An Experimental and Qualitative Study of Equivocal Death Investigation

Within the field of decision-making research, the process by which police form their initial hypotheses during equivocal death investigations is yet to be investigated. The present literature review examined the outcomes of previous research relevant to the area of police decision making, to recognise the limitations and contradictions within this body of research. It was concluded that future researchers should investigate the way in which police investigators respond to equivocal deaths with particular emphasis on identifying the decision making approach used by police in this context and what may influence the initial conclusions they form. It was recommended that exploratory mixed methods approaches be initially employed to investigate this area, to inform later research intended to develop directional research hypotheses.