Evaluation of Statistical Measures for Fiber Comparisons:Interlaboratory Studies and Forensic Databases

The goal of this project is to improve understanding of sources of variability and decision-making processes to advance the forensic significance of class evidence in fiber examinations. Measurement uncertainties will be evaluated both within and between laboratories, and error rates associated with forensic match/no-match decisions will be compared. Multivariate statistical approaches will be employed to evaluate the statistical significance of differences between fibers, as well as of differences in measurement uncertainties for various measurements. ca/ncf