Title: 2. Guidelines for Writing Reports
Course: IN 2005 Digital Forensics > Section: Module 13: Chapter 13-Cell Phone and Mobile Device Forensics & Report Writing for High-Tech Investigations

Guidelines for Writing Reports

1. Use hypothetical questions to guide and support your opinion.  Hypothetical questions are based on factual evidence and should include only those facts supporting your opinion or conclusion.
2. Hypothetical questions can be abused and made so complex that the finder of fact (expert) might not be able to evaluate the answer.
3. The four conditions required for an expert witness to meet before testifying in court:
  - Opinion, inferences, or conclusions depend on special knowledge or skills
  - Expert should qualify as a true expert
  - Expert must testify to a reasonable degree of certainty
  - Experts must describe facts on which their opinions are based, or they must testify in response to a hypothetical question

What to Include in Written Preliminary Reports

1. Anything you write down as part of your examination for a report is subject to discovery from the opposing attorney.
2. Written preliminary reports are considered high-risk documents.
3. Destroying the report could be considered destroying or concealing evidence; among lawyers, this action is called spoliation and it could subject your client to monetary or evidentiary sanctions.
4. When writing a preliminary report, you should include the same information as in verbal reports. Additional items to include in your report:
  - Summarize your billing to date and estimate costs to complete the effort
  - Identify the tentative conclusion (rather than the preliminary conclusion)
  - Identify areas for further investigation and obtain confirmation from the attorney on the scope of your examination

Writing Reports Clearly

1. When writing a report you should consider:
  - Communicative quality
  - Ideas and organization
  - Grammar and vocabulary
  - Punctuation and spelling
2. Your report organization is very important. You should lay out ideas in logical order and build arguments piece by piece, grouping related ideas and sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into sections.
3. Pay attention to your writing style:
  - Use a natural language style
  - Avoid jargon, slang, and colloquial terms
  - Define technical terms
  - Avoid repetition and vague language
  - Be precise and specific
  - Use active rather than passive voice
  - Avoid presenting too many details and personal observations
  - Include signposts

Designing the Layout and Presentation of Reports

1. Two layout systems:
  - Decimal numbering structure
  - Legal-sequential numbering
2. Additional considerations about the layout and presentation of reports such as:
  - Provide supporting material
  - Use consistent formatting
  - Explain methods
  - Include data collection
  - Include calculations
  - Provide for uncertainty and error analysis
  - Explain results and conclusion
  - Provide references
  - Include appendixes