Testing the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony

[drago76]

Hi, The purpose of my project is to determine whether eyewitness reports are reliable enough to be used as substantial evidence in criminal convictions, by examinining whether gender, distance from subject, and delay in recollection time affect the accuracy of reporting.

This is what would be my "Experimental Procedure"

A human subject was dressed in brightly-colored clothing and sent into a communications class to briefly interact with the lecturing professor, in full view of all students in the class. The students were then given sealed envelopes containing surveys regarding the appearance of the subject. Half the class were instructed to open and complete the survey the same day, and the other half were to complete it the next day and return it to the professor. The surveys were then analyzed and graded for accuracy.

That's what the site that I got this information from said.
Here's the site that I got from sciencebuddies
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... ?from=Home
My problem is that I don't know what I should put in the survey and if I should just show a movie or something instead of having a person in bright clothes go to a classroom.

[drago76]

Sorry for double posting, but I didn't find an edit button I also need help on my hypothesis. I don't know what to write for it. Please help me, I'd really appreciate it.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76!

This sounds like a great experiment.

First of all, please remember that the science projects and ideas are just that: ideas. While doing your research, try to shape it into your own experiment that is unique to what you read.

You had mentioned that you wanted to examine whether gender, distance from subject, and delay in recollection time affect the accuracy of reporting. There are too many variables here. Try to focus on one variable. If you were to focus on gender, than the human subjects taking the survey would be equally divided among men and women. If it was distance, than you would have two groups: 1 group close to the scene or tv, and the other group far away. Choose one variable and test it that way.

In terms of having it live or on tv, it all depends on you!

How much research have you done on this topic? When you research, you would be able to compose a hypthesis that can be proven true or false. Your hypothesis is an educated guess based on the knowledge you read.

here is a sciencebuddies website on identifying your variables and composing a hypothesis:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... enuRequest

here is a sciencebuddies website on how to conduct research

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... enuRequest

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Thank you for your help. Also, thanks for the idea of one variable, that was the main problem. Oh, and yes I do have background research, here's a site that I think is very important and would help me. http://www.criminaljustice.org/public.n ... enDocument

I think that this would be part of my background research
• Jurors overestimate the ability of people to remember strangers’ faces, incorrectly analogizing the process of remembering and recounting events to the act of replaying a video recording;

• Jurors do not understand that the involvement of a weapon tends to make an eyewitness’ memory for details about an event less reliable;

• Jurors do not understand how severe stress reduces the ability of a witness to remember details about an incident and identify faces;

• Jurors do not understand that eyewitnesses have a strong tendency to overestimate the duration of a stressful event;

• Jurors do not understand the lack of any meaningful correlation between witness confidence at trial and witness accuracy;

• Jurors place unwarranted trust in the identification abilities of police officers;

• Jurors fail to recognize that eyewitnesses are better at identifying members of their own race and have difficulty identifying members of other races;

• Jurors exhibit substantial confusion about how proper police procedures can affect the accuracy of identifications.


I'm not sure. Also, am I supposed to put the background research information on my board or is it just for my information?

[drago76]

Sorry for double posting again.. but another thing that I need help on is my survey. I need to have a survey for the people that have seen the thing that has happened. I'm planning on having a group close to the scene and one a bit farther away. Can you help by giving me some questions? Thanks.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

This is a great start. What you had gotten from the website really helps your project. Researching also requires looking at a variety of resources - not just one. Have you found any other .org or .edu websites that are pertinent to your question? What about books?

I Google Scholared your topic and received many results:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Tes ... i=scholart

Some of these articles might be unrelated to your topic, but definitely look at them and see how this relates or can enhance your understanding.

Background research definitely goes on your board! Judges will always look at the knowledge behind your understanding. It is extremely important to have sufficient information on your board.

What you also might look into if for your research is the process at which the jury is chosen. I have not done much research on this topic, but many of the big cases on the news discuss the jurors and their background and how they were chosen. If anyone you know has been called for jury duty, ask them what it was like gong through the process of being chosen, and cite it as an interview.

This all relates to what you are trying to conclude here. You have a topic in mind, but do you have a specific question? For example, let us say that some factors do affect the eyewitness testimony...how are you going to relate this to the jurors witnessing the trial? What I have written in the above paragraph might be extraneous if that is not the direction you want to go. But the list of what jurors do not understand is very pertinent to what I have stated above.

Remember, these are things that are part of your background research. Definitely take a look at the URL I had posted, and see some of the surveys or experiments that have been published.

In terms of writing up the survey, I would recommend researching a little bit more, remember to include a variety of resources. And also figure out what scenario you want your subjects to witness. And post what you have found out, what direction you want to go, changes you want to make, and I or another Expert can help you!

