EVIDENCE chart
Carol's expanded and adapted EVIDENCE chart is shown below.
She added the terms "Objective" and "Subjective" to the "Direct" and "Indirect" categories because the subjectivity of the evidence is extremely important in helping to determine its likely accuracy.
She also listed two different types of negative evidence. This subject is discussed in the adjacent box.
To weight our EVIDENCE in order to separate fact from fiction, we lean to the left. The most reliable EVIDENCE is found in the far left column. The further we move to the right, the less reliable the evidence is likely to be.
Even with conclusions reached through negative evidence, it's worth looking for a piece of direct or indirect evidence that supports the conclusion, because the absence of an entry in a source or the absence of information within an entry could merely reflect a problem with record-keeping.
If you require more detailed explanations for any category or example, contact Carol and she will add the necessary description to this page. She accepts that if you are uncertain or confused, others will be as well. If you can add new categories or additional examples to this chart, contact Carol as well. She is happy for these charts to be a work-in-progress.
carol@writingfabulousfamilyhistories. com
What is "Negative Evidence"?
The US genealogy community defines negative evidence as "Evidence arising from an absence of specific information in extant records where that information could be expected and where that absence suggests an answer to a research question." (Using Indirect and Negative Evidence to Prove Unrecorded Events by Thomas Jones).
For example, in a marriage entry, if a mark (X) isn't listed against the name of the bride, it's "negative evidence" indicating that she was literate.
Since humans comprehend positives more easily than negatives, let's rephrase this: "The discovery of absent or missing information can be positively helpful when it answers an important research question (such as whether our ancestor was literate or not)."
Other disciplines recognise a second type of negative evidence: "Negative evidence helps prove that something did not occur. University registrars routinely use negative evidence when they run a transcript check to prove that someone never got a degree at their university." (Edge.org).
While some genealogists argue that this example is merely a "negative search" or a "negative finding", in some situations this type of situation is clearly "negative evidence". For example, the failure to find a marriage certificate or church register entry when other evidence suggests that a husband and wife weren't married is negative evidence confirming that they weren't in fact married.
Thus, these two subcategories are included in the Negative Evidence section of the EVIDENCE chart.
