NIST Forensic Database Survey

Forensic Databases Clearinghouse Questionnaire
The NIST Law Enforcement Standards Office is currently conducting a survey to catalog the NIST Standard Reference Databases (SRD) and Standard Reference Materials (SRM) collections in use by the forensic community as well as any other databases or collections external to NIST used for the same purpose. It is our hope that by enumerating all the databases and reference material collections used in forensic analysis, we can better serve the law enforcement community with a centralized repository of information on these collections. This will allow NIST to evaluate its SRD and SRM programs and improve upon its offerings to the forensic community. The repository will also facilitate crime labs’ and law enforcement agencies’ access to the information they need to carry out forensic analysis and eliminate duplication of effort in database creation and reference collection maintenance.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to catalog any NIST SRDs and SRMs you may be using, as well as any other databases or forensic reference material collections that you or your agency maintain internally or access elsewhere to carry out your analysis. Please take the time to fill out as much information as you can about your lab and the databases you use. Your information will be treated as law enforcement sensitive, and will only be available to the law enforcement community. We appreciate your time and effort.
General Info
*** please fill in as much information as you have	Example	Response
Agency	NIST
Lab Name	Northeastern Regional Lab
Your Name	John Doe
Title	Lab Director
Phone number	123.456.7890
Email	[email protected]
What is the best way to contact you?	Phone
If by phone, what is the best time to reach you?	1:30-3:30PM
What type(s) of analysis does your lab conduct?	DNA analysis, Toxicology
How many people does your lab employ?	35
Do you or your agency maintain any forensic databases and/or collections of forensic reference materials? ** if yes, please take the time to fill out the "internal DBs" tab	Yes
Do you or your agency access any forensic databases and/or collections of forensic reference materials that belong to or are kept by outside agencies (this includes NIST SRDs and SRMs)? ** if yes, please take the time to fill out the "external DBs" tab	Yes
Other Points of Contact	Name, Contact Info, Agency, Reason for Contact

Internal Database/Reference Collection 1
*** please fill in as much information as you have
Database/collection name (if no formal name, provide best description)
Who is best to contact regarding specifics of this database/collection?
Phone number
Email
Best method to contact
Please provide a general description of the database (evidence type, what function it serves):
What are some keywords that would describe this database to the forensic community?
How is this database/collection accessed? Is there a cost?
Who is allowed access (other agencies and crime labs, research institutions, etc), and on what basis?
How often is this database/collection accessed?
Are physical samples kept, if so, where and how are they stored and maintained?
Are physical samples available by request for outside users? If so, what is the process for obtaining or accessing a sample(s)?
About how many samples does this database/collection contain?
How or where are samples obtained for this database/collection? Is there a cost?
How often are updates or submissions made?
Are there any challenges/limitations using or maintaining this database/collection?
Is there any other information you'd like to share?

External Database/Reference Collection 1
*** please fill in as much information as you have
Database/collection name (if no formal name, provide best description)
Who/what entity maintains this database/collection?
Point of contact
Phone number
Email
Best method to contact
Please provide a general description of the database/collection (evidence type, what function it serves):
What are some keywords that would describe this database to the forensic community?
How do you access this database/collection? Is there a cost/restriction to your access?
How would you characterize the level of ease in accessing this database/collection?
Are you able to access or obtain physical samples from this collection? If so, what is the process for obtaining or accessing a sample(s)?
Are there any challenges/limitations using this database/collection?
Do you use any similar databases? What differentiates them?
Is there any other information you'd like to share?

NOTE: This questionnaire contains collection of information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.  The estimated response time for this questionnaire is 20 minutes.  The response time includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  Send comments regarding this estimate or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the length of this questionnaire, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Attn., Melissa Taylor, [email protected] , 301.975.6363.

OMB Control No. 0693-0033 Expiration Date: 10/31/2012