FRNSC 490Traceology & Event Reconstruction

3 credits · Forensic Science · Penn State

This course will explore the knowledge and methods relevant to traceology and the scientific reconstruction of events. Traceology will be compared and contrasted with historical and experimental science; rigorous utilization of the scientific method will also be discussed. Philosophical topics will include scientific inductivism and falsificationism, the two primary methods used to evaluate hypotheses, and other epistemological approaches to the pursuit of knowledge and truth. A significant portion of the course will be devoted to the knowledge and techniques necessary to identify and sequence discrete actions that comprise events including the analysis of blood deposits, firearm evidence including ballistics, and other traces.