Text message fingerprints
p2pnet.net News:- A forensic linguist and forensic researcher at the University of Leicester are looking for at least 100 volunteers to contribute 10 text messages as part of a study to see to what extent people can be identified by their texting styles.
In 2002 an alibi in a murder case was broken when text analyses revealed differences in the texting styles and the study aims to develop the technique further.
Linguist Dr Tim Grant and researcher Kim Drake want to assess similarities and differences in texting style, between texts sent by individuals and within and between networks of people who frequently text one another and they hope to do this through an anonymous on-line questionnaire.
"As texting is both a relatively new mode of communication and a particularly informal way of using language, there is not a strong expectation that texters will follow linguistic conventions," says Grant.
"This freedom therefore allows for significant individual differences in text messaging style, and this can be used to identify the text’s authors."
If you’re interested in taking part, go here or contact Grant or Drake.
Also See:
University of Leicester – Texts to reveal ‘Whodunnit’, August 10, 2006
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