Logo of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, University of Dundee, featuring a blue shield with a crown and stylized designs, accompanied by the centre's name and university in blue text.
Logo of Leverhulme Trust, featuring the name in bold uppercase letters with a clean design.

Forensic Science Experimental Design

This online CPD course is for anyone dedicated to producing high-quality research. It supports methodologically robust research and ensures rigorous analysis of experimental evidence.

Whether you’re a Forensic Practitioner, Legal Professional or PhD Student, this course will strengthen your ability to design research. It will help you report research that stands up to scientific and legal scrutiny.

No forensic experience? No problem! This course makes scientific rigor accessible to everyone, using compelling forensic examples to bring ideas to life. Whatever your discipline, you’ll gain tools to strengthen your research, improve decision-making, and achieve better results.

Start by exploring Research Foundations. Learn why structured research is essential. Understand how to frame clear, testable hypotheses that tackle real-world casework issues.

You will learn about Experimental Design and Transparent Reporting. These topics will show the importance of implementing rigorous approaches and statistical planning. They also cover strategies to reduce bias and responsible data management. Finally, you will understand how to communicate results effectively to diverse audiences.

The course addresses the calls for systematic and validated research by focusing on designing and transparently reporting forensic studies. This is crucial as the reliability of courtroom decisions often rests on the research underpinning evidence interpretation.

By the end, you will be equipped with practical tools to strengthen your research. This will ensure it is reliable and reproducible. It will also withstand scientific and legal scrutiny.

This is a self-paced course, allowing you to move freely between modules. The duration time set is 10 hours, which is for guidance only, as you can go at your own pace.

Meet the Experts

Dr Virginie Galais

Postdoctoral Research Assistant 

Virginie Galais earned a Bachelor’s in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Paris Diderot (FR) and a Master’s in Criminal Science (physical evidence) from the University of Lausanne (CHE). She completed her PhD at the University of Dundee within the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS), where she studied the transfer and persistence of fibres through washing activities.

She is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at LRCFS, developing an innovative camera system to improve crime scene mapping and driving the advancement of forensic science methodologies through automation and robust experimental design.

Dr Agnieszka Kuffel 

Postdoctoral Research Assistant 

After graduating from King’s College London with MSc in Forensic Science Aga worked as a research technician for the Department of Twin Research and Thrombosis& Vascular Biology Group at St Thomas’ Hospital in London and later as a biobank technician for KHP Cancer Biobank. 

Aga’s project revolves around investigating alternatives to STR profiling in human identification. The aim of her research is to validate the polymorphic diversity of potential markers and their application to complicated DNA mixtures with three or more contributors. 

Dr Herve Menard 

Senior Lecturer 

After completing a BSc (Brighton) in Chemistry and Physics, a PhD (Chemistry) from the University of York and a postdoctoral position in the Physics department in York, Hervé went to work for Omicron Nanotechnology in the UK and Germany before joining Sasol in 2009.

Hervé is a principal investigator with the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) where he is using his expertise in understanding how materials interacts and use of functionalised materials and nanotechnology for application in forensics.

FAQ’s

This course teaches principles of scientific rigor that apply across all research disciplines, not just forensic science. An opportunity to enhance the credibility of your work by learning how to design robust studies, reduce bias, and report findings transparently so your research stands up to scientific and legal scrutiny.
You’ll gain how to:
  • Frame clear, testable hypotheses
  • Design robust experiments
  • Implement strategies to reduce bias
  • Manage data responsibly
  • Report findings transparently and effectively
This course is designed for anyone committed to producing high-quality, reliable research. It’s ideal for forensic practitioners, legal professionals, PhD students, and researchers across disciplines.
No forensic experience is required! While examples use forensic terminology, the principles of scientific rigor taught are broadly applicable to any research field.
The course is self-paced and divided into modules:
  • Research Foundations: Learn why structured research is essential and how to frame clear, testable hypotheses that address real-world casework issues.
  • Experimental Design and Transparent Reporting: Cover implementing rigorous methods, statistical planning, strategies to reduce bias, responsible data management and communicating results effectively to diverse audiences.
At the end of each module there is a short quiz.
This is an on-demand, self-paced course, meaning you can access the course when ever you want and where ever you want. You can study at your own pace and learn around your own schedule.
By mastering scientific rigor and transparent reporting, you’ll strengthen the credibility of your research, which is essential for academic publishing, legal scrutiny, and professional advancement.
On successful completion of this course you will receive a downloadable certificate that will indicate the time and date of completion and hours spent. You will also have the opportunity to collect digital badges that you can share to your social media account.

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