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USING EVIDENCE & RELIABLE SOURCES

Below are basic definitions for types of evidence to be used in essays and research.

SOURCES: THE BIG PICTURE
Primary Source:  In literary analysis, this is the text that is the subject of your paper.  If you are writing a paper on "Corruption in The Great Gatsby," then The Great Gatsby is your primary source.   
To better understand "primary source" as used in different writing scenarios, and to learn what distinguishes it further from "secondary sources," click here. 

Secondary Sources:  Most often falling under the category of scholarly sources, these include explanations, criticism, argument, interpretation, testimonies from academic or expert authors found in special-subject books, magazines, newspaper, journals, interviews, television programs, Internet broadcast, professional web pages.  

Expert or scholarly sources are often difficult to read due to a high level of specialized jargon or vocabulary. Unfortunately, much scholarly writing is simply not well written from a STYLE standpoint.  Regardless, expert material is the ESSENCE of research writing, and must be taken on.  These sources are often available through subscription databases such as EBSCO or JSTOR.  

Tertiary Sources:  These are any general information sources available to the public and frequently written by staff members or editors. These sources are written at a level that is simple to read.  They include encyclopedias (in print and online), dictionaries, atlases, Wikis, notes resources such as Sparknotes, Shmoop.com, and Cliffs Notes.


Guide to Sources and Searching Online:    Guide to Reliable Sources.docx  


EVIDENCE IS WHEN A SOURCE IS USED
When you directly quote or paraphrase a source, this is called using evidence.  We call it "evidence" because in writing as in a court room, evidence is used to provide PROOF of a claim, interpretation, or point of view.  

Be sure to review how to use quotes and evidence to gain a deeper understanding of how important it is that you use a variety of methods for incorporating evidence.  Too often students only use one method:  The CLAIM-PROOF method.  This is the "I made a statement, and now here's the backup that follows immediately after a colon" approach.  While the CLAIM-PROOF method is good in itself, overuse will lend to a very awkward paper and very low style grade.  

There are many types of evidence.  Here are some. 

TYPES

  • Numbers (for example, date and time, chronological dates relevant to discussion)
  • Statistics. Although technically just one form of number evidence, statistics are special enough to count as their own separate type of evidence, especially because they are so valuable at making evidence representative.
  • Names (for example, place names, names of individuals, organizations, movements, etc.)
  • Expert opinion (this refers to the use of someone else’s knowledge or opinion, not that of the author—when the author quotes or mentions a recognized expert in the field)
  • Specialized knowledge (the author’s own knowledge, not common knowledge, usually acquired through some sort of formal training)
  • Individual stories/examples, also known as anecdotal evidence (When the term “anecdotal” evidence is used, it is generally a negative or critical term suggesting that the evidence is not representative. Individual stories or examples, however, are often useful evidence.)
  • Analogical Evidence (Evidence by Analogy:  Click here)
  • Physical details (sense data)—things you can see, hear, touch, smell or taste
  • Dialogue (Speech of other people reported directly, exactly as spoken, usually with quotation marks [“ ”] around it and set off in separate paragraphs, one for each speaker. Technically this is a subset of physical detail, because it is something you can hear, but direct reporting of what people have said is important enough to be considered a separate category.)
  • Documentary evidence (evidence from documents). This includes all of the following, among many others:Statistics
    • Letters
    • Diaries
    • Unpublished writings (early drafts of works published later; juvenile works by famous authors, etc.)
    • Laws
    • Administrative policies, like the Washington Administrative Code
    • Court decisions
    • Speeches, interviews, and other statements by relevant people
  • Data
  • Charts
  • Graphs
  • Photographs
  • Illustrations