ACADEMIA Letters

Forensic Documentology. A Vision

Tatiana Coto Quintana, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Summary
Forensic documentology is a relatively recent discipline. In this document, I propose it is an
Applied Science in Development and the concept of general document utilized is the same
used in Archival Science. Subsequently, documentscopy and graphoscopy are limited to tex-
tual documents and considered to be parts of forensic documentology. I point out the trend
towards the use of other tools such as WhatsApp and the need to unify all kinds of documents
in the same discipline as to achieve an organized, systematic, and integral development of a
formal applied science.

Introduction
This short document does not intend to reveal a hidden truth, nor is it the official position of an
Office; it is just the summary product of a field worker’s research and experience. The years
teach us that a small position is enough to start a great debate.

A vision of Forensic Documentology

Documentscopy, Graphoscopy, Documentology, “Documentonomología” or Forensic Docu-
mentology…As indicated by Dr. Valentín Guillén Pérez in his article “Documentonomología:
Origen, casuística y su aplicación pericial en España”, the term Documentscopy is the most
used for the study of documents; however, Documentology is also used to refer to questioned

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Tatiana Coto Quintana, tcotoq1@gmail.com

Citation: Coto Quintana, T. (2022). Forensic Documentology. A Vision. Academia Letters, Article 4731.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4731.

1
documents. It also states: “Documentscopy is a relatively recent discipline”.(1) Johny Smith
Vega, referring to the development of the discipline in Costa Rica, indicates: “It’s beginnings
date back to the operation of the former Forensic Medical Agency, embryo of the current
O.I.J., approximately thirty years ago”.(2)
According to Luis Gonzalo Velásquez Posada, “documentscopy is more art-technique than
science in the strict sense”,(3) but is it art-technique? Science? Or rather a developing sci-
ence? In science, the scientific method is applied and general laws are sought; in addition,
science is cumulative, systematic and useful. If the discipline meets these requirements, then
we are in the presence of a science. But which science? Social, natural, exact? Or none of
the above and rather a developing applied science. Keep in mind that applied science uses
the knowledge of formal and factual sciences (also known as empirical or experimental) in
specialized and interest fields.
José Ramón Cruz indicates in the book “Administración de documentos y archivos”, that
document in a general sense is “the combination of a medium and the information recorded
in it, which can be used as proof or for consultation. The elements that characterize it are:
The medium that confers it physical corporeity, and can be anything from a clay tablet to an
optical disc. The information, that is, the news it transmits. The fixing of the information
on the medium, whether by ink, electromagnetic impulses or any other.” In addition, the
kind “is determined by the procedure used to transmit the information, so we have the fol-
lowing documents: Textual (transmit information through written text, whether handwritten,
typed or printed. They are the product par excellence of administrations and the most abun-
dant in the archives);Iconographic (use images, non-textual signs, colors…to represent the in-
formation: maps, blueprints, drawings, photographs, slides, transparencies, microforms…);
Sonorous(allow you to record and play back any sound; in the case of archives they are almost
always words: discs, magnetic tapes, compact discs…); Audiovisual (combine moving image
and sound, although early examples lacked the latter aspect: films, videotapes, videodiscs…)
and Electronic or Computerized (these are generated by computers: perforated chips, mag-
netic tapes, diskettes, CD ROM…)”.(4) The relationship between Forensic Documentology
and Archival Science is close since the forensic documentologist requires access to documents
stored and kept in official archives. Similarly, both disciplines are closely related to the ad-
ministration of justice.(5) The forensic documentologist should not forget its origin. It must
not forget that it arises from a need for the administration of justice not only to fight crime,
but also to resolve conflicts.
Documents are dynamic and their trend changes over time. As indicated by Cruz,(4) in
the year 2011 textual documents were “the most abundant”, but 10 years later a change is
perceived. In Costa Rica in 2006, 90% of the expert requests from the Section of Analysis

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Tatiana Coto Quintana, tcotoq1@gmail.com

Citation: Coto Quintana, T. (2022). Forensic Documentology. A Vision. Academia Letters, Article 4731.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4731.

2
of Writing and Dubious Documents were for graphoscopy;(6) however, by 2014 these had
decreased to 50%(7) and by 2020, a first request was received for the comparison of WhatsApp
messages (note that printed material was provided. What is interesting is the comparison of
the profile of the writing to guide in the location of possible authors according to the profile of
the writing in other digital media in which the identity was known. It is not exactly computer
or manuscript expertise, but an expert in textual documents is required).
The discipline must be prepared for a demand in other types of documents, which means
being open to collaboration from professionals in different disciplines. Professionals in psy-
chology and law are the fathers of the discipline (forensic sciences have their origin in legal
medicine). Professionals in science are the origin of applied sciences (they are specialized
in observation, analysis, and documentation). Professionals from other areas such as archival
science , computer science, fine arts, graphic arts, music, diplomatics, etc., generate important
contributions to the development of the expertise in other types of documents. The discipline
must be centralized to achieve an orderly and systematic development. Forensic documen-
tology caters to specific judicial offices and document handling has a different regulatory
framework, which requires specialized, comprehensive, and unified knowledge. On the other
hand, it does not require the complex contribution of any specific profession.
Under this perspective, graphoscopy would be limited to handwritten textual documents,
documentscopy to both typed and printed text documents and forensic documentology should
contain both terms and other future ones that may arise.

Conclusion
Forensic documentology is proposed as a developing applied science within which docu-
mentscopy and graphoscopy are included. The need for specific, integral, and unified training
for this discipline is also raised (independent of any other profession), which should include
all types of documents.

Acknowledgments
Rafael Arturo Faerron Montoya for the revision of the document.

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Tatiana Coto Quintana, tcotoq1@gmail.com

Citation: Coto Quintana, T. (2022). Forensic Documentology. A Vision. Academia Letters, Article 4731.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4731.

3
References
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Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Tatiana Coto Quintana, tcotoq1@gmail.com

Citation: Coto Quintana, T. (2022). Forensic Documentology. A Vision. Academia Letters, Article 4731.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4731.