A road map for digital forensics research: a novel approach for establishing the design science research process in digital forensics

Compared to other well-established scientific fields computer forensics (CF) is still evolving as a new scientific field. CF lacks standardisation in various aspects including process models, datasets, procedures, techniques, and formal research methodologies. Consequently, progress in the establishment of CF as a scientific field has been hindered. Therefore, this paper aims to address one of such issues concerning the lack of standardisation, namely the absence of formal research methods in CF. Our study adds to the body of knowledge by filling the gap that there does not currently exist a well-established research methodology in CF. To this end, we borrow a well-established research methodology from the domain of IS, namely Peffers et al.'s (2006), adapt and extend it and make it relevant to research studies in CF. Our study sets a precedent for other researchers to identify, adapt, extend and apply other well-established research methods to studies in CF.