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Table 1 Main characteristics of the quantitative studies examining the factors influencing the public views on forensic DNA testing in the criminal field (n = 11)

From: What influences public views on forensic DNA testing in the criminal field? A scoping review of quantitative evidence

Authors, year of publication Country Aim Sample Methods for data collection Variables assessed
Dundes, 2001 [50] The USA To assess whether the American public would support the collection of DNA samples from various segments of the population (from convicted violent offenders to all newborns) Convenience sample 416 persons living in Maryland, aged 18 years or older Questionnaire Gender, age, level of education, race, living area (urban, suburban, rural), ever been frisked, attitude towards capital punishment, confidence in DNA technology, willingness to resort to any means necessary to curb crime
Gamero et al., 2007 [51] Spain To analyze the opinion of the Spanish population with regard to the circumstances that would justify the inclusion of biological samples and DNA analyses of individuals in a genetic database Representative sample 1654 participants, from 15 years of age upwards Questionnaire Gender, age, level of education, occupation a
Gamero et al., 2008 [52] Spain To analyze the opinion of the Spanish population with regard to the institutions that should exercise custody and protection over the DNA profile databases Representative sample 1654 participants, from 15 years of age upwards Questionnaire Gender, age, level of education, occupationa
Curtis, 2009 [53] New Zealand To discuss the expectations and level of knowledge of the New Zealand public of the DNA database Random sample (telephone directories) 100 participants, aged 16 years or older Questionnaire Gender, age, level of education, household income, ethnicity
Curtis, 2014 [54] New Zealand To explore public understanding of the forensic use of DNA: sources of knowledge, understandings of processes, and attitudes towards DNA use Random sample (telephone directories) 394 New Zealand residents, aged 16 years or older Computer-assisted telephone (landline) questionnaire (closed and open questions) Gender, age, level of education, household income, ethnicity, political preferences
Machado and Silva, 2014 [11] Portugal To analyze the citizens’ willingness to donate voluntarily a sample for profiling and inclusion in the National Forensic DNA Database and the views underpinning such a decision Judgment sample 628 participants, aged between 17 and 82 years Online questionnaire (closed and open questions) Gender, age, level of education, occupationb
Machado and Silva, 2015 [55] Portugal To assess the influence of the professional group, education, and age on public perspectives on the risks and benefits of forensic DNA databases Judgment sample 628 participants, aged between 17 and 82 years Online questionnaire (closed and open questions) Age, level of education, occupationc
Zieger and Utz, 2015 [56] Switzerland To draw a broader picture of the public opinion on DNA databasing and to contribute to the debate about the possible future uses of genetics to reveal phenotypic characteristics Convenience and snowball sample 284 German-speaking Swiss residents, aged between 18 to 72 years Online questionnaire (closed and open questions) Gender, age, level of education, nationality, occupationd
Teodorovic et al., 2017 [47] Serbia To instigate a consultation with the Serbian public regarding their views on various aspects of the forensic DNA databank (custody, DNA sample and profile inclusion and retention criteria, ethical issues and concerns) Convenience and stratified sample 558 participants, aged between 19 and 65 years Questionnaire Gender, age, level of education, occupatione
Tozzo et al., 2017 [57] Italy To assess knowledge about biobanks, perception of the related benefits and risks, willingness to donate samples to a biobank for research purposes, attitude to having DNA profile included in a forensic DNA database and the underlying reasons Homogeneous sample 959 students from Padua University, aged between 19 and 24 years Questionnaire Gender, type of university course (law, medicine, professional nursing)
Guerrini et al., 2018 [43] The USA To assess public opinion on police access to genetic genealogy websites and customer information from DTC genetic testing companies Crowdsourcing recruitmentf 1587 participants, aged between 18 and 88 years Online questionnaire Gender; age; race/ethnicity; household income; use of genealogy websites to research relatives; purchase of DTC genetic testing services; personal or relative’s victimization, arrest, or criminal conviction; personal or relative’s employment in law enforcement
  1. DTC direct-to-consumer
  2. aProfessionals working in the fields of law, health, security, and a group representing all other professions
  3. bProfessionals working in the fields of law enforcement, health and life sciences, research and development, other professions (professional group was excluded from the analysis because 31.8% of the participants did not report that information)
  4. cProfessionals working in the fields of law enforcement, health and life sciences, research and development, other professions
  5. dWorking or not working in the field of police, judicature or forensics
  6. eStaff of prosecutors’ offices, prisoners, prison guards, police officer students, general public (a population subgroup without any known prior professional association with forensic DNA databases)
  7. fParticipants were recruited using the online marketplace Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk)
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Human Genomics

ISSN: 1479-7364