The rowling case: A proposed standard analytic protocol for authorship questions

Abstract

We propose a possible solution to one of the major weaknesses in the application of authorship attribution-the absence of clear-cut standards for accurate analytic practice. To address this, we propose a specific practice as a possible standard and present four recent cases applying this standard. The key elements of this protocol are the use of an ad hoc distractor set in conjunction with multiple analyses structured as a set of elimination tests. This protocol (or close variants of it) has been used in at least four separate cases across a wide variety of documents and consumers. It is mathematically supported while still being easy to understand. We are confident that the proposed protocol will provide a relatively straightforward and understandable way to reduce controversy regarding stylometric authorship attribution, and thereby increase its uptake and credibility.