INTRODUCTION
A scientific paper is written to answer a specific question or fulfill a specific research aim. That explains why absolute care should be taken by anyone attempting to write a specific paper.The following are some points to be observed when writing a scientific paper.The given suggestions if observed well will go along way in improving the quality of any scientific write up.

Guidlines on writing good scientific papers
1. Know your audience and write for that specific audience.
Scientific and technical writing can never be "general purpose"; it must be written for a specific audience.The audience could be a community of biologists, who study a particular journal. Various papers are varied in language, format and style, including particular technical jargon for that subject. Consult relevant sources of instructions before writing a particular paper

2. Mind your grammar and spelling.
In case you are proficient in grammar and spelling, engage a reviewer. This is important because a piece of with known errors or problems is a depiction of the following;
a) You don't consider your writing with improving.
b) You don't respect the reader enough to present writing that is as good as you make it.
c) You are unable to improve the writing.
Remember every piece of writing is as good as its writer can make it without outside review.

3.Do not turn in a first draft.
In most cases, the first drafts are rather terrible.Good writing is rewriting and you should make a serious effort at editing, writing, and fine-tuning before giving the manuscript to anyone else to read.There's nothing as frustrating as a paper that has pearls of wisdom hidden in sloppy and ambiguous writing, i, hence take care!
It also takes longer to read poor writing than good writing.

4. Get and use style-books and relevant manuals
Each scientific area or topic has a specific style and way of writing and thus should be observed. Also,
there are other guides on how to edit and re-write your draft for best results.

5. Avoid misusing or abusing word forms, mind grammar, tenses and language.
Use words in a form that conveys your meaning as clearly and simply as possible. Use proper tenses, parts of speech and general grammar should be used. Avoid creating awkward phrase that are clumsy and unclear.

6. Do not over-use words or use more words where few could do.
An example is using "utilization" where "use" will do. Also don't use "jargon" where "ordinary" or "regular language" will do.Another example is in order to anytime you write that phrase, delete it and replace with just "to".

7. Use an outline to organise your ideas and writing
Make an outline of major headings of your topic before starting to write. Write key ideas to be covered under each heading. There are three major tasks that need separation.i.e.
a) Figure out what you want to say.
b) Planning the order and logic of your arguments.
c) Crafting the exact language in which you will express your ideas.

8. Think about the structure of paragraphs
Organise sentences into effective paragraphs and avoid incomplete paragraphs that do not bring out any meaningful idea. Ensure your ideas flow in clear sentences and paragraphs. Remember, it is not how much you write that matters, but rather the quality of your work.

9. Show us don't tell us.
Rather than telling the reader that a result is interesting or significant, show them how its interesting or significant.Instead of describing the result, show readers that they need to know to draw their own conclusion about it.

10. Break up large projects into small pieces and work on the pieces.
Many thesis writers have a hard time starting to write because of intimidation by a large project ahead. Don't write a thesis, write chapters or papers.It is available to separate the thesis into small discrete sections, ideally distinct publishable papers.To avoid burnout "parallel processing" is necessary. This involves writing one chapter while you complete the analyses for others.

REFERENCE:
Notes on writing paper and thesis. http://course/winona.edu/indexing/ECOLAB/21%suggestions


For more information contact: rmonyakundi@gmail.com, khaembakevin@gmail.com

Content Marketing

The aspect of content marketing has gained tremendous prominence in recent times. This is because of the increased awareness in online marketing through the many available media, especially the social media.

 Improved Marketing

Through these means marketing has become more interactive and this has tremendously increased sales turnover in many companies. If you own a company and wants to increase your sales overnight, just get engaged in content marketing and your income will just explode, leaving wondering what you have been doing for all this time before making the hit!.

 Content Marketing Defined

What's really content marketing? This is defined as as publishing content that empowers, engages, educates and connects the readers. This definition is quite superb for in it we would be able to learn all about online marketing. It is said that "content is king" for it can be utilized to inform, educate, empower, boosts credibility and connects you with both your potential and actual customers.

