Researchers at the University of Leciester UK, are studying texting patterns for their forensic value in crime solving. It's essentially the digital version of uniquely identifying an individual based on writing styles that most of us are familiar with.  A precedent exists in Britain with the 2002 investigation of  teen Danielle Jones' death - her murderer  used her phone to SMS himself after killing her, just in a style so radically different from her that it led to his (rightful) conviction. NewScientist reports on the project:

“We want to develop the technique further by investigating text language and style. There’s already lots of research into identifying writing and emailing styles. Given how much texting is used today, we think knowledge around this type of communication needs to be expanded, too,” Grant says.

“Being able to say who wrote a particular text message sent from a particular phone has many potential forensic applications."

Earlier studies have indicated that individuals use different grammar for texting. “Very often it’s not a case of the person not knowing English grammar, instead different people choose to leave out different things, such as articles or prepositions,” says Grant.

The project is looking for volunteers. Around 500 will be recruited for six months and encouraged to SMS each other individually and within groups. Texting patterns as well as similarities and differences will be studied. One of the stated goals is to see stylistic differences between frequent and infrequent texters.

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Via Smartmobs

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