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The Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

OSAC Lexicon

The OSAC Lexicon is a compendium of forensic science terms and definitions. This terminology tool was created to help bring consistency and understanding to the way terms are used by the various forensic science. Use of the OSAC Lexicon does not replace the need to reference the original published source.

The terms and definitions in the OSAC Lexicon come from the published literature, including documentary standards and technical reports. It is continually updated with the latest work from OSAC units, as well as terms from newly published documentary standards and standards elevated to the OSAC Registry.

Gradually terms are evaluated and harmonized by the OSAC to a single term. This process results in an OSAC Preferred Term. An OSAC Preferred Term is a term, along with its definition, that has undergone review and evaluation by the FSSB Terminology Task Group and has been approved by the FSSB. The FSSB recommends that subcommittees use OSAC Preferred Terms when drafting standards.

The OSAC Lexicon should be the primary resource for terminology and used when drafting and editing forensic science standards and other OSAC work products. 

Displaying 2601 - 2650 of 3507
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Searches term, definition, and source for any of these keywords.
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Raw
in image analysis, a digital camera or scanner file format, usually proprietary, for minimally processed digital image data.
Committee
Facial & Iris Identification
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Raw Audio Format
A format that stores uncompressed audio without header information. The mostcommon file extensions for RAW audio format are '.raw' and '.pcm'.
Committee
Interdisciplinary
Speaker Recognition
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Raw Data

Ordinate values that come directly from the instrument which have not been manipulated (e.g.,trimmed, filtered, and/or interpolation applied).

Committee
Firearms & Toolmarks
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 061 Firearms and Toolmarks 3D Measurement Systems and Measurement Quality Control. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2021. Source link
Term link
Raw Image Format

A family of file formats, often specific to different models of digital imageryequipment, that are not yet processed for storage in a 'printable' image format such asJPEG or TIFF. The file extension '.raw' is only one such format.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Razor Blades
thin oblong crystals with length about twice the width, resembling a safety razor blade.
Committee
Seized Drugs
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Rcmp

Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Read Only Memory, ROM
a type of permanent data storage (memory) that can be read but not altered by the system. Discussion—Data stored in read-only memory is not affected by power loss to the system.
Committee
Facial & Iris Identification
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Reagent

A chemical used to react with another chemical, often to confirm or deny the presence of the second chemical.

Committee
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 158 Standard for Developing Standard Operating Procedures in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2023. Source link
Term link
Reagent
a chemical used to react with another chemical, often to confirm or deny the presene of the second chemical.
Committee
Seized Drugs
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
reagent blank

A sample that contains no analyte, but contains the buffer, test reagents, or other materials required to perform a particular test. This is a negative control where results are not expected. The observation where the result(s) in this control may indicate the presence of contaminated or compromised reagents, which may impact the DNA or the serological results observed from samples tested at the same time. For forensic DNA testing this control is treated the same as, and parallel to, the DNA samples being analyzed.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 048 Wildlife Forensic DNA Standard Procedures. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2019. Source link
Term link
Recall

A verbal command given to the canine, terminating with the canine returning to the canine handler. The canine's response to return to the canine handler on command.

Committee
Dogs & Sensors
Date Added to Lexicon
Technical Report/Other Source (Author, Title of report. Publisher, Year.)
ANSI/Academy Standards Board (ASB), Crime Scene/Death Investigation - Dogs and Sensors - Terms and Definitions. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2017. Source link
Term link
Recall Rate

The recall rate is also known as true positive rate. It is defined as the number (or percentage) of toolmark specimens containing a Known-Match in the test set for which a Known-Match is correctly determined.

Committee
Firearms & Toolmarks
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 062 Standard for Topography Comparison Software for Toolmark Analysis. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2021. Source link
Term link
Recipient document

The document or other substrate that received indentations, other paper fiber disturbances, or other markings.

Committee
Forensic Document Examination
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 044 Standard for Examination of Documents for Indentations. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
recognition

process of deciding whether items have potential forensic value

Note 1 to entry:  Enhancement can aid recognition

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ISO 21043-1:2025 Forensic sciences — Part 1: Vocabulary. International Organization for Standardization BIBC II, Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ISO, copyright International Organization for Standardization, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland. A copy of the complete standard may be purchased from ISO, https://www.iso.org/store.html
Term link
Recommended Practice

A document that is similar in content and structure to a code or standard but that contains only nonmandatory provisions using the word 'should' to indicate recommendations in the body of the text.