 Touching Base with the Online Community

The online community is comprised of millions of people who are out looking for anything of their interest or something that could satisfy their, intellectual, social, economic and personal needs. Through content marketing your business can be linked up to the online community through the
following:

• Social media
• Websites
• Product Review Boards
• Blogs
• Message Boards
• Email
• Video presentations
• Slideshows
• Online Groups
• Articles (Through article syndication)
• Testimonials 

 Benefits of Content Marketing

Through content marketing you can accomplish the two major business promotion functions at once without having to do them separate. The method will help you get your business marketed and promoted through PR at the same time. Some of the specific benefits of content marketing are:

• Old content can be incorporated in the new media, especially online. This makes it convenient for those that are getting their business online for the first time. This is time saving for one does not need to post new content.
• Content exist both online and offline. This means that one can use the offline media when not able to use the internet and this improves accessibility as well.
• The use of multiples internet tools helps potential customers in locating your company and products easily. This will attract potential customers for the tools will help you get increased inbound traffic. Through this your business can also appeal to niche audiences.
• The many internet tools also helps by increasing accessibility. The variety of internet tools also makes it possible to appeal to variety of customers. This is so because content is permanently online.
• The content is consistent across the spectrum of internet tools. All customers suing different media are able to get the same message and updates.
• The online interaction through feedback increases the ability of customers to understand your company and products well. Many actual and potential customers are well informed about your business and products

Make a Decision Today!

Finally, content is indeed everything about getting in touch with the millions of customers out there. In essence a message conveyed to a reader or viewer accomplishes at least one or more of the following:

• Educates
• Informs
• Connects
• Entertains
• Create Trustworthiness

Therefore you can contact professionals to help you not only communicate your content, but also have it relevant and valuable.
For further information about content development for quality online business please contact us on our email: firstlanexperts@gmail.com

 PUBLISHING THE  BEST WAY TO GO!

In this life, there's time for everything and as it is rightly said, there's time to be born and time to grow old. Time to study and time to complete or graduate. There's also time to work and time to retire. We shouldn't forget that there's time to live and time to die. Since we are aware that everything in life and under the sun and moon has its own time for beginning and ending, it is important to plan to spend our time well and for good purposes.

 While we're still alive, the one pertinent question that should ring through our minds is that when we leave this solid earth what will we be remembered for? This is a very important question because it will form the basis for, and inform the reason for existence. If answered appropriately, it will make a strong argument in favour of our lives on earth and we will be celebrated even after we are long gone.

 Great Writers 

 There are many great people some who passed on long time ago, but whenever their names are mentioned it is as if they are still alive. Great writers or authors bequeathed to successive generations great literary works. Some of the writers include William Shakespeare, George Orwell, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Mark Twain, Charlotte Bronte, and in Africa we have Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Mariama Ba, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, among many others. 

Some of these writers are still immortalised even when they are long gone because of their great contribution to the society. Many life-inspiring quotes have been derived from most of the great works and this is what keeps us going through life with hope and assurance. 

 To Be Remembered

 One best thing to be remembered for is to bequeath something useful to successive generations, and this would be nothing else but a piece of writing on paper. Great people die and they are forgotten but not those that wrote something that's read again and again.

Many great and intelligent men and women have gone down with great ideas and memoirs that would have enabled us to know where we are coming from and where we are going. Written and oral  literature is the voice of society and any written word is a good mirror for societal survival and coexistence. 

 The Challenge

 Now since we know life is just but short and is lived once, a challenge is put to us to organise and publish the great ideas.We can contribute to knowledge reservoirs by either writing a book, article, poem, or any other literature that would make a difference in society. 

 Link Up With Us.

 We at Firstlane Xperts are ready and waiting for you to share your manuscript which we can help transform into a beautiful literary work. We would help you publish your book online and this would have not only contributed to the knowledge bank, but also help you get something in terms of royalties.

 If you think you have something useful for online publishing, just contact us and share with us your manuscript today and we will help you translate it into that wonderful book that everybody would love to lay hands on!

