DFPulse: The 2024 Digital Forensic Practitioner Survey (Response Dataset)

Information given to survey respondents:

Introduction

The aim of this survey is to improve the relevance of academic work to practitioners, and to improve the flow of information between the digital forensic researcher and practitioner communities.

This survey consists of three sections: 

* demographics (19 questions)

* the challenges you face (20 questions), 

* engagement with academia (11 questions, optional). 

If you wish, you can stop and submit at the end of Section 2 the responses that you've given in Sections 1 and 2. We estimate that completing as far as the end of Section 2 will take approximately 20-25 mins, and the full survey approximately 30 minutes.

We appreciate that your time is extremely valuable, but we hope to use this survey to direct academic research to be of maximum value to you. We would really appreciate you giving up some of your time to provide input to this survey to help make digital forensic research more relevant to you, and to help us communicate the results of that research more effectively to you.

Who is conducting this?

This survey is being conducted by Assoc. Prof. Mark Scanlon in the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland. The title of this research is “Exploring the issues faced by digital forensic practitioners and identifying the relationship between academic research and digital forensic practice”. There are five collaborators on the project:

Assoc. Prof. Frank Breitinger, School of Criminal Justice, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.Dr. Liz Dowthwaite, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.Dr. Chris Hargreaves, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.Assoc. Prof. Mark Scanlon, School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland.Dr. Helena Webb, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

What is this research about?

Exploring the status quo of (academic) research and digital forensic practitioners, i.e., has the research an impact on the practitioners. These also includes exploring if/how practitioners follow academic output/venues.

Why are we doing this research?

To better understand the needs of practitioners and to explore the interaction between digital forensic practitioners and researchers.

How will your data be used?

Responses will be discussed among the study authors. Most relevant findings will be summarised in a research article and the anonymous responses will be shared with the community.

What will happen if you decide to take part in this research study?

This anonymous online survey will take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

How will we protect your privacy?

The responses given to the survey are anonymous, with no uniquely identifiable information recorded.

What are the benefits of taking part in this research study?

Taking part in this survey will enable you to inform future digital forensic research directions. The results of the survey will be disseminated with the digital forensic research community.

What are the risks of taking part in this research study?

The risks in taking part in the survey are negligible as all data collection is anonymous.

Can I change my mind at any stage and withdraw from the study?

During the completion of the survey, you can withdraw at any time. You can withdraw by closing the window and/or simply not submitting your responses on the last page of the survey. Partially completed surveys will not be retained. After your response is submitted, it cannot be subsequently withdrawn, as your response is anonymous.

How will I find out what happens with this project?

The intention is that the insights gained from this survey will be disseminated through common academic channels including any/all of the following: journal article or conference paper publication, poster publication, preprint publication, data sharing, conference presentation, classroom sharing, and/or informing future research directions.