| The following investigative exercise is simple. The investigator is given only a stack of receipts, and no other information. The investigator must come up with a theory as to the identity of the subject, or subjects, and support their position. The following document is an example of an exercise that I completed. I was given aprox. 25 random receipts. A Woman and Her Cat The issue at hand is to determine the make up and demographics of a household based solely on sales receipts for a given period. After scrutiny of the facts the following conclusions were reached. The information supports the assumption that this household consists of a single female who is short, chunky and over the age of 21. She has an adult cat as a pet, and they both live in Midwest City Ok. where she also works. Her work schedule is Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM with lunch at 11:00 AM. She drives an economy vehicle, smokes Marlboro cigarettes, and has a checking account and a Visa credit card. She was most likely raised on the East Coast but enjoys things of a western nature. The time involved in this research is forty-two days. During this time the household in question spent $131.36 on food items and most of the food items purchased were snacks or quick meals such as frozen dinners, cream cheese, crackers etc. This breaks down to $ 3.13 per day on the average or $ 21.91 per week. According to a grocery spending survey conducted by The Dollar Stretcher, 44% of single member families spend $0 to $25 per week on groceries, also listed in the same survey is the U.S. national food expenditures which indicates a single family spends $48 per week on groceries (“Grocery Spending Survey”). This combined with the types of items purchased would support the theory of a single person household. The issue of gender is answered by Wal-Mart receipts that show clothing purchases. The receipts reflect the purchase of two pair of pull on jeans, and a package of thigh high women’s briefs. An interview was conducted of a Wal-Mart employee by the name of Irene. Irene works in the ladies department of the Wal- Mart located on Loop 1604 in San Antonio Texas. Using a store computer Irene was able to tell me that the two pair of pull-on jeans purchased were ladies pants. She was also able to expand on the fact that they were size 16 petite. This size would indicate that the person wearing them was short of stature and large waisted. Irene looked up the women’s briefs on the computer and it supported the theory of a large waisted woman. The item purchased was a 6 pack of Fruit of The Loom women’s briefs in a size 9. The last item Irene referenced was a reversible tee shirt. The computer provides the information that the tee shirt was an adult women’ s shirt. While it is possible that the subject is male and simply purchased the jeans as a gift, it is not very likely that he would also purchase the women’s briefs, thus pointing back to the forgone conclusion that the subject is female. The age of the subject is based on the fact that on at least one occasion an alcoholic beverage was purchased at one of the lunches. According to Oklahoma State law, the minimum drinking age is 21 (“Frequently asked Questions); therefore, we can be comfortable in assuming that this woman is at least 21 years of age. The assumption of having a pet is validated by the purchase of pet related items totaling $53.17. For a 42-day period, this is a substantial investment, which would indicate pet ownership over the possibility of pet sitting. Robert Larner, a inventory manager for Petsmart, was consulted in reference to our subjects purchases, and the following information was obtained: The cat food purchased was a adult maintenance formula manufactured by Science Diet. According to Mr. Larner, this food is recommended for cats 1-7 years of age. The toys purchased are furry toys of different types that can be used for dogs or cats, and the treats purchased are recommended for cats. The obvious deduction is that she owns a cat. Our subject’s place of residency is based mainly on grocery receipts and Midwest City Ok. is the most likely area of residency. Most of our subjects grocery shopping was done at Albertsons grocery store. A close analysis of the receipts provides a store number of 2220, and a search of Albertson’s web site provided an address of 7520 E. Reno Ave. Midwest City, Ok. (“Albertsons Store Locator”). It would be expected that a person would do their grocery shopping at a store close to their home thus supporting the Midwest City residency idea. In addition, on 10/08/00 perishable food items were purchased at a Save-A-Lot store. The only items purchased were milk, eggs, and potatoes which would indicate the subject grabbed a few necessities needed for the home. A reasonable person would assume that perishable necessities would be purchased at a smaller more convenient location such as Save-A-Lot, which would be