You Can Contacts Us.

You use our website for feedback or the following contacts: rmonyakundi@gmail.com;khaembakevin2010@gmail.com

Interpersonal Communication in Nursing:Sample Reflection Paper

Title Page Intentionally Left Blank

Introduction

Reflection is turning experience into learning (Boud, 1985). This is more applicable in the health service provision and care for it forms the core of a healing and therapeutic process. Reflection in nursing practice enhances effective care and therapeutic process (Parker, 2006).In line with this thought I shall reflect on an experience and discuss the communication skills used or should have been used during the encounter. In this context two of the five caring processes which are knowing and enabling/informing will be applied (Swanson, 1993). Communication forms the core part of our day to day life and is an integral part of human survival and growth.

Communication is important in nursing practice for it is said to weave together practice to ensure that care is continuous, consistent and congruous within and across practice settings(Johns, 2004). Communication is one of the essential factors to maintain a good quality of life because it allows humans to interact and provide comfort (Ashurst, 2010). The nature of the nursing profession makes it indivisible with communication for an effective nurse practitioner must get involved in daily communication. In this context I will adopt the five stages of reflective cycle as given by Gibbs(Jasper, 2003)

Description

I had just reported to duty at the hospital and since I was the shift leader I commenced the routine ward rounds. I was the shift leader and we were together with the other shift team. Suddenly, we heard an unusual noise from one of the wards on the adjacent block. This was unusual because wards are known to be somewhat quiet and serene because the occupants are sick and unable to shout.

We headed straight to the ward in question and on arrival witnessed a horrifying scenario. Two patients were lying on the floor, one unconscious and the other with a deep cut on the forehead and was profusely bleeding.

Certainly, there was no patient with a psychiatric case and the scene witnessed must have been caused by something. There were some relatives who had come to see their patients and some patients were shouting hysterically. Obviously, the relatives were in the wards at a wrong time for visiting time was far gone. There were many obvious lapses in this incident and the most conspicuous one was lack of proper communication and direction from those in charge for this would have brought sanity to the wards

 Outcome

We tried to calm them down in order to ascertain the cause of the commotion but our pleas fell on deaf ears. Some became abusive and even threatened violence. When I found out that our efforts were not yielding fruit and we were actually unable to communicate, I called for assistance from the security who threw the relatives out. The ward was in a total mess hence we embarked on resettling the patient. We called in the doctors who attended to the unconscious patient who later stabilized after six hours.

When dust had settled the hospital administration had to get to the bottom of the matter by ascertaining the cause of that ugly incident and immediate investigations were launched. The immediate outcome was that since it was Christmas season and the festivities were on, the  patients’ relatives smuggled alcohol to the ward to celebrate with the their kin!. The matter was reported to the hospital administration and all those patients involved as a disciplinary measure.

Feelings

I was angry with the patients and their relatives for such irresponsible act, but also remembered that the patients were ignorant of the consequences of their actions. Apparently the patients were left alone with their relatives for far too long and this must have greatly contributed to the said incident. It is a risk to have the patients all alone without any caregiver around to attend to their needs. These developments demonstrated total breakdown of communication and coordination of the healthcare services. The hospital administration had done little in communicating their protocol to both the patients and relatives.

 What happened in the ward was a portrayal of lack of information on the part of the client on what is expected of him or her while in hospital admission. A clear outline is given on patient-centered approaches to communication with patients and families in order to realize best results (Planetree, 2008). There are various practical tools that are supposed to guide both staff in all cadres, patients and families in order to maintain both best practices and obtain optimum results in healthcare provision.

In this given case the patients and relatives would have been given sufficient information upon admission and also be committed to sign some agreement to the code of conduct whilst in admission. There shouldn’t have been any assumption regarding the conduct of the patients and relatives hence proper guidance would have been communicated. Effective communication with the patients and families forms a cornerstone for providing quality healthcare (Planetree, 2008, p.78). This means that effective partnership is important between the caregiver, patients and families for effective and efficient healthcare delivery.

