Publication trends in forensic science research: Friction ridge discipline

Abstract

2019 commemorates the 10 year anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences report, “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward,” and one valuable way to measure progress in forensic science is through published research. The purpose of this study is to examine where the friction ridge discipline stands with respect to published research. Two time periods were selected (2005–2009 and 2010–2014) and two different methods were used to describe research growth and publication trends in this discipline. A bibliometric review was conducted using an online literature-indexing tool, Web of Science™, as well as an empirical method involving subject matter experts. Both methods showed an increased number of friction ridge articles published in scientific journals over time.

Keywords

• friction ridge
• latent print
• fingerprint
• finger mark
• bibliometrics