investigations

whodunit

Crime fiction identifying perpetrator

• enigmaSomething hard to fathom
• clueSolving aid
• puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity

secrets · unknown · suspense · thriller · twist · revelation · noir · deduction

detective

Professional crime investigator

• sleuthPrivate investigator
• homicideCausing another's death
• caseContainer or instance

suspect · witness · evidence · clues · interrogation · surveillance · stakeout · undercover · informant · alibi

inquiry

Request for information

• probeThorough examination or tool
• commissionPayment for services rendered
• hearingPerceiving sound waves

inquest · tribunal · oversight · congressional · subpoena · testimony · deposition · fact-finding · committee · ombudsman

exposé

Investigative journalism piece

• whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
• sourcesPoints of origin
• leakEscape through a breach

documents · undercover · cover-up · scandal · corruption · accountability · Watergate · muckraking · fact-checking · FOIA

evidence

Facts supporting truth

• fingerprintingRecording unique digit patterns
• DNAHereditary code molecule
• autopsyMedical examination after death

ballistics · toxicology · pathology · serology · entomology · odontology · reconstruction · profiling · coroner · specimen

research

Systematic fact-finding effort

• experimentationSystematic testing of ideas
• hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
• methodologyFormal procedural framework

data · analysis · empirical · findings · study · laboratory · replication · variables · observation · systematic

financial

Relating to money

• complianceAdhering to requirements
• accountingMaintaining financial records
• internalSituated within

external · regulatory · GAAP · tax · fraud · ledger · discrepancy · reconciliation · bookkeeping · verification

• criminal investigationscrime scene, crime scenes, crime scene analysis, detectives, detective work
• Congress powersspending power, declare war, impeachment, lawmaking, appropriations
• enforcementenforcement actions, crackdown, fines, enforcement agencies, penalties
• Government Reformbudget reform, fiscal reform, government reform, policy reform, regulatory reform
• legislative powerslawmaking, appropriations, impeachment, veto override, war powers
• oversightoversight committees, oversight board, review, auditors, supervisor