What the study found
The paper argues that forensic knowledge is not simply found in evidence; it is produced through a chain of transformations. It also argues that forensic authority, or justified expert conclusion, depends on transparent management of that chain.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest this matters because forensic science has faced a crisis in which practical effectiveness has outpaced the intellectual basis for reliable knowledge. They conclude that forensic authority should rest on logical justification, not institutional power, and that fiduciary-epistemic duties such as balanced disclosure and preserving contestability are needed.
What the researchers tested
This is a conceptual and theoretical article, not a new experiment or dataset analysis. It traces a history of forensic science's problem of "technical instrumentalism" and examines an ontology proposed by Haq et al., along with the ideas of f-transforms, epistemic dependence, and epistemic capture.
What worked and what didn't
The paper presents the ontology of evidence as structured change from energy transfer as a way to anchor forensic inference in reconstructing events. It also distinguishes scientific uncertainty, tied to entropy and the limits of proxy data, from institutional uncertainty, tied to governance and management of the transformation chain; the latter is described as the more avoidable problem. The abstract does not report empirical test results.
What to keep in mind
The abstract describes a theoretical argument, so its claims are about structure and justification rather than measured outcomes. It does not provide empirical validation, sample details, or specific case studies in the summary available.
Key points
- Forensic evidence is described as a manifestation of structured change, not as isolated objects.
- The paper links forensic knowledge to f-transforms: natural, cultural, and forensic transformations.
- The authors argue that forensic science can suffer from epistemic dependence and epistemic capture because it is a captive profession.
- Scientific uncertainty is distinguished from institutional uncertainty in the abstract.
- The authors say forensic warrant should come from transparent management of the full transformational chain.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Forensic knowledge is framed as transformed, not merely discovered
- Authors:
- Max M. Houck
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-02
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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