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?

The	community	seeks	research	to	address	statistics	or	measures	of	error	rates	in	qualitative	

methods	of	chemical	analysis.	Solicitations	should	include	measures	of	false	positives/false	

negatives	for	individual	methods	of	analysis—such	as	spectroscopic	or	chromatographic	methods	

of	analysis—and	in	analytical	schemes	that	combine	multiple	methods	of	analysis.

New	knowledge	could	include	numerical	evaluations	of	bias,	error,	and	uncertainty	in	chemical	

techniques	and	analytical	schemes.	New	knowledge	could	address	how	the	quality	of	collected	data	

influences	the	false	positive	and	false	negative	identification	rate	of	seized	drugs.	New	knowledge	

could	also	include	how	the	combination	of	different	analytical	schemes	influences	the	false	positive	

and	false	negative	identification	rates	of	seized	drugs.	

Whereas	chemical	methods	of	analysis	were	not	directly	criticized	in	the	2009	NAS	report	

Strengthening	Forensic	Science	in	the	US:	A	Path	Forward,	the	report	highlighted	the	need	for	all	

forensic	disciplines	to	address	issues	about	the	scientific	validity	and	level	of	certainty	or	error	rate	

of	their	techniques.	

Error	rates	in	Qualitative	Methods	of	Analysis

Seized	Drug 1/28/16
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

Research	results	could	enable	a	more	efficient	use	of	laboratory	resources.

Research	results	would	enable	the	community	to	better	understand	the	magnitude	of	improvement	

in	certainty	of	determinations	that	arise from	the	combination	of	independent	methods	in	an	

analytical	scheme.	

Research results	would	enable	expert	witnesses	to	better	support	and	express,	and	in	a	more	

uniform	manner,	the	reliability	of	seized	drug	analyses.

The	criminal	justice	system	could	operate	in	a	more	efficient	manner,	thus	saving	money.	These	

research	results	will	also	help	the	forensic	community	communicate	the	results	of	seized	drug	

analyses	to	triers	of	fact.	

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 1/28/16

SAC