{"id":225,"date":"2021-03-30T16:33:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T16:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-englishcomp2\/?post_type=chapter&p=225"},"modified":"2022-07-25T19:31:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T19:31:02","slug":"what-is-evidence","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-englishcomp2\/chapter\/what-is-evidence\/","title":{"raw":"What is Evidence?","rendered":"What is Evidence?"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\nRecognize evidence in an academic context\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2745\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"500\"]\"Online If we think of an online review as an argument, the claim would be the rating (in this case, one star), and the evidence would be the text or images explaining why the user gave this rating (in this case, the fact that the vacuum burst into flames).[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen an online review posts an image of a broken product alongside a 1-star review, the photograph and accompanying text is functioning as evidence. It is the proof that the author offers in support of their claim-- that the product is not worth buying.\r\n\r\nRecognizing how an author uses evidence in an argument can help us dive deeper into understanding its claims. As writers, the way we select, present, and elaborate on evidence is key to developing complex claims that speak to an audience.\r\n\r\nWriters use different types of evidence based on their field of study and the claims made in that field. In the Fine Arts, a photographer might use features of an image to make an abstract claim about the nature of civilization; in education, a researcher might use previous published studies to make a specific claim about the importance of classroom management. Overall, what \u201ccounts\u201d as evidence depends on who you are, who your audience is, and the nature of the academic conversation you're joining.\r\n\r\nIn the social sciences as in the natural sciences, evidence is typically qualitative or quantitative data that has been collected in a scholarly way. For instance, a paper in Sociology might use survey data as evidence, while a Biology paper will likely offer research findings of a lab experiment.\r\n\r\nIn the humanities, \u201ctextual evidence\u201d is the most common form of evidence used in academic writing. In arguments about literature, the evidence is typically quotations from the text at hand. As \u201cfacts of the text,\u201d quotations serve as evidence for interpretive claims. In History papers, the evidence is typically some form of primary historical document--newspaper articles, diaries, court records, legislations, etc. These serve as the source texts upon which historians base interpretive claims. (Sometimes, Humanities papers will borrow methods from other disciplines to advance an interdisciplinary argument; for example, a cinema studies paper might use quantitative data about a film\u2019s box office results in order to advance a claim about the film\u2019s reception.)\r\n\r\nHowever, in all these instances, the main thing to remember is that evidence is the raw data that is offered in support of an interpretive claim.\r\n\r\nHere are some types of evidence you might encounter in different academic contexts:\r\n
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Fields of Study<\/td>\r\nEvidence<\/td>\r\nExamples<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Social Sciences (Education, Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics)<\/td>\r\nQualitative data from ethnographic studies\r\n\r\nSecondary research<\/td>\r\nSurveys, Interviews, site visit observations\r\n\r\nPeer-reviewed articles and academic books<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)<\/td>\r\nQuantitative data from laboratory experiments\r\n\r\nSecondary research<\/td>\r\nStatistics, experiment results\r\n\r\nPeer-reviewed articles reporting original scientific research<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Humanities (English Literature, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religion)<\/td>\r\nPrimary texts\r\n\r\nSecondary research<\/td>\r\nNovels, poems, old newspaper articles, images, historical artifacts\r\n\r\nPeer-reviewed articles and academic books<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Fine Arts (Painting, Sculpture, Creative Writing, Music, Photography)<\/td>\r\nPrimary texts\r\n\r\nSecondary research<\/td>\r\nCreative works (visual arts pieces, novels, etc.)\r\n\r\nPeer-reviewed articles and academic books<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/2b5e5ffb-59cd-4935-b586-c209e47b112f\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Interpreting Evidence<\/h2>\r\nWhat remains consistent no matter the discipline in which you are writing, however, is that evidence NEVER speaks for itself\u2014you must integrate it into your own argument or claim and demonstrate that the evidence supports your thesis. In addition, be alert to evidence that seems to contradict your claims or offers a counterargument to it: rebutting that counterargument can be powerful evidence for your claim. You can also make evidence that isn\u2019t there an integral part of your argument, too. If you can\u2019t find the evidence you think you need, ask yourself why it seems to be lacking, or if its absence adds a new dimension to your thinking about the topic. Remember, evidence is not the piling up of facts or quotes: evidence is only one component of a strong, well supported, well argued, and well written composition.\r\n
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Try It<\/h3>\r\n