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Re: Back to basics testing your hypothesis.
Posted by:
Jim Mazerat (IP Logged)
Date: January 12, 2007 10:26AM
Unfortunately, the testing of ones hypothesis is something that must be done by the person who developed the hypothesis. Geralds explanation is one of the best I have seen. If you can show that in testing this hypothesis you were objective in comparing all data, pro or con, to your hypothesis, the trier of fact, being a judge or jury, will give you a higher degree of creditability. The final answer is you must be satisfied you did everything possible to determine your conclusion is correct.
By saying we are trying to test our hypothesis what are we saying we are trying to do. We are attempting to develop a method that will supply information that will establish if this hypothesis is reasonable. You can use information from many different sources to conduct this evaluation. You can discuss you opinions with others in your profession. You can conduct experiments. You can conduce research using work produced by others. The more different sources you use in conducting your evaluation the greater the accuracy in your conclusion.
Where different schools, books, and other documents will aid you in evaluating your hypothesis, they will not contain all the information available. Because each incident is so specific, there is little chance one book or document will give you all the information you need. Do not think you will get everyone to agree with you on your call. There will always be those that will disagree with your call as to the cause of a fire. Because fire investigation is not an exact science, it is not possible to exactly reproduce what took place. Because of this factor, we are left with using our perception of our observations to reach our hypothesis. Because two people can have different perceptions after viewing the same object, there will always be disagreements.
Your concerns in getting it right defines your ethics. Keep up challenging yourself is the best way to get the best and accurate results in your investigations.