Working Paper No. 001 (Version 3.0) The Methodology of Forensic STEM™

Abstract

Working Paper No. 001: The Methodology of Forensic STEM™ is the principal methodological working paper for the development of Forensic STEM™ at g² Insight Lab. Version 3.0 (August 2026) is a major post-comparative methodological revision following White Paper No. 006, Locating Forensic STEM™: A Comparative Methodological Analysis. It incorporates findings concerning methodological ancestry and candidate architectural distinctiveness; distinguishes the methodology from the wider research programme through which it is being developed; refines the research hypotheses; strengthens methodological and ethical safeguards; and establishes the next programme of specification, independent application, replication, validation and comparative testing. Comparative analysis identified substantial ancestry and operational overlap between components of Forensic STEM™ and established investigative, systems-oriented and evidential methodologies. Accordingly, Version 3.0 does not claim that Forensic STEM™ has been established as methodologically novel. Its present classification is Candidate Distinct Methodological Synthesis, with a narrower unresolved hypothesis concerning whether the integration and sequencing of established and adapted operations constitutes a meaningfully distinct methodological architecture. Forensic STEM™ remains under active development. Its methodological distinctiveness, reliability, validity, reproducibility, generalisability, comparative utility and superiority to established alternatives have not been established and remain subjects for subsequent empirical research. Version and title clarification: This record represents the continuing development of Working Paper No. 001. Earlier deposited files associated with this work contained inconsistent working-paper numbering and titles during the early development of the publication series. These should not be interpreted as separate Working Papers No. 002 or No. 003. The authoritative publication lineage is: Version 1.0, July 2026: The Case for Forensic STEM™Version 2.0, July 2026: The Methodology of Forensic STEM™Version 3.0, August 2026: The Methodology of Forensic STEM™ Version 2.0 constituted a major conceptual revision of the original paper, while Version 3.0 constitutes the major post-comparative methodological revision following White Paper No. 006. All three versions belong to the developmental history of Working Paper No. 001. Superseded titles or numbering appearing in earlier deposited filenames or metadata should therefore be read in accordance with this corrected version history. Author: Glynn Gregory, BScInstitution: g² Insight LabResearch Programme: Complex Human SystemsDocument: Working Paper No. 001Version: 3.0