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Qsum, cusum analysis, authorship analysis & attribution, literary, forensic

QSUM

The Cumulative Sum (cusum) Technique

for Authorship Analysis & Attribution

Applications have included:

                           
Literary Forensic
Edited work Statements made under caution
Translation Witness Statements
Children's Utterance Suicide Letters
Dialect Anonymous Telephone Calls
Invented Literary Language     Recorded Conversations
Anonymous Works Plagiarism
Disputed Authorship Forgery (of part or whole document, e.g. Wills)
Ransom Notes
Copyright Disputes over Authorship

The Calvin and Rose Hoffman Marlowe Memorial Prize for 1997 has been won by Jill Farringdon, principal author of Analysing for Authorship, for her essay illustrated by cusum analysis on "Attributing Shakespeare and Marlowe".  This is a major literary prize and carries a substantial financial award.  November 1997 

Consultancy on literary authorship problems is the speciality of Jill M. Farringdon who has examined, amongst other texts, a 'newly discovered D.H. Lawrence' short story, the authentication of a number of essays in Martin C. Battestin's New Essays by Henry Fielding, the 'Diary of Gerald Keegan', a 'newly discovered Charlotte Bronte' novel, and has explored the attribution of Shakespeare and Marlowe.

Expert Witness evidence involving Qsum has been given in a number of courts including in England the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in Ireland the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Central Criminal Court, in Northern Ireland, and in Australia. Those giving evidence as Expert Witnesses are:

Enquiries for both Literary and Forensic attribution work may be made to the above at qsums@aol.com or directly to M. David Baker at  mdavidbaker@cix.compulink.co.uk for Forensic only work.

If you wish to have a taste of QSUM authorship attribution read the simple Introduction which contains a worked example of authorship attribution complete with cusum charts—just click on Introduction.

The authoritative book on the subject is

Analysing for Authorship: A Guide to the Cusum Technique

by Jill M. Farringdon, with contributions by A.Q. Morton, M.G. Farringdon & M.D. Baker. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1996. ISBN 0-7083-1324-8  North American distributor: Paul & Company. c/o PCS Data Processing Inc., 360 West 31 St., New York, NY 10001  

'A first-rate book, a definitive and admirably lucid exposition of the QSUM technique.' Sir Kenneth Dover

Available from all good booksellers.  We can also supply directly from stock from :

Michael Farringdon, Ariel House, 8 Hadland Terrace, West Cross, Swansea SA3 5TT, United Kingdom price GB£35.00 post free in the UK and EU and US$62.00 Air Mail to USA & Canada.  Contact us first at qsums@aol.com