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Revision as of 19:55, 26 January 2006 by 86.10.231.219 (talk) (Minor edit)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)There is no universal common usage of or accepted general meaning for Anecdotal evidence. "Anecdotal evidence" is an informal account of information from the teller's personal knowledge and experience, of information the teller has learned informally by hearsay or of information claimed to have existed which never has or whose existence cannot be verified independently of the teller. It may comprise any of or any combination of factual, fictional, true or false information.
The feature common to all forms of "anecdotal evidence" is that the ability to test its reliability by objective independent assessment may be in doubt. This is in turn a consequence of either the informal way the information is imparted or the manner in which it has been documented or both. The term is often used in relation to the claimed existence of evidence for which there is an absence of documentation. This leaves verification dependent on the acceptability of the credibility of the party laying claim to its existence.
"Anecdotal evidence" is commonly confused with and used to describe witness testimony.
Witness testimony is a common form of evidence in law and law has mechanisms to test witness evidence for reliability. Legal processes for the taking and assessment of evidence are usually formal. "Anecdotal evidence" is not therefore a category of evidence normally taken into account in or found in most developed legal judicial systems and there is therefore no place in law for a legal category of "anecdotal evidence".
Scientific method tends to demand a narrow range of evidence collected in controlled conditions so that sources of bias, for example, can be identified, eliminated or allowed for. Science consequently tends to exclude witness testimony as inherently unreliable, having tended not to develop and therefore lacking the means to test witness evidence. This has lead to the use of the term "anecdotal evidence" by scientists for any form of witness testimony. A similar approach is commonly adopted in medicine. This has lead to the exclusion and devaluation of witness evidence in these fields.
Whilst the term "anecdotal evidence" is used commonly in medicine, science and statistical methods in relation to statements like "My grandmother lived to 95, smoked constantly, and didn't die of lung cancer" such a statement is witness testimony by the teller. It is also evidence for the propositions that smoking does not cause lung cancer in some individuals or that the grandmother had lung cancer (diagnosed or not) but died from some other cause. Accordingly, in the absence of further evidence, it falls short of being proof.
Witness testimony can be tested and assessed for reliability. Examples of approaches to testing and assessment include the use of questioning, evidence of other witnesses, documents, video and forensic evidence.
Where a court lacks suitable means to test and assess testimony of a particular witness, such as the absence of forms of corroboration or substantiation it may afford that testimony limited or no "weight" when making a decision on the facts.
Part of the common confusion in usage of terms like "anecdotal evidence" stems from misunderstandings about the nature of evidence, its usage and how it differs from and what constitutes "proof". "Evidence" and "proof" are commonly used day-to-day interchangably and inappropriately and this usage is particularly visible in mass media.
Examples of usage of "anecdotal evidence"
- Overall Assessment of Approach and Analysis of the Law Commission Report Ministry of Economic Development, New Zealand
- Legal Terms & Definitions Sprenger & Lang, Attorneys
- Judge certifies Wal-Mart class action lawsuit MSBN, June 22, 2004
- Second Generation Disparity Study Final Report City of Phoenix study
Examples of "anecdotal evidence" being confused with witness testimony and "proof"
- "Anecdotal Evidence" from a course in Critical thinking at Santa Rosa Junior College.
Examples of "Anecdotal" being used interchangeably with and confused with "Witness" testimony
- "Anecdotal Evidence".
- "Anecdotal (testimonial) evidence", from the Skeptic's Dictionary.