Advice needed on research project

[melsalter]

I am doing an Evidenced Based Project on the best methods of collecting forensic evidence on gunshot, stabbing and other victims of violence.

I am having a time trying to find any randomized controlled trials dealing with this subject. There is alot of retrospective studies and many informational/instructional...but none that I see based on trials.

Any ideas?

Thanks a heap!

[Rob72, ASN, RN]

Wow. You really aren't likely to find many (any?) randomized studies because evidence collection is done for evidentiary purposes. No one is likely to put a homicide case in jeopardy by using non-standardized technique(s)- which generally come about through retrospective analysis.

Catch-22, I know. Have you tried contacting the University of Tenn.'s "body farm"? That would be my first stop, and pretty much the only place any kind of randomization could work:

http://web.utk.edu/~fac/

[melsalter]

:idea:Thanks for your input. I did contact our researching department chair and they pretty much said the same thing!