in close proximity to her home. The receipt for the Save-A-Lot purchases lists an address of 7425 SE 15th St. Midwest City, Ok. To determine where our subject works you can analyze the spending pattern of our subject. During the week there are several restaurant receipts for a time period of around 11:00 AM., and this pattern would indicate a set lunch hour. If a person has only an hour for lunch and is going out, they would only have time to eat at a location close to work. Most of the lunch receipts have no addresses on them making it hard to determine, but one of them, the receipt from Mazzio’s, has an address of 101 N. Douglas in Midwest City OK. The spending habits of our subject can also tell us what her hours of work are. As previously mentioned it is clear that our subject has a lunch hour of 11:00 AM, if this is true then standard business practice would indicate that our subject begins work at 7:00 AM. Further support for the work starting time can be found on a receipt from Mid-West # 37. On 9/29/00, our subject purchased a carton of cigarettes and a V8 from this location at 6:14 AM. on a Friday. The fact that the subject is on the road at this time of the morning supports the fact that she is on her way to work. As for the quitting time of our subject, if 7:00 AM were the time she starts work, then once again standard business practice would dictate a 4:00 PM quitting time. Analysis of the spending habits shows that our subject makes many purchases during the week that take place shortly after 4:00 PM. This would be consistent with the fact that most people will stop at the store right after work if they need something for home. By looking at a map of Oklahoma, and the Midwest City area in particular, we can see that most of the spending done by the subject is in a fairly small area of travel (“Mapquest”), and we can deduce from our subjects gasoline receipts that she is driving an economy vehicle. During our period of study, the subject purchased gas on three separate occasions. The average purchased per visit was 9.44 gallons and this would indicate a small gas tank which is standard on economy vehicles. On three separate occasions our subject purchased cigarettes. Once she purchased a single pack of Marlboro cigarettes, once a carton of Marlboro cigarettes, and on another occasion the carton of cigarettes is not identified as to brand. The quantity of cigarettes purchased for the time period points to the fact that not only is our subject fond of Marlboro cigarettes, she is a fairly heavy smoker as well. The receipts used for this research paper reflect our subject used three methods of payment when carrying out the purchases. She used a check to pay mainly for groceries, which confirms the fact that she has a checking account. A Visa credit card was used for a number of purchases, and the same card was used each time as referenced by the card number and expiration date on the receipts. The issue of our subject being from the East Coast of the United States is speculative based on the items our subject purchases at the grocery store. An interview was conducted of two retired couples, the Dodson’s and the Polanski’s, both couples travel the United States on a regular basis, and have spent a fair amount of time in most states. The couples both agreed that items such as smoked salmon, pumpernickel and rye bread, and knockwurst are food items generally eaten by persons in the Eastern states such as Philadelphia, New York, or New Jersey. Though the previous items indicate an East Coast influence, our subject definitely likes western culture. This is obvious from her choice of entertainment during the research period and a few other hints suggested by the receipts. Our subject attended such events as the State Fair of Oklahoma, Sprints – Pro Stocks and Demolition Derby, the Ty Herndon & PRCA Championship Rodeo, and a place called Frontier City. Her clothing purchases included two pair of jeans and a tee shirt, and on 10/16/00, she traveled to Norman, OK. to visit the Shawnee Tribal Store where she purchased a miscellaneous item for $21.65. Any reasonable person would agree that the facts provided, paint a clear picture of the original assumption. The facts are clear and based on common knowledge supported by statistical facts and figures. The receipts provided for this assignment most surely came from a single person household, and this person is clearly a short chunky female who smokes too much. She is over 21 years of age, has a pet cat that she loves and they both live in Midwest City, Oklahoma where she also works. Her work schedule is 7:00 AM to 4:00PM Monday through Friday with lunch at 11:00 AM. She drives an economy vehicle, has a checking account, Visa credit card, and although she grew up on the East Coast, has a preference for things of a western nature. The last item mentioned probably explains why she is in Midwest City, Oklahoma in the first place. |