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi, Sareena,

What I am planning to do is to go to a place with kids from 3rd grade to 8th grade. Then I'll probably get a film(a movie) with a person in bright colored clothing and show it to the students. I'm thinking of getting a group of people and dividing them by 2, giving me 2 groups. Then I'd show one group like a minute of the movie and then give them a survey on what they recall from the movie and what the character was wearing, color of shoes, etc. I'd show Group 2 the same thing but then I'll give them the survey the next day. [I think having one group far away and one group close would be 2 factors and I think that I should just stick with time delay because everyone's going to look at the t.v. anyway. What do you think I should do?] Or maybe I should show the short film to both groups but include a frightening picture for one of the groups.. I have no idea what to do.

And post what you have found out

I've found out that the elderly have trouble remembering what happened but I think that's irrelevant.
A site i got info from:
http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~spenrod/paper ... es0802.htm
These errors in memory are systematic and are especially likely to occur for the kinds of events that are reported in courtroom testimony. Reports of strangers performing brief, violent or unexpected acts that are frightening to the observer/witness.
There's a lot more but I cant post them all because this computer can't copy and paste. I'm at school right now I'll post more when I get home.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi Drago76,

Looks like you've gotten off on the right start. I do recall what you want to do is very much similar to the sciencebuddies website. I know how hard it can be coming up with a creative and unique project, but really try! It is important to develop your project your own way. Trust me: the end result is much more satisfying when you've completed a very unique lab compared to when you don't.

The website you had copied really has nothing to do with what you want to achieve in this project. As you had mentioned, the website refers to the elderly, and you want to test youth, right?

When creating your groups, you only want to test one grade level - either 6th, 7th, or 8th graders. Don't interchange the grades when doing your experiment. Remember: You want to control your experiment as much as possible. Also, do multiple trials. You want to have two groups do it: one taking the survey the day on and the other the day after. You want to conduct the same experiment atleast 2-3 times to bring more accuracy in your data.

I must emphasize again and again that research is EXTREMELY important. ESPECIALLY in projects like this one where memory is subjective to the human subject. Take a look at the URL's I posted and understand your topic FULLY before executing this experiment.

On a last note, I want to ask you a question: Why are you doing this? You haven't really made this clear to me. I ask this question because you need to know yourself why you are conducting this science project. What are you interested in proving? What do you want to know?

This can all be very confusing, but take a moment and think about the answers to the questions I have asked. Once you know these answers, and conducted PRELIMINARY RESEARCH, it will be MUCH EASIER to procede with the other steps of the scientific method.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Yes, this is pretty confusing to me.. and I'm only in 8th grade
I chose this experiment because I thought that it would be kind of easy but it now seems challenging. What I am planning to prove is well.. um.. if time delay (which is the one I'm doing, giving the survey a day after) has an effect on memory. (Is that you wanted to know?)
I'll do more research but then I have so much to look for.. I'll look for more and tell you what I find.

Thanks for the help so far!

[drago76]

Oh yea, and my research paper is due tomorrow

[drago76]

Well I think that the purpose is to try to determine how credible eyewitness accounts are and if they are an accurate source of evidence in crimes.

Here's something that I have found that might be important, I'm not sure.

If you forget where you left your keys, and then later remember the location, you have just recovered a memory. This experience is fairly common and not very controversial (but even so, psychologists still debate how and why it happens). However, usually in everyday language people use the term "recovered memory" to refer to memory for something traumatic, such as remembering being abused as a child and feeling you had not remembered this for a long time. The issues around these sorts of recovered memories are complex and controversial . This is true both in the sense that the psychology is complex (how and why does it happen) and it is true in the emotional, political, legal, and societal sense when people question whether the memories are accurate.

The charged controversy about recovered memoies of abuse can sometimes make it is difficult to think clearly and difficult to get accurate information. Of course, the most charged issue of all is whether a recovered memory of abuse is true or accurate. If you think about the situation in which you temporarily cannot remember where you left your keys, you probably can remember times when you later remembered the location (and later remembered putting those keys in a special place) and you were accurate (a true recovered memory), and other times when you thought you remembered the location but you were wrong because the keys were actually somewhere else (a mistaken recovered memory). There were probably other times you thought you remembered your key location all along, but when you checked the place you were sure you left your keys they were not there (a mistaken continuous memory). Finally, and fortunately, sometimes you thought you remembered the location of your keys all along, and you checked the location and they were there just as you remembered (a true continuous memory). The possibilities of true or mistaken, and recovered and continuous memory, don't seem so remarkable when it comes to memory for keys. But when it comes to memory for abuse, the issues can get confusing. One big difference between memory for key location and abuse is that we can almost always check our memory against reality when it comes to key location, but evidence for prior abuse is much harder to agree about. Another important difference is that usually a lost and found memory for key location does not inspire disagreement with other people, whereas a lost and found abuse memory has a high probability of inspiring serious conflict.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

You can make an experiment as complicated or as simple as you want it. Your research paper is due tomorrow, but you still have time to conduct your experiment. Keep in mind that your research paper is your writing and not that of others. Take the information you have read from these sources and put them in your own words. How many pages does your paper have to be?

