Support for Forensic Science Research: Improving the Scientific Role of the National Institute of Justice by Committee on Strengthening Forensic Science at the National Institute of Justice

Author:Committee on Strengthening Forensic Science at the National Institute of Justice
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The National Academies Press
Published: 2015-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Supporting Researchers: Dissemination and Education

Strengthening NIJ observed that support and outreach from NIJ to researchers declined in the mid- to late 2000s. During this period, research funding decreased and research projects became a significantly smaller portion of NIJ’s overall portfolio of activities. In addition, dissemination and outreach to the academic community declined; notably, the NIJ research briefs and the annual NIJ research conference were discontinued, and few efforts were made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of scholarly databases (e.g., the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data) (National Research Council, 2010, pp. 182-186).

More recently, NIJ has placed a greater emphasis on developing the infrastructure for research in forensic science. Some activities supporting this emphasis include the calls for new investigators in solicitations (discussed earlier), stronger encouragement for funded researchers to disseminate their results through journal publications and conference presentations, increased support for future researchers (e.g., graduate students), and an emphasis on improving access to databases and datasets for research purposes.

Dissemination

Some previous concerns about the lack of independence of NIJ (National Research Council, 2010) in the dissemination of research findings have been addressed by returning control of its publications to NIJ. Now, the Department of Justice Scientific and Integrity Policy states (pp. 9-10):

In keeping with National Research Council’s Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency [National Research Council, 2009a], the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice retain control over the timing and content of statistical and research reports and the press releases associated with them.22

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