MDS use with crime scene data replicates poorly: response to Goodwill, Alison, and Humann (this issue) and Davis (this issue)

Authors: Sturidsson, Knut¹; Långstrom, Niklas²; Grann, Martin²; Sjostedt, Gabrielle³; Åsgård, Ulf⁴; Aghede, Ewa-Marie⁴

Source: Psychology, Crime and Law, Volume 15, Number 6, July 2009 , pp. 525-529(5)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

In a previous article (Sturidsson et al., Psychology, Crime & Law, 12, 221-230, 2006), we failed to replicate a study utilizing multidimensional scaling (MDS) methodology with crime scene data from cases of assault rape with unknown offenders (Canter & Heritage, Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 1, 185-212, 1990). Our study attracted critique related to the choice of MDS methodology. This response contains additional results from reanalyses of our data, obtained by carefully following the suggestions from the critics. However, the recommended reanalyses did not yield results substantially better than those from our prior attempt to replicate the findings by Center and Heritage (1990). We conclude that replication this far has failed, and our concerns regarding the uncritical, widespread use of MDS methodology for forensic psychology applications remain.

Keywords: multidimensional scaling; offender profiling; PROXSCAL; ALSCAL; MDS

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10683160802348677

Affiliations: 1: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden,The Swedish National Police Board, Stockholm, Sweden 2: Centre for Violence Prevention, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden 3: Centre for Violence Prevention, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden,The Swedish National Police Board, Stockholm, Sweden 4: The Swedish National Police Board, Stockholm, Sweden

Publication date: 2009-07-01

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