Humor is common and purposeful in most work settings. Although researchers have examined humor and joking behavior in various work settings, minimal research has been done on humor applications in the field of crime scene investigation. The crime scene investigator encounters death, trauma, and tragedy in a more intimate manner than any other member of the criminal justice community. Within these challenging work settings in which human lives have ended, humor can emerge as crime scene investigators attend to their tasks. The work of the crime scene investigator involves organizational and event stressors and intimate exposures to psychologically threatening work. Within this work setting humor is common. The central research question of this study is ""How does humor function in the work context of the crime scene investigator?"" This research seeks a greater understanding of the use of humor in specific work contexts; specifically, stressful and traumatic work settings such as those encountered by crime scene investigators. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]