I felt that there were serious omissions both on the part of hospital management for lack of proper communication between patients and relatives on protocol to be followed whilst in admission.

 Evaluation

There a number of lessons I learned from the experience which include establishment of a communicative relationship between the patient, the hospital administration and families right from the onset to know how to handle any emerging situations during admission. The patient has a right to any information that will help him/her get along well with the caregivers while at the hospital. It is imperative to inform the patient about his/her obligations and the expectation of the care giver while in admission.

There should be a well-documented patient/client and the hospital and health care givers relationship which is brought to the attention of the client before admission.

Also there was apparent security lapse for the relatives to the patients were left in the wards for unnecessarily long time. This means that no one cared so much about the state of the patients for that long hence a leeway for the incident. There must be proper security and surveillance checks to ensure that the patients are safe in the wards.

The hospital’s policy on visiting relatives should be availed to and boundaries for interaction to be clearly marked and observed. All forms of communication both verbal and non-verbal should be observed in order to ascertain the level and extent of intervention.

 Last but not least as a caregiver I should be more sensitive and try to approach issues at an early stage before they get out of hand. This also important for it is only when practitioners can communicate consistently that communication is effective (Johns 2004, p.204).

Analysis

After the discharge of all the patients in the ward, I was left wondering whether there was anything I would have done as a caregiver that would have led to different results for this would have at least made me contented with my services. Definitely there’s something I would have done that would have enabled the hospital administration to make a different decision concerning the misbehaved patients and relatives. There was a great burden in my heart because the patients were discharged without having both their problems addressed.

Apparently the hospital management did not supply the patients and families with adequate information upon admission. On the other hand, as a caregiver, I would have interrogated the patients after they had calmed down in order to understand the background of the incident and try to assist in recovery and rehabilitation from alcoholism. Some patients had ailments that would be more severe if they would take alcohol, while others were under some type of medication that could not be mixed with any alcohol content.

In my opinion there was a rushed decision by the management in discharging the patients again failing to give them proper information to help them avoid such actions in future.

 As a caregiver I would have endeavoured to understand the background of the patients and their relatives in order to help them overcome such tendencies and take their health seriously. I would have also advised the hospital management to interrogate the patients and their families in order to give them necessary support.

It is at the hospital that a patient gets all-round health care services, and it is rather odd to have an ill-informed patient like the case above getting punished for lack of proper information which is to be given by the health provider.

As a health care giver I should have used the client-centered approach for it forms the cornerstone of collaborative association between the nurse and client in the quest to resolve healthcare problems (Arnold, 2003). By discharging all the patients without helping them solve their health problems, the management demonstrated an uncaring attitude and lack of sensitivity to their health needs. This is quite a contrast of what should be expected of a health care provider.

The event was an eye opener and it made me endeavour to be a good communicator in future and be a strong leader who can handle organizational policies without a hitch. I also learnt that I would initiate and implement a health education program in the hospital.

In this scenario there a clear demonstration that there’s total lack of communication or proper communication between a caregiver and the client or patient. It is much easier to manage a well-informed patient than the one who is not informed of both patient rights and obligation whilst in treatment. Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship which is central to nursing(Collins, 2009). It is further emphasized that effective communication is a tool that would allow the nurse to reassure a patient, empower the patient, motivate the patient, put a patient at ease, and convey understanding of the patient’s concerns(Webb, 2011)

Conclusion

Nurses play an important role in communicating with patients because they are always in close contact.

It is apparent that a nurse can play a key role in improving healthcare services by improving the relationship by communication (Wright, 2012). Having effective communication skills is therefore an imperative. Through the above experience I have learned that developing my skills in leading and confronting patient-related challenges through effective communication is a must. I must endeavour to acquire new communication skills and employ them effectively for best results in my practice. I would practice the key communication skills in order to be able to control the complex tasks that require high level negotiation(Bach, 2009)

We learn through experience and it is through reflection on such incidents like the above that we are able to develop better skills for effective performance. Effective communication is an imperative in the health practice for research has shown that ineffective communication among healthcare professionals is one of the leading causes of medical errors and patient harm(Leonard, 2004)

 As observed earlier, through reflection we discover different learning needs and this helps us become better practitioners. Unless given proper attention, communication aspect would either build or destroy a career(Pierre, 2012)

References

Arnold, E. and U. K. B. (2003). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses (4th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders.