Committee
Fire & Explosion Investigation
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
NFPA 921:2021 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA, 2021. Source link
Term link
Reconstruction
process of repairing damaged media to allow the retrieval of data.
Committee
Facial & Iris Identification
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Record

Document with observations, statements of results achieved, or evidence of activities performed.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ISO 9000:2015 Quality management systems- Fundamentals and vocabulary. International Organization for Standardization BIBC II, Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland, 2015. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ISO, copyright International Organization for Standardization, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland. A copy of the complete standard may be purchased from ISO, https://www.iso.org/store.html
Term link
Record (N)

A defined set of fields that contain data as defined in this standard.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Record (V)

The act of converting an acoustic voice signal directly from an individual into a storagemedia, perhaps through contemporaneous, intermediate (transient) signal types. Note:This definition is retained because of its entrenchment in natural language use.Consequently, a record (n) is not recorded, it is created. Transcoding is the term usedfor further processing of the voice signal and any digital or analog representation of thatsignal.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
record control

system used to ensure traceability and to identify, store, protect, retrieve, retain and dispose of record(s)

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ISO 21043-1:2025 Forensic sciences — Part 1: Vocabulary. International Organization for Standardization BIBC II, Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ISO, copyright International Organization for Standardization, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland. A copy of the complete standard may be purchased from ISO, https://www.iso.org/store.html
Term link
Record Creation

The act of creating a record contained in an ANSI/NIST-ITL transaction.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Record Record/Utilization Log

A record/log in the use of a trained canine team in an operational environment, as opposed to training records. A log constituting a piece of evidence about the past, especially an account of an act or occurrence kept in writing or some other permanent form, i.e., electronic format. (See deployment record or utilization record.)

Committee
Dogs & Sensors
Date Added to Lexicon
Technical Report/Other Source (Author, Title of report. Publisher, Year.)
ANSI/Academy Standards Board (ASB), Crime Scene/Death Investigation - Dogs and Sensors - Terms and Definitions. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2017. Source link
Term link
Recording (N)
A stored acoustic signal in either analog or digital form.
Committee
Interdisciplinary
Speaker Recognition
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Records

Objective evidence of a condition, result, work performed, activity conducted, and/or quality of asystem or process for archival purposes.

Committee
Firearms & Toolmarks
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 063 Implementation of 3D Technologies in Forensic Firearm and Toolmark Comparison Laboratories. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2021. Source link
Term link
Recovery
chemical, term used in analytical and preparative chemistry to denote the fraction of the total quantity of a substance recoverable following a chemical procedure.
Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Redaction

Over-writing of segments of a voice signal for the purpose of masking speech content ina way that does not disrupt the time record of the original recording.

Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update:2015 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. ANSI/National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011. Source link
Term link
Reference Data

Data derived from biological specimens of a known individual.

Committee
Human Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 040 Standard for Forensic DNA Interpretation and Comparison Protocols. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
reference data

Data generated from a reference sample.

Committee
Human Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 139 Reporting DNA Conclusions. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2024. Source link
Term link
Reference Data Set (Rds)

The assembly of data related to a specific identifiable human group comprising all the relevant information to enable dental age assessment.

Committee
Forensic Odontology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ADA 1077-2020 Human Age Assessment by Dental Analysis. American Dental Association (ADA), 211 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611, 2020. Source link
Term link
reference database

A collection of reference material or sequences assembled for use in comparative analyses for purposes of taxonomic identification, individual source evaluation, population assignment, or mitotyping.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 048 Wildlife Forensic DNA Standard Procedures. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2019. Source link
Term link
Reference Datafile

A reference measurement of a flat surface (e.g., mirror) which includes the errors and opticalaberrations of the measurement system. This data file can be stored and subtracted from allsubsequent measurements.

Committee
Firearms & Toolmarks
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 061 Firearms and Toolmarks 3D Measurement Systems and Measurement Quality Control. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2021. Source link
Term link
reference group

A sample of a population used in a method.

