Can science comics aid lay audiences' comprehension of forensic science?

Baxter, Isabelle; Ridgway, Andy; Doran, Heather; Daeid, Nic; Briscoe, Rachel; Mcalister, Joe; Barnard, Daniel

Abstract

Forensic science has become a standard feature in criminal investigations and trials. However, it can often be a challenge for experts in courtrooms to communicate scientific evidence clearly to lay audiences through verbal expert witness testimony alone. The Evidence Chamber is an interactive experience engaging public audiences with forensic science through a mock trial. This study explores the effectiveness of using comics to support the understanding of forensic science by non-experts. The results suggest comics were effective at aiding the audiences' comprehension of forensic science evidence and in the future comic-based aids could support juries' comprehension of scientific evidence.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 4, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 4, 2025
• Publication Date: Feb 4, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 4, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Science Communication
• Print ISSN: 1824-2049
• Electronic ISSN: 1824-2049
• Publisher: Sissa Medialab
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 01
• Article Number: A01
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/2.24010201
• Keywords: Science communication; forensic science; juries; comics
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13828654
• Additional Information: The correct Creative Commons type for JCOM is: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)