Ashurst, A. T., S. (2010). Communication, communication, communication. Nursing and Residential Care, 12(3), 140-142.

Bach, S. a. G., Alec. (2009). Communication and interpersonal skills for nurses. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Boud, D., Keogh, R, Walker D. (1985). Reflection: Turning experience into learning. London: Kogan Page

Collins, S. (2009). Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/nusring-practice/clinical-specialisms/educators doi:5003004

Jasper, M. (2003). Beginning reflective practice: Foundations in nursing and healtcare. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Johns, C. (2004). Becoming a reflective practitioner (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Leonard, M., Graham, S.,Bonacum D. (2004). The human factor: The critical importance of effective teamwork and communication in providing safe care. Qual Saf Health Care, 13, 85-90.

Parker, M. (2006). Aesthetic ways in day-to-day nursing. London: Sage Publications.

Pierre, A.-J. (2012). Transitions in nursing: Up-level your career, your income, your life.  Retrieved from http://transitionsinnursing.com/9-ways-to-boost-your-confidence-as-a-nurse/

Planetree. (2008). Practical approaches for building a patient-centered culture. Patient-Centered Care Improvement Guide. Retrieved from www.planetree.org, www.pickerinstitute.org

Swanson, K. (1993). Nursing as informed caring for the well-being of others. Journal of nursing scholarship, 25(4), 352-357.

Webb, L. (2011). Introduction to communication skills for nursing practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sample paper Digital Forensics Examination

Digital Forensics Examination

Introduction

The process of digital forensics examination involves identifiable steps of identifying, preserving, interpreting, and documenting evidences in computer crimes. Digital forensics has a variety of aspects and therefore has several procedures depending on the aspect being investigated. Basically, the process of digital forensics examination involves the analysis of the data and information residing on computer systems with the view of identifying what, when, who, and how the incident happened. Occasionally, the information to be gathered in not readily accessible or viewable to the usual computer users and includes things like files which were deleted or simply pieces of data located in the slack space together with the existing files. As such, it is important that the forensics examiner possesses special skills and techniques in the process so as to obtain such information which is normally hidden from the average user. This paper describes the methodology and outline instructions for the examiner incorporating aspects of the process of interview which is specific to the digital forensics examination.

Overview of the Digital Forensics Examination Process

The digital forensics examination is a process with identifiable steps which the examiner must follow through to accomplish it. The process begins with identification of the incident to be examined and determine its type. It also involves preparation for the process where the examiner collects all the tools needed for the examination, the techniques and approaches to be used, acquisition of search warrants and authorizations, and the management support from the relevant people (Tipton & Krause, 2000). A strategy of approach should also be identified so as exploit the collection of the uncontaminated evidence and reduce the effects associated with the process. After the collection of the evidence, the examiner need to have proper preservation approach of the evidence and may require isolating, securing, and preserving the physical and as well as the digital evidencing to be examined. The actual process of examining the evidence follows a systematic and in-depth search of evidence that leads to the suspected crime. The other step is the analysis of the collected information or data to determine the significance and may involve reconstructing fragmented data while making incisive decisions based on the collected exhibits. Presentation of the evidence is done on the summary while explaining the conclusions reached during the examination process (Global Digital Forensics, 2013).

