Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

OSAC	Research	Needs Assessment Form

Title	of	research	need:

Keywords:

Submitting subcommittee(s): Date	Approved:

(If	SAC	review	identifies	additional	subcommittees,	add	them	to	the	box	above.)

Background	information:

1.	 Description	of	research	need:

2.	 Key	bibliographic	references	relating	to	this	research	need:

3a.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	current	laboratory	capabilities?

Establish	a	statistical	or	other	firm	foundation for	the	interpretation	of	chromatographic,	

spectrometric	and	spectroscopic	data.		The	study	should	include	aspects	of	retention	time	and	

chromatographic	peak	shape,	signal	to	noise	ratio,	where	in	the	peak	to	obtain	the	best	spectrum,	

assessment	of	the	quality	of	a	mass	or	infrared	spectrum,	which	may	consider	overall	shape	of	the	

spectrum,	presence	or	absence	of	particular	fragments	and absorption	bands	and	determination	of

acceptable	ranges for	these	values.		Optional	areas	of	research	include	development	of	data	

interpretation	algorithms.			The	goal	of	the	research	is	to	standardize	Acceptance	Criteria and	

develop	an	interpretation	strategy	that	allows	consistent	conclusions	to	be	drawn	from	data of	the	

type indicated	above.

• Organizations	such	as	ASTM,	AAFS,	ASCLD/LAB,	SWGDRUG	and	ABC	were	searched	for	the	

presence	of	standards	or	documents	detailing	acceptance	criteria	for	instrumental	data.		

However,	no	references	were	found.		SWGTOX	has	a	draft,	unpublished	document	on	the	

subject.

• One	researcher,	Milman,	has	done	preliminary	work	published	in	Trends	in	Analytical

Chemistry	in	2005	titled	“Identification	of	Chemical	Compounds”	addressing	aspects	of	mass	

spectral	data	interpretation,	however,	there	are	not	Acceptance	Criteria	for	other	types	of	data,	

nor	is	it	specific	to	forensic	science.

Research	results would	offer	standardization	for	interpreting	complex	data	sets	by	establishing	

acceptance	criteria.

Acceptance	Criteria	for	Instrumental	Data	related	to	Qualitative	Seized	

Drug	Analysis

Drug	Analysis,	Gas	Chromatography/Mass	Spectrometry	(GC/MS),	Fourier	

Transform	Infrared	Spectroscopy	(FTIR),	Acceptance	Criteria,	Data	Interpretation,	

Assessment	of	Data	Quality,	Data	Interpretation	Algorithms	and	Strategy

Seized	Drugs 28	Jan	16
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

3b.		In what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	understanding	of	the	scientific	basis	for	the	

subcommittee(s)?

3c.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	services	to	the	criminal	justice	system?

4.		Status assessment	(I,	II,	III,	or	IV):		

This	research	need	has	been	identified	by	one	or	more	subcommittees	of	OSAC	and	is	being	provided	as	an	

informational	resource	to	the	community.

Major gap	

in	current	

knowledge

Minor gap	

in	current	

knowledge

No	or	limited

current	research	

is	being	

conducted

I III

Existing current	

research	is	being	

conducted

II IV

Results	of	this	research	would provide	uniformity	for interpreting	data	to	direct	the	development	

or	refinement	of analytical	protocols.

The	development	of	Acceptance	Criteria	would	provide	procedures	to	improve	an	analyst’s	ability	

to	render	a	conclusion	based	upon	objectively	interpreted	data.

I
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

// Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	subcommittee.		Once	approved,	forward to	SAC.)

1.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	research	need?				Yes					 							No							⃝		

2.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	status assessment?				Yes															No							⃝	

If	no,	what	is	the	status assessment	of	the	SAC:

Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	SAC.		Once	approved,	forward	to	NIST	for	posting.)

Subcommittee 28	January	2016,	18	yes	(unanimous)	

SAC