Wikis, Blogs, and More: New Keys that Unlock New Possibilites
National Conference on Science, Technology, and the Law (NCSTL) Conference presentation (November 5, 2006) by Cynthia Holt on using wikis, blogs, podcasts, and feed readers to stay current in the legal and forensics fields and to work collaboratively with colleagues. This is a lengthened version of the powerpoint handout distributed at the session. Screen shots of the resources shown in the presentation have been included in this version. The suggested resources handout includes the list of all of the sites and resources mentioned in the presentation.

The forensic sciences refer to the application of principles and methods of specialized scientific and/or technical knowledge to criminal and civil legal questions. The term forensic medicine is often used interchangeably with the term forensic science but it is actually a subspecialty of the forensic sciences dealing with the relationships and applications of medical facts to legal questions. Forensic medicine is also referred to as legal medicine and medical jurisprudence. Forensic scientists include, but are not limited to, pathologists, psychiatrists, odontologists, toxicologists, molecular biologists, entomologists, and criminalists. What distinguishes a forensic scientist from other scientists working in the various disciplines that make up forensics is that they must also be able to present their results convincingly under oath in a court of law.

This site is designed to bring together the various online resources available to researchers in the forensic sciences. This site is meant to supplement my book,Guide to Resources in the Forensic Sciences, published by Libraries Unilimited in 2005. Resources are arranged under subject categories and can be accessed through the menus at the top of each page.