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Rated 5 out of 5 by thanky2156 from Intriguing and educational, but where are the rest There’s 36 lectures, but only one is here. will the others be released?

Date published: 2023-02-10

Rated 1 out of 5 by Anonymous from Not much use The Presenter talks a lot with little visual support. She wanders in her presentation and does not seem to have a prepared points. If I taught my class this way my students wouldn’t have a clue what we were doing. Very disappointed with this purchase.

Date published: 2022-10-29

Rated 5 out of 5 by Anonymous from A fascinating glimpse into forensic science I am a bit of a true crime junkie and prefer actual cases rather than fictional versions. This series really added to my understanding of the many elements which can contribute to solving cases. The coverage of areas of study was comprehensive and focused on multiple aspects. Yes, on fingerprints. Yes, on blood spatter. All the "basics" but also many other topics that I found intriguing. For instance, the sections on artistic renderings caught my attention. I really liked the sections on engineering which included footage of the September 11th take downs of the World Trade Center. Another elements which I thought was outstanding was how the interdisciplinary aspects worked together. Regarding production values, the series was well designed. I liked how case studies were interspersed throughout and more strongly concentrated near the end when we actually knew something about the various techniques. The text which appeared in the video throughout were good concise ways to view the content and were helpful for us visual learners. There were hundreds of photographs, illustrations and video clips to illustrate the concepts. The only small criticism I have has to do with editing. In nearly every segment, she corrected herself at least once and sometimes several times. While this was not terribly distracting, the slips could easily have been edited out. She was an excellent presenter and was able to share a large amount of content easily with the audience. She was poised, professional and engaging.

Date published: 2022-04-09

Rated 4 out of 5 by JustJumpIt2 from Why is there only one lecture? I watched lecture 1 in Wondrium. Dr. Murray mentions future lectures - Where are they?

Date published: 2022-04-01

Rated 5 out of 5 by Frequent listener from Basic course in forensic science Easy to listen to and interesting. Seemed to cover all the basics (but I am no expert.) Particularly interesting when instructor gave examples from her personal experience. Experienced some problems with the down-loaded course. There was freezing at different points in the lecture and when resumed, mouth and audio were out of synch. I had purchased the actual CD's but also down-loaded course so I could listen right away. I have taken at least 50 Great Courses courses.

Date published: 2022-03-24

Rated 1 out of 5 by mgreader from Real Crime Too Little I am used to watching 24 to 36 half-hour lectures on a given topic, turning it over and around. This was disappointing. When Dr. Murray referred to her forensic science lectures in her Gross Anatomy course, I expected a full 24-36 lectures digging into the various aspects of the total. I studied forensic composition (drawing) in the educational sight that law enforcement personnel study crime scene analysis, reenactments, kinesiology techniques to determine truth/lie expressions, etc. Dr. Murray is a good presenter. I would have liked to hear her talk about the different parts of the whole.

Date published: 2022-03-12

Rated 3 out of 5 by KevinB from Interesting, but too comprehensive to have depth It must be very difficult for the Great Courses as a business -- to be profitable they have to sell a lot of content, which means aiming for a broad audience. If a presentation is too academic, or too technical, they risk discouraging the general viewer; if it is too superficial, they risk discouraging -- well, me. Any one of the topics covered in this course could have been a whole course. To deal with something like vehicle accidents, or forensic anthropology, in a thirty-minute presentation is impossible to do with any depth, I think. That's nobody's fault -- I'm sure that the presenter knows a huge amount more than what's covered in this course. In short, if it were my choice, I would have focused on, say, a half-dozen topics, and explained them in depth. The course was entertaining and engaging, and I'm not put off by the presentational aspects that other reviewers complained about. Still, I would have preferred more substance.

Date published: 2022-02-07

Rated 5 out of 5 by Zultan from Very interesting and informative I've only just started the course but so far I'm finding it to be a fascinating subject

Date published: 2021-11-15

Overview

The desire to identify lawbreakers and bring them to justice is so great that it has inspired countless stories, novels, plays, movies, and television series. But how accurate are the fictional portrayals of crime investigations? What happens behind the scenes when forensic scientists crack a case? Trails of Evidence: How Forensic Science Works takes you from the crime scene to the lab to the courtroom with forensic anthropologist and Professor Elizabeth A. Murray that reveal how forensic science really works.

About

Elizabeth A. Murray

With nearly 30 years in the field, I guess I was 'forensic' before it was cool! I find forensic science to be a fascinating subject that incorporates law, ethics, psychology, history, and technology, as it aids our global community.

ALMA MATER

University of Cincinnati

INSTITUTION

Mount St. Joseph University

Dr. Elizabeth A. Murray is a forensic anthropologist and also Professor of Biology at Mount St. Joseph University, where she teaches doctoral-level human gross anatomy and undergraduate-level anatomy and physiology, as well as forensic science. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Mount St. Joseph University and her master's degree in anthropology and Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Biology from the University of Cincinnati.

Most of Professor Murray's forensic casework has been in Ohio and Kentucky, where she has participated in hundreds of investigations. She is one of fewer than 100 anthropologists certified as a Diplomate by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. Professor Murray has been honored with the Sears-Roebuck Foundation Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award, and she twice earned the Clifford Excellence in Teaching Award. She has served as an instructor for numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and the International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners. Her television appearances include National Geographic's Buried Secrets, Discovery Health's Skeleton Stories, The New Detectives, and Forensic Files. Her book Death: Corpses, Cadavers, and Other Grave Matters was named one of the top ten summer titles for students by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her 2012 book, Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death, was selected as one of the outstanding books of 2012 by the prestigious National Science Teacher's Association.