The work of forensic experts would be in vain if their findings were not used in a court of law to incriminate of discharge someone facing a case. Thus, testimonies and reports by computer forensics experts are important elements that have great important on the decisions that the judge is going to take in a case. However, testifying in a court is not an easy task as the witness is subjected to sustained personal attack that during the process of cross-examination (Ciolino & Castle 2000). Testifying and writing a report from the work of computer forensic analysis then is important critical because of the attention that it receives from the defense lawyers and judges. A computer forensic expert may have done a good job and come up with evidences beyond doubt that a crime did or did not actually occur, but the method of presentation of this information to the jury becomes challenging because of the hostile environment in courts. In giving testimony, the computer forensic expert should be articulate with clear and well expressed terms that will leave no doubt in the minds of defense lawyers. This will avoid defense lawyers from accusing the forensic expert of inarticulate, incompetent, and ultimately not worthy of belief (Nelson, Olson & Simek, 2006).  The expert has the burden of ensuring that the defense lawyers and the judge comprehend every terminology and phrases that are used during testifying.

Further testifying or writing a forensic report is critical because of the requirements that computer forensic experts are required to adhere to before they present their evidences to the attorney or defense lawyers. Expert testimony or reports must contain information that goes beyond personal knowledge and observation in order to give technical opinion on the issues in hand. Computer forensic experts are thus mandated to testify and write reports that present their findings “on a very technical discipline in a simplistic manner” (Smith & Bace, 2002).  All in all a computer forensics examiner testimony or report must meet the admissibility threshold that is set by law if there is any hope that it will be acceptable in a civil or criminal case. In some cases, the reliability of the report that the examiner presents must be founded on sufficient facts and follow laid down principles and methodologies of collecting the data which is also a prerequisite for the acceptance of the evidence presented by the examiner.

Methodology for digital evidence collection, preservation, and analysis

The first step in embarking on a digital forensics analysis is to identify the type of data which is going to be investigated by the examiner. Three types of data exist for forensics examiner including the latent data, archival, and active data. Identifying and evaluating the type of data involved in the forensics analysis is an important step that will help the examiner to have specific target areas during the process of analysis. Active data is easy to investigate because the examiner can actually see the information without the need to use sophisticated tools and techniques. Examples of active data include simple data files used by the operating system of the computer and programs that are used to run applications on the computer. Nevertheless, the examiner should exercise precautions and care while handling active data because it can be misleading and therefore hinder access to the actual information which is being investigated. The other type of data is the archival data which is normally backed and stored up on various storage files on the computer. Some of the storage spaces may be located inside the computer while others are accessories which are removed from the computer and stored in another place like the CDs, backup tapes, floppy drives, or even removable hard drives (Reith, Carr & Gunsch, 2002).

Where such storage facilities are suspected to exist, it is advisable for the examiner to carry out investigation and ensure that all relevant and necessary storage facilities are gathered before embarking on the actual process of examining the computer. This will ensure that no relevant information or data is left out in the process of examining the exhibit.  In the case of latent data, the examiner must have special tools so as access the information or data required. In most cases, latent data include deleted files and partially overwritten documents on the memory of the computer. Essentially a whole process of digital forensics examination encompasses the three types of data but it is the latent data which can be time consuming and expensive especially in terms of expertise needed and the tools to retrieve that particular information. During this process the examiner must keep in mind the overall function of digital forensics examination which is to detect and proof a crime (Nelson, Olson & Simek, 2006). Therefore, the focus must remain on obtaining the evidence for the unlawful use of computer so that the perpetrators can be nabbed and prosecuted. It is important to keep in mind that perpetrators of forensics crime are highly intelligent individuals who try as much as possible to hide the evidence since most of them are actively aware that they are committing a crime on the computer.

