Advancing expert reports

Moving expert reporting from tradition-based practice to evidence-led communication.

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Expert reports are used to inform decisions that can have significant consequences for individuals, organisations and the wider community. However, reporting practices are often shaped by professional tradition and experience rather than research into how expert opinions are best communicated and understood.

This research treats the expert report as an object of scientific inquiry and as a form of evidence-based science communication.
Expert reports need to communicate evidence accurately while making the limits of an expert opinion clear. This research explores how reports can translate complex evidence, professional reasoning and uncertainty into opinions that are transparent, defensible and fit for legal purposes.

The research focuses on three areas

Language: expressing expert opinions clearly
The words used in an expert report can influence how an opinion is understood. The research examines how language can unintentionally introduce bias, overstate certainty, imply causation or obscure disagreement.

Structure: making expert reasoning visible
The structure of a report can make an expert’s reasoning easier to follow and evaluate. This research explores reporting structures that improve transparency without reducing professional judgement to a formula.

Professional systems: supporting quality and sustainability
High-quality expert reporting depends on more than individual expertise. Training, standards and reporting systems also need to support good practice in ways that are practical and sustainable.
This research aims to strengthen the quality, consistency and credibility of expert evidence. It may also support fairer decision-making and improve confidence in forensic psychology and related expert disciplines.
Tess M.S. Neal, Kristy A. Martire, Jennifer L. Johan, Elizabeth M. Mathers, Randy K. Otto. 2022. The Law Meets Psychological Expertise: Eight Best Practices to Improve Forensic Psychological Assessment. Annual Review Law and Social Science. 18:169-192. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-050420-010148
Martire, K. A. (2025). Transparent reporting in forensic Science: Exploring its meaning and challenges. Forensic Science International: Synergy, 11, 100630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2025.100630
Martire, K. A., Neal, T. M., Gobet, F., Chin, J. M., Berengut, J. F., & Edmond, G. (2025). Psychological insights for judging expertise and implications for adversarial legal contexts. Nature Reviews Psychology, 4(4), 264-276. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-025-00430-4

Researcher

Professor Kristy Martire

UNSW Deputy Head, School of Psychology

Email: k.martire@unsw.edu.au Phone: +61 2 9385 8563

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