Committee
Forensic Anthropology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 132 Standard for Population Affinity Estimation in Forensic Anthropology. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2023. Source link
Term link
Reference Ignitable Liquid
an ignitable liquid used for comparison with case data for classification purposes. Discussion—Reference ignitable liquids can be obtained from a variety of sources, due to the large range of applications of ignitable liquids.
Committee
Ignitable Liquids, Explosives & Gunshot Residue
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
Reference Material

material, sufficiently homogeneous and stable with respect to one or more specified properties, which has been established to be fit for its intended use in a measurement processj

j: Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM), International vocabulary of metrology - Basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM) (Sèvres, France: International Bureau of Weights and Measures [BIPM]- JCGM 200) available at https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides.

Committee
Forensic Toxicology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 055 Standard for Breath Alcohol Measuring Instrument Calibration . AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO , 2024. Source link
Term link
Reference Material

Material, sufficiently homogenous and stable with respect to one or more specified properties, which has been established to be fit for its intended use in a measurement.

Committee
Forensic Toxicology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 098 Standard for Mass Spectral Analysis in Forensic Toxicology. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2023. Source link
Term link
Reference Material

Material, sufficiently homogenous and stable with reference to specified properties, which have been established to be fit for its intended use in a measurement or in examination of nominal properties.

Committee
Forensic Toxicology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 036 Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
Reference Material

Biological specimens of known identity or data derived from them, or from published sources. Voucher specimens are a subset of reference material (see voucher specimen).

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 019 Wildlife Forensics General Standards. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
Reference Material (RM)

Material, sufficiently homogeneous and stable with reference to specified properties, which has been established to be fit for its intended use in a measurement or in examination of nominal properties.

Committee
Forensic Toxicology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 017 Standard for Metrological Traceability in Forensic Toxicology. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2025. Source link
Term link
Reference Material Reference Specimen

Biological specimens of known identity or data derived from them, or from published sources. Voucher specimens are a subset of reference material (see voucher specimen).

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 028 Wildlife Forensics Morphology Standards. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
Reference Materials

Biological specimens of known identity or data derived from them.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 047 Wildlife Forensics Validation Standard - Validating New Primers for Sequencing. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2019. Source link
Term link
reference materials

Biological specimens, materials or substances of known identity and verified properties, or data derived from them.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 048 Wildlife Forensic DNA Standard Procedures. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2019. Source link
Term link
reference materials

Biological specimens, materials or substances of known identity and verified properties, or data derived from them.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 106 Wildlife Forensics—Protein Serology Method for Taxonomic Identification. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2020. Source link
Term link
Reference Sample

Biological material obtained from a known individual and collected for the purpose of comparison to evidentiary sample(s).

Committee
Human Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 175 Standard for Interpreting, Comparing and Reporting DNA Test Results Associated with Failed Controls and Contamination Events . AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO , 2024. Source link
Term link
reference sample

Biological material obtained from a known individual and collected for purposes of comparison to evidentiary samples.

Committee
Human Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 139 Reporting DNA Conclusions. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2024. Source link
Term link
Reference Sample
material from a known source used for comparison purposes in a forensic process. Discussion—(1) This includes biological material taken from a person (for example, hair, blood, saliva), and non-biological material (for example, carpet, paint, fabric). (2) A reference sample can be taken from an item to ensure the substrate has no adverse effect on the performance of the test. (3) A reference sample can be used to address the question of the source of an unknown sample, one would compare the unknown sample with a reference sample.
Committee
Interdisciplinary
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2025. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
Term link
reference samples

Samples of known origin collected for purposes of comparison to samples of unknown origin.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 048 Wildlife Forensic DNA Standard Procedures. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2019. Source link
Term link
reference samples

Samples of known origin collected for purposes of comparison to samples of unknown origin.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 106 Wildlife Forensics—Protein Serology Method for Taxonomic Identification. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2020. Source link
Term link
reference sequence(s)

A DNA sequence used as a reference to describe variants that are present in a sequence being analyzed.

Committee
Wildlife Forensic Biology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 111 Standard for Training in Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Analysis for Taxonomic Identification . AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 2020. Source link
Term link
reference standard

Measurement standard that is used to calibrate or verify (working reference standard) measuring instruments or measuring systems.

Committee
Forensic Toxicology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASB 017 Standard for Metrological Traceability in Forensic Toxicology. AAFS Academy Standards Board (ASB), 410 North 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, 2025. Source link
Term link
Reference Study

A detailed investigation and analysis of a specific population to relate chronologic age to dental development and maturation.

Committee
Forensic Odontology
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ADA 1077-2020 Human Age Assessment by Dental Analysis. American Dental Association (ADA), 211 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611, 2020. Source link
Term link
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