The process of digital forensics examination must thus be planned before embarking on it. This can be done in the following steps (Nelson, Olson & Simek, 2006):  Discuss the suspected incident to be investigated and examined by the concerned persons to establish potential areas of abuse or illegal acts. This is an important step because it actually sets the examiner in the whole process of digital forensics examination. It is an entry point in the examination process and must therefore provide gathering of sufficient information to allow the process to take off.

      ii.            Collecting of all electronic equipment including the computers and all external storage media to be examined. some of the tools to be examined may be located in different places and therefore the examiner must make arrangements to ensure that all required electronic equipment are in one place before starting to examine them

    iii.            The next process is the actual identification of violations or unlawful activities on the electronic equipments are identified in the first step. During this step, the examiner must pay attention to the emerging and new evidence which were not identified in the initial stage with the concerned persons.

    iv.            The next step is to ensure that the identified evidence is protected from harm or destruction by the perpetrator or the examiner himself. The examiner must be aware that suspected perpetrator can embark on destructing further evidence upon discovery that their activities are being forensically investigated.

      v.            After a thorough evaluation of the evidences, the examiner must confirm that actually they are the evidences which are required in proofing the suspected illegal activity by the perpetrator. Confirmation is an important step because it actually sets the pace of the collection of tools to be used in the gathering of latent data which may have been deleted by the perpetrator of partially contained on the hard drives of the computer to be used in the examination. The examiner must act quickly especially with active files because most of them are volatile and are prone to destruction by the suspect where they discover the examination process.

    vi.            The final step is the preparation of a written report and comments of the examiner which will be used for prosecution especially where it is established that a crime was committed using the electronic equipments which were examined forensically.

Documenting of Information obtained from an Interview

A digital forensics examiner must possess sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to acquire reliable information which can be used to prosecute crime perpetrators in a court of law. As such, the examiner needs to approach digital forensics examination process with a proper plan to be able to build and follow the target workflow guidelines as a way of minimizing on the time required for the process, reduce the costs of the process as well as increase the amount of relevant data collected as a way of ensuring that undisputable information is collected during the process.  To this end, the examiner must work with relevant authorities including security personnel and forensics examination investigators to identify and follow through particular sources of evidence while applying acceptable digital forensics examination procedures. The essence must always to come up with evidences which will be presented in a form of a report which will be acceptable in a court of law and which can be defended when called upon to do so by the prosecutors (Casey, 2011).

It is also important that the acquisition procedures are well executed and involves all equipments and evidences identified in the plan and involves complete disk imaging and also gathering of information and data from sources such as servers while adhering to the best practice in digital forensics examination procedure and the guidelines.  As such, the examiner must ensure a secure and sound chain of custody and assure the admissibility of the acquired evidences in a court of law for the purposes of prosecuting the perpetrators. It would be a waste of time and resources when the examiner’s report cannot be acceptable in the court of law simply because the admissibility of the process of examination is not acceptable or did not adhere to the laid down guidelines and rules. Evidently, the person to be prosecuted can challenge the admissibility of the evidence based on the procedures that were used to collect that evidence (Tipton & Krause, 2000).

Another area of concern is the extraction of the evidence which must be precise and acceptable. The examiner needs to know where to look for evidence, who to ask, and when to approach a suspected source of evidence. More importantly are the actual extraction process which must be precise and not interfere with the operations of the client’s activities or create unwanted disruptions to the workflow. This calls for specificity in the approach to sources of evidence but also not leaving out any important area or source which can provide the much needed evidences. The collected evidences must be analyzed objectively from the smallest electronic media using approved techniques and tools with a view of coming up with condensed conclusions. The examiner must realize that a proper digital forensics examination is one which yields manageable evidences in terms of the volume of the actual evidence given that the process can refer to hundreds of files which can be difficult to analyze if they were all presented as evidence. The other important and final technique that a digital forensics examiner needs to have is the reporting skills which allow the examiner to report the evidences of examination in an understandable, defendable and complete format to the client. It should be understood that the client is not versed with digital forensics jargons and terms and therefore the examiner must use an easy to understand language in the report and give important aspects which are helpful to the client. Reporting can incorporate figures like charts, tables, timelines, and entity relationships to give a clear picture to the client on what happened in the process of examining the electronic equipments. It is good to keep in mind that figures and tables are easy to understand and can therefore be used in the interview process to enable the concerned parties to easily understand what is required of them (Ciolino & Castle, 2000).

