Every paranormal investigation is different, and should be treated as such. The only thing that is similar between a crime scene investigation and a paranormal investigation is protocol for collecting evidence and treating the scene with care as to not contaminate any possible evidence until the investigation is over. This does not mean that once you finish collecting as much evidence from the scene, you are not allowed to come back. This just means that each and every time you enter a scene where you are investigating or have investigated, you must treat it as a "fresh" scene. It is possible that some evidence will have been overlooked. It is also very important to have everyone who enters the scene to treat it this way. Every person who does enter the scene has their own perspective on the situation and can provide a fresh set of eyes and a new way to look for any evidence. We all know that when an investigation begins, it is the hot spot for collecting evidence, but for how long should an investigator(s) consider the investigation open? In the paranormal field, this can be tricky. You may visit the location many, many times and not get any more evidence, and then another investigator can go into the location and collect a wealth of evidence in one visit. Did this mean you did something wrong? Not necessarily. There can be many factors that were in play. It could be that the investigator has more experience and better tools. He or she may pay more attention to detail. If you work a scene alone you very well could miss important evidence. If you work the scene in a group, it will more then likely produce better results. The more eyes and ears you have means the better chance that critical evidence will be noticed and collected for examination. Some paranormal investigators or groups do not spend enough time on investigations and miss possible evidence and some spend too much time trying to collect evidence. In a crime scene, investigators collect as much evidence as possible in order to determine what happened. Usually the evidence is sent to certain “experts” to examine it further and connect it to the scene. By doing this, a detailed account of what happened is told. Now it is time to bring all the evidence, investigators and experts together in the courtroom. Attorneys bring everything together and tell the story to the judge and/or jury. You have two side to the story and in the courtroom, it is gone over with a fine tooth comb to come up with the most accurate depiction of what took place. Both, the prosecutors and the defense weigh in on the testimony from every single person, investigators, experts, evidence and so forth in order to convince the jury. This is a very long and costly endeavor. As a paranormal investigator, chances are you won’t pay for “experts” and lab results. As far as the rest, you are actually the prosecutor, defense, judge and jury all rolled into one. It is your job to look at every piece of evidence collected and collectively as a group either agree or disagree on things. Remember that even if you all are convinced, it is crucial that if this information is to be reviewed by others at a later time, you must keep a detailed log and write your report, proposal (claim), evidence collected, hypothesis and conclusions based on science. Don’t ever draw your conclusion one way or the other based on a hunch or because it isn’t proved. Remember that if you can’t prove something, that doesn’t mean it isn’t so. Look at OJ Simpson. What this means is that if you have a piece of evidence that you either think it is or is not paranormal, base your decision based on facts , research and science. It is your job to prove it is. If you can’t prove it is, DO NOT say it isn’t. Just set it aside. If you say it isn’t, you must prove that claim as well. If you do make a claim without proving it, you aren’t taking the necessary steps as an investigator. Every piece of evidence must be examined with an open mind. This means that you are not a skeptic nor a believer, it just means that you must examine it and prove it to be what ever you claim it to be, i.e. paranormal or not paranormal. This is one of the most important things to do and 99.9% of so called Paranormal “investigators” don’t follow this Golden Rule of investigation. Because of this, Paranormal investigators get a bad rap. If they fail to do this important step, then the are nothing more that a group of paranormal enthusiasts, and not investigators. About 90% of paranormal “investigators” say that taking a $200 paranormal investigation course is a joke and a fraud, because the certificate is worthless. This is true, the certificate is worthless. Many will tell you that only experience will make you an good investigator. This is only half true. The experience is key, but only if you follow basic investigation techniques. This is where a community college or University will help. This class is key to using proper investigation skills and protocols. If you don’t take a class, that is O.K.. You can still become an investigator, but it will take longer unless someone in the group has this background and teaches the others how to do this properly.

