Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Quality Assurance01:19

Quality Assurance

226
Quality assurance is the overarching term used to describe the activities employed to ensure the proper performance of a system. These activities can be classified into three categories: quality control, quality assessment, and internal corrective measures. Typically, these activities work cyclically: quality control is performed before and during the analysis, while quality assessment occurs during and after the investigation. Internal corrective measures are implemented based on the findings...
226
Blind Procedures02:07

Blind Procedures

12.3K
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which...
12.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Antemortem toxicological and behavioral findings of drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes: a comparative analysis of charged and uncharged individuals.

Traffic injury prevention·2026
Same author

Evaluation of sevoflurane interference with forensic blood ethanol analysis, including sevoflurane stability, and an authentic case.

Journal of analytical toxicology·2025
Same author

The Hawthorne effect in studies of firearm and toolmark examiners.

Journal of forensic sciences·2025
Same author

Toxicological and demographic profiles of phencyclidine-impaired driving cases in Houston: updates from the 2019 to 2023 data.

Journal of analytical toxicology·2025
Same author

Ethanol stability from 9 years of a blind quality control program in blood alcohol analysis.

Journal of analytical toxicology·2024
Same author

The secret life of crime labs.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 28, 2025

Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue
07:09

Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue

Published on: May 9, 2019

8.2K

Blind testing in firearms: Preliminary results from a blind quality control program.

Maddisen Neuman1,2, Callan Hundl1, Aimee Grimaldi1

  • 1Houston Forensic Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Journal of Forensic Sciences
|March 29, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Blind quality control in firearms examination revealed that while no unsatisfactory results occurred, over 40% of comparisons were inconclusive. Evidence quality, particularly bullets, significantly impacted these inconclusive findings in casework simulations.

Keywords:
blind quality controlblind testingfirearms comparison conclusionsfirearms examinationinconclusive rateproficiency testingquality improvement

More Related Videos

A Standardized Obstacle Course for Assessment of Visual Function in Ultra Low Vision and Artificial Vision
09:29

A Standardized Obstacle Course for Assessment of Visual Function in Ultra Low Vision and Artificial Vision

Published on: February 11, 2014

13.2K
A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons Columba Livia
06:14

A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons Columba Livia

Published on: September 7, 2018

6.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 28, 2025

Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue
07:09

Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue

Published on: May 9, 2019

8.2K
A Standardized Obstacle Course for Assessment of Visual Function in Ultra Low Vision and Artificial Vision
09:29

A Standardized Obstacle Course for Assessment of Visual Function in Ultra Low Vision and Artificial Vision

Published on: February 11, 2014

13.2K
A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons Columba Livia
06:14

A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons Columba Livia

Published on: September 7, 2018

6.5K

Area of Science:

  • Forensic Science
  • Ballistics
  • Quality Management Systems

Background:

  • Open proficiency tests assess examiner competence but may not reflect real casework scenarios.
  • The Houston Forensic Science Center implemented a blind quality control program for firearms examination in December 2015.
  • This program uses mock cases to simulate routine casework, testing examiners without their knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of a blind quality control program in firearms examination.
  • To assess examiner competence and identify factors influencing casework outcomes.
  • To ensure the reliability and accuracy of firearms analysis within a quality management system.

Main Methods:

  • Fifty-one firearms blind cases were analyzed between December 2015 and June 2021.
  • Examiners performed microscopic examination and comparison of fired evidence to determine firearm origin.
  • Data on analysis and comparison determinations were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

  • No unsatisfactory results were reported across 570 determinations.
  • 40.3% of comparisons, where the ground truth was identification or elimination, yielded inconclusive conclusions.
  • Inconclusive results were more frequent when the ground truth was elimination (74%) compared to identification (31%).
  • Bullets were the primary contributor to inconclusive results (61.8%).

Conclusions:

  • The blind quality control program demonstrates the capability of the quality management system and firearms section procedures to achieve accurate and reliable results.
  • Evidence quality, especially bullet characteristics, significantly influences the rate of inconclusive conclusions.
  • The program enhances examiner confidence and can be adapted for targeted research and inter-laboratory collaboration.