A comparative study : predicting probable weapon sites post homicide - approach experiential versus theoretical approach

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between theoretical and experiential knowledge in predicting weapon localisation post homicide. The main hypotheses for this study are: H1) Are senior investigating officers better than forensic psychology trainees at weapon localization? H2) Are senior investigating officers and forensic psychology trainees better than the general public at weapon localization? H3) which approach of rationalization is better, theoretical or experiential? This study consisted of 61 participants. The main materials in this study are a self constructed questionnaire, and homicide case studies. This experiment was cross sectional between subjects design. The independent variables in this study were occupation and experience and the dependent variables are the case scenarios and the correct localisation of the weapon site. One of the shortcomings of this study is the unequal distribution of participants in each sample. A positive element in this study is the revolutionary approach taken to forensic psychology. A Pearson Chi-Square test was conducted to investigate the association between the three subgroups of expertise. A Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to compare scores across the three groups and yielded no statistical significant relationship.