Now we get to the part about the length of time for a thorough investigation. This depends on a few things. First, when did the claimed event happen and how much time are you allowed on the location to investigate? If you are investigating something that happens all the time, and you have permission to do a 2 or 3 day investigation, this is sufficient. If this is something that only happens on occasion, then research before you do the investigation. Find out why and what triggers the paranormal activity. Next, get permission and then if you can, try to investigate the location in 2 or 3 sessions. Each session can be a 2 or 3 day investigation window. During your investigation, you should focus on day and night activity. Many details about the area are realized during the daytime. Once you have completed you investigation sessions, you should have a tremendous amount of evidence collected. Remember that just because a scene is active, doesn’t mean you must make consecutive visits. This does not make it a “thorough” investigation. If you wanted, you could probably go there every day for the rest of you life, but why? The only thing this proves is your lack of experience and your lack of direction as far as protocol is concerned. This can also irritate the client. This is not a good idea. Not only can it damage your reputation, but it also damages the reputation of other honest and skilled investigators. If time allows, review all of the evidence you have collected, and research the location with the county records. Tying evidence to historical facts is great, and many clients want this information. It should only take your team of investigators two weeks or less to review evidence and another week to put everything in a detailed report or CD/DVD.

Completing the report package is probably the greatest feeling of accomplishment. This is where your paranormal team builds its reputation. Things to look at are how you want to store the information and how you want to present it to the client. There are many ways to accomplish these tasks and the better it is packaged, the better it looks and is presented. Your team should have a routine evidence log in each area, video/photography log, material evidence log, audio log, witness testimony log, client testimony log, research data log, EMF meter/other metering (Digital IR thermometer, humidity, ion readings, other temperature readings, etc) and anything else needed. With all the evidence reviewed, now it is time to start writing your report. It is important to include all the information you can in the report. This is where you really have your time to shine. This is where you get your reputation. If you fail here, all is lost and you aren’t a paranormal investigator, but rather a paranormal enthusiast. There is a HUGE difference. Your report must contain a verbal account of who, what, where, why, and How. If you have a standard layout, that usual helps standardize your reports now and in the future. In the report, you should have the names and titles of everyone involved from Mr. John Doe the client to Mrs. Jane Smith the investigator from World Wide Paranormal. Accurate details like dates and times along with the clients claim are very important. The report should contain a brief description of evidence collected (a copies of the logs provided upon request usually). Next, include your hypothesis and conclusion. When the report is given to the client, it is usually a good practice to go over the evidence and the report along with watching and listening to any evidence via DVD and DVD player. This makes you look professional and word of mouth travels far. Usually when someone does a great job, clients usually tell a few friends and family, but is you perform poorly and look unprofessional, the client tells everyone. This travels much faster and farther.

There are MUSTS when you are a Paranormal Investigation Team/Group. First and foremost, you MUST have some kind of liability insurance. This is a cover your butt deal. I realize that you take full responsibility for any injuries you incur, but what happens if you accidentally damage a piece of property belonging to the client. Can you afford to pay for the damages? $100, $1,000 or $10,000? If not, then get ready for a hefty law suit. There is about a 99% chance you will be sued. If you are sued, you can kiss all of you equipment goodbye, along with you vehicle and then maybe even your house (if you own one). If not, you will most likely get a lien or even a garnishment if you have a job. This is a serious issue and one not to be taken lightly. Once you have your liability insurance needs met, you should probably look into a few other things. Should you get a business license? According to the State and county, you bet your butt you need one. If you don’t, you better not be listed anywhere or someone in your group (namely the founder(s)) will be subject to a citation and fine which could be hefty. Try up to $10,000. Chances are you won’t get the big whammy right of the back, especially if it is your first violation. Since you finally got a permit to operate in the county and outside the county, how are you getting the money to fund your ventures? There is a good chance you don’t even charge money for your services, right? You should think about getting a non-profit business tax ID. This will enable you to have bake sales, car washes and even sell novelty items like shirts, hats and coffee mugs in order to fund your ventures. Remember that every penny must be accountable for, so keep receipts for everything, merchandise, gas, lodging, meals, gear and tools, etc.. It would be best to use all the money your group earns put back in the business. If you decide to pocket a few dollars here or there, that is the wrong idea of a non-profit organization. You can of course get reimbursed from the group funds if you happen to make a purchase for the group with your own money. Just keep the receipt and give it to the groups treasurer. There are lots of money making possibilities on the internet. This doesn’t mean selling yourself out like the TV ghost hunting groups. It means you can use things like Google ad sense and others like it. When other people click on the link, you make money. You can also have a donation link to let others make donations to your group.

