focus on a possibly underappreciated effect of standards for transparency: their influence on non-scientific decisions. As a case study, we consider the current state of probabilistic genotyping software in forensics.

Highlights

  • Advocates of transparency in science often point to the benefits of open practices for the scientific process

  • Our focus is on a benefit of openness that manifests primarily outside academic science, when scientific standards are invoked in non-scientific decision-making settings

  • Despite occasional calls to standardize on open-source options, STRmixTM and TrueAllele® are the standard in the United States, perhaps in part because of the technical support and features they offer, and in part because they have already been admitted into court many times

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Advocates of transparency in science often point to the benefits of open practices for the scientific process. Whereas methods for interpreting high-quality, single-source DNA samples are fairly routine, complex samples – prevalent in forensic work – are more difficult.

Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.