EVIDENCE

Available facts, circumstances,
etc. indicating whether or not a
thing is true or valid.
(The Oxford Dictionary of Current English.)
From Sherlock Holmes
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In one story Sherlock Holmes comes back
home and learns that he had a visitor, but
the visitor left in a hurry
However, the visitor left a hat in Holmes’
house
Holmes looks at the hat and begins his
reasoning
Sherlock Holmes’ reasoning
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“That the man was highly intellectual is of
course obvious upon the face of it…”
Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came
right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge
of his nose.
“It is a question of cubic capacity,” said he;
“a man with so large a brain must have
something in it.”
Deductive reasoning
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All people with large hats have large
head.
This man has a large hat
Therefore
This man has a large head
Deductive reasoning
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All people with large heads have large
brain.
This man has a large head
Therefore
This man has a large brain
Deductive reasoning
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All people with large brains are
intelligent.
This man has a large brain
Therefore
This man is intelligent
The need for evidence
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Premises must be either assumed or
proven
Only obvious truths can be assumed
If they are not obvious, they must be
proven/supported with evidence
How do we know that:
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This man has a large hat
All people with large hats have large
head.
All people with large heads have large
brain.
All people with large brains are
intelligent.
This man has a large hat
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Evidence?
The hat itself.
We have the hat. We can see it. We
can measure it.
How do we know it is large?
In comparison to what?
All people with large hats have
large head.
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Evidence?
It sounds logical, but:
Are there any exceptions? Can we be
sure?
All people with large heads
have large brain.
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Evidence?
It sounds reasonable, but “sounds
reasonable” is not good enough
We need biological, medical studies. At
least a newspaper article reporting on
such studies
All people with large brains
are intelligent.
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Evidence?
This is the most difficult.
We definitely need biological, medical
studies.
They must be solid studies
From reputable and reliable sources
FACTS and OPINIONS.
In a logical argument facts are always
preferable to opinions.
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FACT is “a thing that is known to exist
or to be true”
OPINIONS
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OPINION is an unproven belief, something
that either cannot be proven or is not proven
at this time.
Opinions are someone’s perceptions of
the facts.
Epistemological issues
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How do we know?
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The Question of CORRESPONDENCE
TO THE REALITY
Correspondence theory of truth
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What we believe or say is true if it
corresponds to the way things actually
are—to the facts.
A belief is true if there exists an appropriate
entity—a fact—to which it corresponds. If
there is no such entity, the belief is false
Artifacts
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When we use an artifact, we let others to
observe the actual thing. (Actual objects,
photos, videotapes)
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Is the artifact genuine?
Is the artifact typical of the class of items it
is supposed to represent?
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EXAMPLES
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EXAMPLES (individual instances): A
report or description of an observation,
experience, event, etc.
Examples of what?
Factual examples?
Hypothetical?
Recent?
Statistics
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The field of STATISTICS is concerned
with the COLLECTION,
ORGANIZATION, and
INTERPRETATION of data according
to well-defined procedures.
Descriptive
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Descriptive statistics = data reduction.
Collection and organizing data.
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Making some sense in all these numbers.
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Inferential
Inferential statistics
= drawing conclusions.
(especially about causal relationship)
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Statistics…
Were the statistics collected by a reliable
source?
Were the statistics collected from a
sufficiently large sample/or a sufficiently
long period of time?
Are comparable units used in statistical
comparisons?
Scientific theory:
common miunderstandings
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In a common usage the word “theory”
means an opinion, speculation, unproven
belief.
In science that guess or speculation has
another word: hypothesis.
Hypothesis
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The initial guess that is tested by scientists
The first step to develop a theory.
If the hypothesis cannot be proven, it is
rejected (it remains an unproven guess).
However, if, after rigorous scientific
testing, the hypothesis is proven to be
true, that hypothesis becomes a theory.
Theory
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When scientists use the word theory, they
mean that a particular explanation of natural
phenomena is well-substantiated by
scientific tests.
When an observation has been repeatedly
confirmed, for all practical purposes the
theory is accepted as ‘true,’ it is a fact.
The key characteristics of science and
scientific theory
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Science is not a set of doctrinal and dogmatic
beliefs. Nothing in science is accepted as true
until it can be proven true through rigorous
tests.
Further, many theories continue to be tested and
retested. Although it is rare that a theory is
disproved by new evidence that was not available
in the original testing, many theories are being
extended and modified.
CONSISTENCY
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Internal consistency: evidence is consistent
with other statements in the same argument
(you are not contradicting yourself).
External consistency: evidence is consistent
with the majority of other available
evidence.
RELIABILITY
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Is the source known to be honest and
reliable?
BIAS
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Does the source have anything to gain by
reporting the information?
EXPERTISE
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Does the source have credentials as an
expert?
Primary versus secondary sources
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This distinction illustrates the degree to
which the author of a piece is removed from
the actual event being described
Primary versus secondary sources
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Primary sources: These are
contemporary accounts of an event,
written by someone who experienced or
witnessed the event in question. These are
original documents
Secondary sources: Usually retell or
interpret primary sources, and so can be
described as at least one step removed from
the event or phenomenon under review.