Another thing: ALL of your sources from the internet HAVE to be .edu or .org. Getting information from a .com and citing it in your paper is not acceptable by most teachers.

Now let's see what I have recommended to you in your experiment:

1. You are doing two groups: 1 group taking the survey before and the other group taking the survey 1 day later.

2. Your survey should be about 10 questions (type of questions? Up to you. I would recommend maybe 4 easy, 3 medium and 3 hard...but again this is YOUR experiment. Do the research and figure it out).

3. Test the subjects from the same grade level

4. Do more than one trial (take your video clip to not just one class, but 2 or 3 classes to make your data results more reliable)

These are just recommendations. If you would like to follow them, great! If not, that's ok too.

Remember, research doesn't stop when your teacher makes a paper due on the research you have conducted. Keep on referring back to your notes, books, websites as you go along.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Thanks for the advice. Also I have a question. Should I take a picture of anything? Also, should I put the survey questions with my board on the table?

Thanks,
Drago76

[drago76]

Oh, and about my research paper, it's a rough draft sorry I should've said so earlier . I think about one page.. I'm not sure I'll ask my teacher tomorrow.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

Taking pictures of the class taking the exam would be a neat asset on your board. Be sure not to distract them. Definitely include your survey questions.

On another point, try to limit the time they have to take your survey. Maybe around 10 minutes or so...this is just an example.

I would be more than willing to help you to the best of my capabilities if you have anymore questions.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

I see. I think I should do 5 easy questions, 3 medium, and 2 hard questions. Can you give me an example of an easy, medium and hard question? Thanks!

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

Well, I can give you an example based on a scenario. but I won't be able to give you an example based on what YOUR scenario is.

Scenario: A man wearing a pink shirt walks into the room and looks around. He finds that there is a desk in the room and walks to it. There he finds a laptop. He picks up the laptop and puts it under his right arm. Then he walks toward the door. Before he exits, he takes a look inside the classroom and outside in the cooridor.

Easy: What color was the man wearing?

Medium: What does he do before he exits?

Hard: What arm does he put the laptop under?

Now remember, these questions are SUBJECTIVE to the person. Some might think the easy questions are hard, some might think the easy questions are easy.

Hope this helps,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Thank you very much for that information! It would really help me a lot. I'll be working on my research and research paper and when I'm done with it or get stuck I'll post and hopefully you can take a look at it and proofread it for problems and stuff.

Thanks a bunch,
drago76

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Oh, what I need help with is my background research. I have a lot of info but don't know which ones to put on the board. I'll look for the best ones and post them up. Oh, and how long should the background research be? And should I quote them from the site or write them in my own words and then put it in my bibliography?

Thanks,
drago76

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

I did mention how important doing your background research is, and I'm glad you understand. But the thing is about your background research, the information you put on the board is processed by what you read. In other words, there's no such thing as copying and pasting. It has to be your own words that basically tells the judge or your teacher that you understood what you read and how it relates to your project. At the end of your project you put a bibliography of the works you read.

I hope that answers your question.

Sincerely,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

So if I can't copy and paste, is it possible to say, "According to Mr. Lewis from http://www.whatever.com, he states that jurors have trouble recognizing members of their own race." Do I do that, or just put info like "Jurors have trouble recognizing members of their own race".

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

Before I answer your question, are you doing this for school or for a science fair? Is your school project just for class purposes?

Just use your research paper as your research part on your board.

Now, here comes the hard part about writing a research paper. Citing. I understand your confusion and it is really difficult to cite properly. If you are doing this for school, then I would write the paper and at the end do a "works cited" page of all the resources you looked at.

The first thing you need to do is to MAKE SURE how your teacher wants the paper to be. Have you heard of MLA formatting? If not, it is a type of format used in many research papers and term papers. If your teacher wants MLA citation, it is VERY different than just writing your paper and then writing a works cited page at the end.

Citing is one of the most important parts of any paper, so make sure you reference all the sources you use!

When is your research paper due?

Hope this helps,
Sareena

[drago76]

Yeah, It's for a science fair. i don't know when the research paper is due but our teacher's looking at our rough drafts. I'll tell you what format she wants it in.

