The Game is Afoot: An Introduction to Forensic Science contains frequently updated information for an introductory forensic science course. 

I wrote this textbook with the goal of giving you up-to-date information on as many aspects of forensic science as possible. I will be adding information to this book as it comes out in the literature.

But first, a warning: this book contains subject matter, photos, and videos that cover subjects some may consider delicate. Be advised that you will be seeing pictures of dead humans and animals, and reading about decomposition, bodily injury, methods of death, and other unfortunate subjects. You will find people don’t appreciate you looking at these photos or talking about this subject while at dinner or in other situations. Be ready for some funny looks!

How to Use This Book

Chapter Quizzes

Each chapter and/or section I assign will come with several questions to answer. These are your chapter quizzes and need to be finished the Sunday before class. You will see these same questions (along with others) on your weekly quizzes and on the exams, so take note! These quizzes are also a part of your overall grade.

Videos

Where appropriate, I have added videos to the chapters that explain or illustrate a concept. The videos should play when you click on them. If a video link is broken, please let me know!

Section Info

Throughout each chapter, you will see section borders. There are three types of borders:

These borders indicate a case study. I have added cases from my own work, historical cases, and cases that I’ve read about in the literature to help you understand how a particular technique works in the real world.2 Once you get to the “End Case Study” border, that means story time is over and it’s on to the rest of the chapter.

These borders indicate a definition. I will do this when there is a word or concept that I’m going to be talking about, and I want to make sure you know the definition. If you are already clear on the definition, you can skip this bit!

A “foundational principle” is a basic concept, theory, law, or other bit of information that you need to understand in order to get the forensics technique I’m explaining. These principles are important—if you think you know them, just double check the section. This is how I’m making sure everyone is on the same page, and I will be referring to the foundational principle throughout the rest of the book. Make sure you understand it!

Links

I have linked to outside web pages and documents throughout this book. If you see a blue underlined section like this: “This is what a link looks like!” then you might want to click on it. Sometimes it’s a database or other resource that you need to have. Other times it’s just something that I think is neat. Now you know.

Further Reading and Fun Stuff

At the very end of this book you will find a page that has a bunch of books and things listed. These are links to books I mention throughout the text, books I think you would like, and links to fun or useful forensic science things. I will keep this list updated as much as possible, so check back often!