A cross checking is also conducted for his/her criminal background. There is a reference check conducted as well, for knowing the relationship with business associates of the customer. A small check on his/her lifestyle and habits is done to be able to connect it with their monthly earnings. A previous employer feedback check is conducted as well to find out on his/her integrity.

Before we design an investigation, we take into account certain factors, one of them being a pilot study. A pilot study is a test run on a few participants this enables you to check for design faults before carrying out an investigation on a larger scale, this is a routine procedure especially used when carrying out questionnaire. Reliability of results is very important, so if a study is replicated the findings should be similar. Validity, does a test measure what it was designed to measure. Statistical techniques, watching behaviour are some of the techniques used for investigation. Based on this, a hypothesis is created. A hypothesis is a precise, testable statement or prediction about the expected outcome of an investigation. A research hypothesis prediction is one that states that results are not due to chance and that they are significant in terms of supporting the idea being investigated.