All of this sounds difficult, but trust me, they can be easier then the next step. ALWAYS get permission to investigate on public and private land. You should have a standard consent form that clients can sign. This is pretty handy to show the police when they interrupt your investigation. If you don’t have permission, everything is lost. If you don’t have permission to investigate, don’t proceed. NEVER trespass. This is not only a crime, but it makes all paranormal groups suffer.

When you are on an investigation, you should respect the owners. Take a trash bag as a waste receptacle. Never discard trash or litter on someone else’s property. This is a sure way to never be able to return and prevent others as well. Don’t smoke on the investigation. The investigation group coordinator should designate an area for breaks and also have a break schedule in place during the investigation.

On the investigation, everyone should take some steps to assist in detecting paranormal evidence. Avoid wearing cologne or perfume. This can interfere with the investigation. Sometimes on an investigation, order and scents like cigars and perfume can manifest. If nobody is wearing these items, then the odor may be linked to a paranormal presence. Wear a deodorant with minimal or no odor. Avoid wearing lose or noisy jingling items. They can also contaminate any audio evidence and or confuse others. Respect others and don’t interrupt, talk in a low voice so you don’t contaminate others audio evidence. Investigating a scene demands the utmost attention to detail, and loud talking or yelling will distract others. It only takes a fraction of a second to miss key evidence.

Don’t assume you know everything if you honestly don’t. During an investigation, you may have several people in several areas. If you have a command center, it is key to keep a log of everyone location at all times. Keep in contact if you move and/or see something and want to follow it. If you leave your post, someone needs to know. Chances are you were put on that post for a reason. Coordinate a break time when individuals can take breaks. Constantly on high alert demands energy. You can get worn out fast. A refresher break or rotating locations periodically can keep you on your toes and make others aware of things you have experienced.

Equipment training. It is a good idea to cross train all individuals on all equipment. There will be times when not everyone can make an investigation. This doesn’t mean that everyone must operate different equipment on every investigation. This would not be good. It is a good idea to allow everyone to be an “expert” sort to speak in a specific area. Someone may be an expert with audio/video equipment while another person may be an expert in manning the command center. Everyone should be capable of working in any position if needed, but should also have at least one area mastered.

The old theory about, “if in doubt, throw it out” is the wrong way to think. This is great when you are talking about fast food and milk that has been sitting on the counter too long, but not about reviewing evidence. If you doubt it, ask others to look at it. Just because you doubt it doesn’t mean it isn’t important and not paranormal. Keep it because it may support another key piece of evidence. If you doubt it because you haven’t looked at it further or don’t have the experience, ask someone who can and who does. They may be able to analyze it further. It may take a specific tool like $1500 audio analysis software, or a microscope. They may even be an expert in examining photography and can blow it up, and even use sophisticated photography software to determine if it should be thrown out. Where most (over 90%) paranormal investigators fail, is in evidence review. They just don’t have the know how or experience to determine the possibility that it may or may not be paranormal. Anyone who looks at some film footage and immediately says it is paranormal or says it’s a bug, spider, bird, superman, etc. and dismisses it right away, is not skilled enough to make that decision. The reason behind this is because just like the phrase “you can’t judge a book by it’s cover”, the video falls in the same category. All you did was glance at it or look at it, you didn’t run tests on it or put it through a video editor and examine it closer. If you haven’t done this, then you aren’t equipped to make that decision. And making a hastily decision will get you in more trouble and make you look incompetent.