Judging the authority of the text
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Specialized knowledge of writer
Qualifications and/or reputation of writer
Specialized knowledge of other people
who contribute information (e.g. interviewees)
Access writer has had to relevant sources
Citation procedures used (evidence seems
authentic: e.g. names, dates given).
Special care in evaluating
Internet sources
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Problem 1: a large number of material on
the Internet is self-published (not
reviewed)
Problem 2: many unreliable sources and
articles resemble high quality sources
Problem 3: tendency to believe that
“everything is on the Internet”
Problem 4: relying on Google etc.
Evaluating websites:
Author’s authority
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Is the author or sponsor readily identifiable?
What information is there about the author or his
or her credentials?
Is the material presented from a particular point of
view? How would you know?
What links are there to other sites; what does this
tell you about the site you are evaluating?
What is the purpose?
Evaluating websites:
Publishers Authority
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To whom is the site directed?
Whose site is it?
How is the site financed?
Why has the site been established?
What is its history?
When was the site last updated?
Is there a link to its home page?
Your Library GUIDES
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http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/tutorials/tutorials_general.html
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Bibliographic Citations
Boolean Operators
Controversial Topics / Opposing Viewpoints
Finding Biographical Information
Help Finding Biographies
Key to Library Jargon
New Users Guide
Peer Reviewed Versus Other Types of Periodicals
Masters Theses and Project Guidelines
Website Evaluation Criteria
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Your Library
Online EZ Research Workshop
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http://connect.csupomona.edu/ez
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By the end of the tutorial students will know how to:
Use 5 database search strategies for effective searching
Conduct searches using the Boolean operators AND, OR,
& NOT
Read a bibliographic citation correctly
Select the right information resources for their topic
Brainstorm keywords and synonyms for effective search
strategy
Determine the availability of the full text of cited items and
use document delivery services as needed
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GENERAL SOURCES
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Handbooks
Encyclopedias
Annual Reviews / Series
Bibliographies
Handbooks
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A scholarly subject book:
provides a comprehensive summary of
most recent, relevant, and important
research and research trends.
Also manuals and books of facts
Encyclopedias
General encyclopedias:
Britannica, Americana, Wikipedia, etc.
Specialized:
Encyclopedia Of 20th Century
Photography 2006
International encyclopedia of
communication 1989
Bibliographies
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A comprehensive list of sources on a
particular topic
Legal Research Resources
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Oyez: US Supreme Court Case
Summaries, Oral Arguments &
Multimedia www.oyez.org
American Bar Association's Lawlink: The
Legal Research Jumpstation
www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/lawlink/home.html
Periodicals
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Scholarly (peer reviewed)
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Popular: newspapers, newsmagazines,
trade journals, etc.
Scholarly Journals
(Peer Reviewed)
•
PURPOSE:
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Report original research; review and
evaluate previously published
materials; or expand and refine theory.
Often published by a professional
association, society, research
institution, or academic institution.
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Examples of scholarly journals
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Harvard Business Review
Journal of Management Studies
Journal of Animal Science
Quarterly Journal of Speech
Human Communication Research
American Political Science Assoc. Review
Journal of Geophysical Research
Non-scholarly publications
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Diverse topics covered - popular topics or
current events.
News on a daily or weekly basis.
Appeals to the layperson or tradesperson
Contains advertising
Published by commercial publisher.
Sources not cited
Contributions by local staff, newswire
services and syndicated columnists.
NEWSPAPERS
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USA Today
Los Angeles Times
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
Chicago Tribune
Washington Post
NEWS MAGAZINES
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Good basic information on topics of
current interest, especially in national
politics and international affairs.
However, the articles seldom have
depth and may be opinionated.
Some examples are: The Economist,
Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News &
World Report
OPINION MAGAZINES
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Aim at an educated audience interested in
understanding the significance of
contemporary events and ideas -- social,
political, and scientific. Typically, they offer
information from a particular point of view.
Fairly objective: Atlantic Monthly, The New
York Review of Books,
Very partisan: American Spectator,
American Prospect, Nation, National
Review, New Republic
POPULAR MAGAZINES
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The information they offer may or may
not be valid (it should be verified). Their
purpose is chiefly to entertain. They
very seldom should be quoted in a
serious paper.
Examples: Car and Driver, Esquire,
Good Housekeeping, Omni, Readers
Digest, and Sports Illustrated.
Recording Evidence…
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Know what evidence is needed
Keep an annotated bibliography
Have an organized system of note taking
 Using note cards helps
 Putting headings on your cards helps even more
References
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PURPOSE: to enable readers to retrieve
and use the sources.
Distinguish references and bibliography
Agreement of in-text and end-of-text
references
Reference List: General Forms
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Flores, T. (1992). Communications statistics:
Country-by-country analysis. Flores and Associates.
Retrieved 05/24, 1992 from www.flores.org/comstats.html
Martinez, C. R. (1996). Pesticide controversies.
Pesticide Journal, 12, 17-24.
Smith W. (2001, January 17). Obesity matters. The
New York Times, A1, A4.
Walker, T. L. (2005). Marketing television shows.
New York: Copley.