Base Interview Script for Interviewing Victims, Potential Perpetrators, and Other Sources

According to Tipton & Krause (2000), a successful digital forensics examination interview must consider all stakeholders involved in the investigation before commencing. An essential part of the interview is the inclusion of the legal counsel because not all circumstances under investigation require the services of a legal counsel. But in cases where evidences point to the breaking of an established law, the examiner must involve the legal counsel mainly because he or she is not a legal expert. Digital forensics examiners must not initiate an interview with the victims or potential perpetrators without pondering on the legal implications of their interviews as this may act against their conclusions when they are finally presented to the client for further actions. Additionally, interview questions may deviate from the usual straight forward, fact-finding process to legal standards that require wide consultations and guidance from the legal experts. Issues of confidentiality also need to be addressed first before embarking on the interview because some information gathered may be incriminating to the people involved in the whole process of gathering data. Where the potential source of data feels that this has not been sufficiently addressed they may decline to give the information being sought for the purposes of investigation. They may also be forced to give inaccurate or even slanderous information which can harm the people involved and thereby exposing the examiner to legal consequences. The baseline is that digital forensics examiners must ponder the legal implications of their interviews especially in sensitive issues with high stakes to the stakeholders in the investigation process (Sheetz, 2007).

The other standard to measure the success of the process of interview is the security of data and all equipments used in the interview. It is important for the examiner to identify important documents and equipments to be used in the interview and which may act as the evidences during the process so that they are not destroyed or altered by the interviewees. This can always be done by ensuring that there is a proper chain of custody of all materials which are going to be used during the interview process in cases where the examiner is certain that the materials used in the interview are going to be finally used in the process of initiating legal actions. It is also important to keep in mind the kind of data and information that the examiner is looking for so that he or she avoids asking irrelevant questions which are not going to contribute anything to the final conclusions. This means that the examiner must always have a clear picture of the results of the investigation from the word go although it is not always certain that this will be realized at the end of the investigation (Tipton & Krause, 2000).

The whole interview process should guard against spoliation of evidences by the interviewees which is conscious withholding of information, hiding important equipments and tools important for investigation, or even total destruction of the evidences which could be used in a legal process (Maras, 2011). The questions to be asked in the interview should thus involve an aspect of detecting spoliation from the interviewees but this should be done in a voluntary manner so that the process can be legally acceptable during prosecution process.  This is because if it is established that spoliation occurred as a result of lack of transparency or care by the examiner, then the evidences presented in the legal process can be challenged by the potential perpetrator as having been collected from them through coercive means. The process also must provide controls to ensure that the examiner does not accidentally or intentionally tamper with the information collected during the interview. It is also important to consider the types of questions that the examiner is going to ask. Certain questions like the double-negative questions or the attitude questions should be avoided during the digital forensics examination especially to a potential perpetrator because they are repulsive and can sometimes suggest answers to the person being interviewed. The examiner should consider using closed-ended questions, open-ended questions, and admission seeking questions.

For an effective interview, the examiner should consider the following guidelines prior to the interview (Global Digital Forensics, 2013);

        i.            The examiner should prepare after consultation an interview plan

      ii.            Always seek consultations in cases where allegations are involved

    iii.            In cases where several interviews are to be done, they must be done systematically, one after the other

    iv.            The location should be conducive for maximum gathering of information

      v.            The interview must collect sufficient information about the person to be interviewed before the actual interview

    vi.            Relevant documents and information to the subject of investigation including facts must be gathered before the interview

  vii.            The examiner must be confident, courteous, and professional during the interview and avoid showing attitudes to the interviewee and this should be done through maintenance of control and exercise of restraint during the whole process of interview

viii.            The examiner must also establish a rapport with the interviewee to build confident in them

    ix.            The examiner must also be ready to follow instincts in cases where he or she feels that the interviewee is engaging in deception

      x.            The examiner must also prepare a summary report of the whole process of interview for future use.

In conclusion, the process of digital forensics examinations requires the examiner to prepare adequately to ensure that the gathered evidence can be used in the legal process and that the evidence is reliable and admissible for the purposes of prosecuting a crime.