[Sareena Avadhany]

Great drago76,

So your research paper is in the works, what about the other parts of your project? How have you been doing in choosing your movie to show and your survey? As of now, you should be on the stage of your materials and procedures, but great if you are ahead!!

Remember, these are the parts of any science fair project:

1. Research Question
2. Hypothesis
3. Research
4. Materials
5. Procedures
-Include variables and controls
-Step-by-step instructions
6. Results and Data Analysis
-Include graphs and raw data
7. Conclusion
-Relate to your hypothesis
-Further research

If you have any questions on the scientific method, ask! or refer to the sciencebuddies page:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... thod.shtml

Hope this helps,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

I'm not thinking of doing the movie idea.. i think its too hard. What I have in mind is to have a person with bright clothes go in a room, and do actions (ex. scratch his head with right hand, etc.) and i'll be testing 2 eight grade classes. ONe will get survey immediately and the other class will get it the next day.

Right now I'm thinking of the survey questions and what I'm planning on having that person do.

Thanks,
drago76

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hey drago76,

Good luck on the rest of your project. Post your survey questions once you've completed creating them, and also your ideas of the man you want to bring in an what you want him to do. Then another expert or myself will be able to provide compliments or suggestions!

Were you able to find out if your research paper is in MLA format?

Wishing you the best,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Sorry for the delay. And I didn't get to ask my teacher yet.. she had to go for a few days so we had a sub. And I can't ask now because it is spring break so I'll have to ask next week which would be the 17th. And my project's gonna be due on the 20th so I'll be sure to post the survey questions hopefully by tomorrow. About the formatting, I don't think what format it's supposed to be but I could just do MLA just in case, right? Oh and for the science fair we each have a partner.. I forgot to tell you that I'm not working alone... He'll be the person that acts the scenerios.

Thanks,
drago76

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi drago76,

Because you have spring break this week, when will you conduct your experiment? If you are doing it when school starts, that gives you about three days to conduct your survey, analyze your data, make your conclusion and create your board. I hope this is enough time for you!

It would be great if you could post your questions by tomorrow.

I will check on the format for your research paper and get back to you.

Sincerely,
Sareena

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Yes, I'm doing it after spring break during school hopefully on Monday. My teacher let me use our classmates for the project. Our board is decorated already, all I need is the conclusion and the hypothesis and all the other ones.

My plan for the survey scene thing is that I will randomly select 10-15 8th graders from Period's 4 and Period 5. I'll have maybe 20-30 people, probably 30. We um.. I guess sit them down in desks, facing the chalkboard. Oh, and should I tell them to pay attention or...? Ok, My partner (everyone in class knows him and I'm not sure if that's a problem..) walks in wearing a (red? not sure what color to use yet) shirt and khaki (spelling?) pants. I'll probably make him wear a tie too. Well, he walks in, says "What's for lunch?" and goes to the teacher's desk. There he finds a yellow book and a newspaper. He then folds the newspaper and puts it inside the book. He then tucks the book under his right arm. He heads toward the door, then looks at his watch and then at the classroom clock. Then he heads out and opens the door, drops the book, picks it up, then leaves.

Um, I'm not sure if this is a good scene, I just made it up from the top of my head right now. I think I put in too much details and neither of the period classes would remember them. If I need changing then tell me and tell me what I'll need to change. Thanks.

Survey Questions
1. What color was the person's shirt, tie, and pants?
2. What did the person say when he entered into the room?
3. Where does he go after he enters the room?
4. What does he find there and and do with the objects that he found?
5. What color were the objects?
6. Which arm does he put the object under?
7. After he looks at his watch what does he do?
8. While opening the door to leave, what happens?
(I only got 8 questions.. need 2 more)
This is just my draft I didn't do the experiment yet so please look over this and tell me if it needs changing by ASAP. I'll be sure to check the forums everyday.

Also, I was wondering.. When my partner does the scene do I take pictures of the step-by-step things that my partner does? (ex. take a picture when he comes in, take another when he puts newspaper in book, another when he looks and watch, another when he drops book?) And for my data, do I average out the grades of the 4th period and the 5th period and put it into a bar graph? I don't know which way to show my data.

Thanks,
drago76

[drago76]

Hi Sareena,

Oh, and I found something on yahoo that can help me on my background research.

http://www.runet.edu/~maamodt/Psyc%2040 ... timony.ppt

It's a powerpoint and it'd be great if you took a look at it because I kinda don't understand some of it.
(example:

Arousal Level
- High levels = reduced accuracy
- Kasin et al. (2001)
==98% of experts think this is true
==60% think it is reliable enough to testify What does that mean?

Oh and I think I should get most of the info from that powerpoint and put it into my background research.