ASA members are engaged in improving the science of forensic science, and their work is getting noticed.
The ASA’s ad hoc Advisory Committee on Forensic Science has been urging reform of forensic science, particularly in improving the selection and use of statistical methodology. Their work is inspired in large part by a 2009 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. In its 2010 statement on forensic science, the ASA Board endorsed the NAS report and delineated the role of statistics in effective forensic science reform, including:
- The need for well-designed experiments
- The use of well-accepted statistical methods for analysis of data
- Rigorous review of new data analysis methods
- Modern statistical quality control and quality assurance
- Double-blind proficiency testing
- Public availability of expert reports
The numerous efforts of this committee are outlined in detail on the ASA’s “Promoting Forensic Science Reform” website. The committee’s work was recognized this week in a blog by the Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate wrongly-convicted individuals. The blog notes:
Luckily, the American Statistical Association has become involved in forensic science advocacy and is making efforts to engage more and more statisticians in forensic science. Statisticians can help forensic scientists determine which method is most applicable to the forensic science discipline at hand based on the underlying assumptions made by both the discipline and the statistical analysis.
There is an even more tangible success story. Recently the creation of the National Commission on Forensic Science was announced, and noteworthy among the first appointments to this commission is renowned statistician Stephen Fienberg of Carnegie Mellon University.
The ASA Advisory Committee on Forensic Science is chaired by Karen Kafadar of Indiana University and vice-chaired by Hal Stern of UC Irvine. Other members of this committee include:
- James Curran, University of Auckland
- Joseph Gastwirth, George Washington University
- Constantine Gatsonis, Brown University
- Chris Saunders, South Dakota State University
- Bruce Spencer, Northwestern University
- Bruce Weir, University of Washington; and
- Sandy Zabell, Northwestern University.
Cliff Spiegelman of Texas A&M University has also been an invaluable contributor to efforts to improve statistics in forensic science. Cliff has written extensively about the topic, including articles in the March 2010 and August 2011 issues of Amstat News.
Steve Pierson, Director of Science Policy, provides staff support and facilitation for the work of this committee.
This committee is a great example of how the ASA is promoting the practice and profession of statistics. ASA members like these are “advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare.”
In 2014, the American Statistical Association is celebrating its 175th anniversary. Over the course of this year, this blog will highlight aspects of that celebration, and look broadly at the ASA and its activities. Please contact ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein (ron@amstat.org) if you would like to post an entry to this blog.