Evidence & ResearchJeffrey Miller

Marist School2015 Georgia Debate

Institutes

Goals of the Lecture

1) What is evidence?2) Why is evidence

important?3) How to successfully

research?

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WHAT IS EVIDENCE?

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What is Evidence?

• The starting point for every argument

• Arguments have three components –– Claim– Data– Warrant

• All are and should be supported by evidence.

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Functions of Evidence

DescriptivePredictiveNormative

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Good Evidence

QualifiedComparativeConclusive

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WHY IS EVIDENCE IMPORTANT?

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Necessities Created by PF

• Speech times are short – therefore efficiency is key. Evidence gives you efficient ways to make arguments.

• Topics are vague and require you to learn something new

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Huge Advantages

Topic KnowledgeEasiest Place to Improve Your

SpeakingEasiest Place to Improve

Argumentation

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HOW DO YOU SUCCESSFULLY

RESEARCH?

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Hierarchy of Research

BooksScholarly Journals

Online JournalsGovernment Documents

Major PapersBlogs?

News Aggregates

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Guide to Searches

• There is no secret search term• Begin with broad terms of art• Work towards precise terms –

keep a list of these terms• Terms need to change to fit

purpose

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Seven Keys to Research

1. Skim articles quickly2. Keep your ideas in one place3. Follow up on sources they cite 4. Read specific authors5. Find qualifications 6. Cite stuff as you go7. Know preferred search engine

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Seven Keys to Research

1. Skim articles quickly2. Keep your ideas in one place3. Follow up on sources they cite 4. Read specific authors5. Find qualifications 6. Cite stuff as you go7. Know preferred search engine

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Google Tips

Use Boolean search terms1.AND, OR, W/2.“quotations”3.filetype:pdf

Remember, keep a list of keywords

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Cutting Tips

Follow up on sources they cite!

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Unlock PDF’s

Locked pdf’s prevent copy and pasting…Unlock pdf’s at:http://www.pdfunlock.com/

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Copy/Paste Error

When PDF’s don’t copy/paste – use OneNote!

Directions:1)Open OneNote2)Insert -> Screen Clipping3)Clip the paragraph from the Image (it will auto paste into one note)4)Right click the pasted image – click on Copy Text from image5)You can now F2 into your Word

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