Quantifying variation in the physical size of footwear test impressions.

The analysis of forensic footwear evidence often requires the preparation of test impressions created under controlled laboratory conditions. When these test impressions are compared to questioned impressions, (dis)agreement in physical size is an important attribute that must be evaluated and documented. Integral to this comparison is an understanding of the variation that may exist between replicate test impressions, and test impressions created using different methods.