Successful academic writing requires claims and arguments to be substantiated with evidence. This practice goes to the heart of academic writing because it reflects objectivity in your writing.

This means every claim, argument or opinion you write needs to be substantiated (supported or justified) with credible evidence from research or other authoritative sources. You need to also explain how the evidence you present supports your viewpoint or argument.

Academic evidence usually involves expert or authoritative data, research results or statements from reputable or recognized sources, such as peer-reviewed journals.

It does NOT involve the use of information from sources that have little or no academic credibility, such as from a popular magazine, newspaper, your lecture notes, or stating personal opinions, interpretations or anecdotes without evidence to support them (unless they are specifically sought in a specific type of writing), as these are unlikely to be considered credible.

For further assistance, advice or tutoring/coaching in these skills contact Dr Bill Wrigley.

Types of Credible Evidence

There are various types of credible evidence and your selection of these will depend on the topic, the type of academic writing, and the qualities of the evidence that are valued by your discipline.

When using evidence to support your position, it is important to ensure it is relevant to the argument you are expressing and is accurate.

Six of the most frequently used forms of credible evidence are described here:

Empirical studies

Research studies that empirically test hypotheses or research questions by measuring variables and collecting and analysing data are important sources of evidence. These can be either qualitative or quantitative designs, and using observational or experimental methods.

Statistics, facts and surveys

Statistical data can be provided to support viewpoints. The sources of these need to be cited in   the text.

Theory and concepts

You can support a claim or argument by reference to a theory or concepts, and then describe how this refers to a specific example in reality.

Authoritative opinions

An accepted form of evidence is the citation or quotation of a recognized authority or expert on the topic about whihc you are writing.

Examples

Examples from real life, case examples, and hypothetical examples can serve as useful evidence to clarify an argument or illustrate a viewpoint.

Quotations, testimonies, interviews

Views expressed in quotations, testimonies and interviews can be used to support your position, or emphasize a particular point. It is important to recognize that these usually come from one person and should not be overused, unless the topic calls for the presentation of this type of evidence, such as an essay or thesis that focuses on qualitative or narrative studies.

Standard English words to cite evidence

There are several standard English words used to cite evidence in order to substantiate arguments and claims. These words, often referred to as reporting words, describe the type of claim or idea that is cited from the researcher or author of the source you report in your writing.

These reporting words are verbs usually written in the past tense because they refer to opinions or research results that occurred in the past.

The 10 most frequently used reporting words are:

Believed	Found
Suggested	Investigated
Evaluated	Showed
Persuaded	Explained
Agreed	Disagreed

 

Examples:

1. Smith (2011) believed that an improved theoretical framework was required to explain the phenomenon more fully.

2. Previous studies have investigated the effects of exercise on resting blood pressure in children.

3. White (2009) explained the mechanism of the action of ultraviolet radiation on cells.

Methods for citing and describing the evidence

The table below contains various commonly used words and phrased to provide substantiation, including citing evidence, comparing views, giving examples of evidence, describing relationships between the evidence, and outlining alternative views.

Methods for presenting evidence	Examples
Cite evidence for the claim	Research findings show/indicate that...
	There is evidence to show that...
	Evidence of this can be found in....
	It is claimed that…
	This indicates that... These findings show that...
	Jones (2010) states/claims that...
	According to Holmes (2012), .....
	As Holmes (2012) has indicated, ....
Show agreement in the literature	In support of this claim...
	Most researchers agree that...
	There is general agreement that ...
	As indicated by,...
	Further to...
	The findings of Smith (2010) concur with this view.
Give examples of evidence	For example,... For instance,....
	Specifically,...
	To illustrate..... To demonstrate...
	One such occurrence...
	In this case,...On this occasion...
Describe a relationship in the evidence -cause & effect	Therefore,... Thus,... Hence,...
	Consequently,... As a consequence of...
	Accordingly,... Owing to this,....
	As a result of.... resulting in...
	For this reason... Due to this...Because of this...
	In response to...
Compare views or results	In/by comparison,...
	A comparison of….
	than... Equally,...
	In the same way,...
	Similarly,...Likewise,...Similar to....
	Whereas...
	Balanced against....
Use time in describing the evidence	Presently,... Immediately... Currently,...
	After a few hours.. soon...
	At that time... At this point...Then....
	In the meantime,.... Sometime...
	As soon as....
	Eventually...
	Later...
	Occasionally....
Describe order or sequence of the evidence	Firstly, ... At first,... To begin with...
	Secondly.., Subsequently,.. Finally,...
	Previously... Formerly... Before.. Prior to..
	Then,... Next,...
	Following... Thereafter....
	Concurrently...
	Simultaneously... at the same time...
	Later,... Afterwards,...
	Meanwhile,....In the meantime,....
	Sometime....Eventually...
Outline alternative or contrasting results, claims, propositions, or ideas	However,.... Nevertheless,... Nonetheless,...
	While.... Yet.... but...
	In contrast,...On the other hand,.....
	In opposition to...Whereas,...
	In contradiction to….
	On the contrary,...Contrary to these findings... On the other hand,....
	Despite these findings...
	A different conclusion has been drawn by...
	An alternative explanation has been proposed by...
	Differing from this.... Balanced against this.... Alternatively, it was demonstrated that…
	Alternatively,...Conversely,...A different view is...
	One could also suggest...
	One might object here that...
	Although..... In spite of... Instead....
	Even though/so... Still,...
	Despite... In spite of.. Regardless of...
	A disadvantage/drawback of this is that ...
Offer resolution for the issues with the evidence	This view appears to be mistaken...
	There is insufficient evidence to support this claim...
	Although this view is plausible and valid it is less important/less likely than....
Qualify the view, findings	Admittedly,... Despite...
	Notwithstanding...
	It is true that...
	In a sense...
Concede shortcomings in the evidence	Unfortunately,
	It is likely that...
	In spite of...
Consider the implications of the evidence	Taken together, these findings suggest that...
	This seems to suggest that...
	It is clear from this research that...
	From the evidence it follows that...
	Several conclusions can be drawn from these findings...
	Serious implications can be drawn from...