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Evidence

The points you make need to be backed up by evidence. The evidence you use will depend on your subject, but it may include findings from research studies, facts and statistics, or interpretations of texts.

Researchers often distinguish between primary evidence and secondary evidence. Primary evidence is first-hand or original sources such as photographs, results from an experiment or survey you have conducted, or a literary text. Secondary evidence is something that has been processed or interpreted by someone else, such as an article on a literary text, or other people’s research findings. Evidence is never unbiased; for example the ways in which the evidence has been collected, interpreted, and used can all influence how valid it is. Therefore, it is good to approach all evidence with some scepticism and a questioning outlook. 

Scroll down for our recommended strategies and resources. 

Finding evidence

Don't just Google it! The Library has access to a wide range of appropriate academic sources for you to use. Make the most of your library by using the guide to searching catalogues and databases below. Also see your course resource help page for subject-specific resources and your Academic Liaison Librarian for more individual help: 

Search catalogues and databases (Oxford Brookes University Library)

Course resource help (Oxford Brookes University Library)

Is the evidence appropriate?

You are usually expected to use academic evidence from books and journal articles, but this doesn’t mean that other non-academic sources are invalid, as long as you are using them for an appropriate purpose. For example, a newspaper may not have well-researched academic evidence, but it can provide evidence of how an issue is being discussed and viewed by the general public. See this guide for more on the features of scholarly and popular sources: 

Scholarly and popular sources (Berkeley Library, University of California)

Evaluating evidence

Not sure whether your source is good or not? Try the CRAAP test!

Evaluating sources: CRAAP test (University of the West of Scotland)

What about websites?

It is best to do a search on the Library catalogue first, rather than ‘just Googling it’. However, appropriate websites can be very useful sources as long as you understand why and how you are using them. Look at this guide on how to evaluate websites:

Evaluating websites (University of Reading)

Evaluating arguments in the evidence

Once you have decided that the evidence is reputable, you also need to evaluate the strength of the claims made within the source itself. See this useful introduction to assessing arguments:

Identifying and evaluating arguments (University of Hull)

Using evidence in your work

It is always better to start from the points you want to make and use evidence to support them, rather than trying to squeeze every good quote or piece of evidence into your assignment, which can lead to a messy patchwork of ideas. Scroll down on this handout for more on when to use (and not use) quotes and how to integrate evidence into your writing:

Integrating evidence into your writing (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)