CHAPTER 6
HOW DO I PROVE MY ARGUMENT?
True or False
6-1 Evidence is information taken from fact or opinion material used to establish the
probable truth of a claim.
6-2 The value of the five-volume set of the Library of Congress Subject Headings is that
they contain the precise terms to look under when searching for books and indexes to
most periodicals.
6-3 The difference between The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and The
Applied Science and Technology Index is that the former catalogs scholarly journals and
special interest publications while the latter catalogs popular periodicals.
6-4 Many newspapers make current and back issues available online that are searchable
by keyword. The difference between searching by keyword and searching by subject is
that the vocabulary in a keyword search is totally free. You can search for any word, not
just those contained in the Library of Congress Subject Heading system.
6-5 Examples are detailed accounts that describe or report events or phenomena.
6-7 Factual proof is always grounded in experience, either one’s own or that of someone
6-8 Examples, illustrations, and statistics are forms of factual evidence.
6-9 In evaluating examples and illustrations, we must be concerned with the recency of
observation and the attitude of the observer.
6-10 Artifacts are numerical representations of information about people, events, and
6-11 Statistical evidence need not meet the test of having come from a reliable source.
6-12 Artifacts are an exhibit of objects, photographs, diagrams, or recordings.
6-13 Premises are factual claims that are so widely accepted they have the status of
“fact”.
6-14 Laboratory experiments differ from field experiments in that they afford the
6-15 The credibility of scientific evidence derives from the rigor of the scientific method
6-16 Statements that interpret or evaluate factual information made by an expert in a
6-17 Evidence from opinion is accepted by an audience when they believe the “expert” is
6-18 Because opinion evidence is based on the interpretation and evaluation of facts by
6-19 When you are excerpting specific facts and opinions you will use to construct your
arguments, it is important to include information about the source it came from (e.g.
author, author’s qualifications, title, date of publication, page number).
6-20 When you excerpt specific facts and opinions you will use to construct your
arguments from cybersources, information about the source it comes from should include
the URL and the date you recorded the information since Internet sites can vanish or
Multiple Choice
6-1 Why is the library potentially a better source of information than the Internet?
(a) Because it is better organized.
(b) Because it probably contains more accurate information.
(c) Because it has historical as well as current information.
6-2 Tracings, which appear toward the bottom of a card in the library’s physical card
catalog or electronic record, or the Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
in a book itself are valuable to look at because they provide you with information on
(a) other terms, besides the one you used, that the book could be found under.
(b) who has checked this book out most recently.
(c) other books by this author.
(d) All of the above
6-3 A source of information which provides a comprehensive treatment of subjects but
can become quickly outdated is
(a) the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
(b) books.
(c) periodicals.
(d) newspapers.
6-4 Which of the following indexes does NOT catalog scholarly journals and special
interest publications.
(a) General Science Index
(b) Humanities Index
(c) Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
(d) Social Science Index
6-5 Which of the following is NOT a test to be used in assessing the reliability of
examples and illustrations?
(a) Data accuracy.
(b) Things will continue in the future as they have in the past.
(c) The attitude of the observer.
(d) The originality of the observation.
6-6 When a portion, or sample, of a population of people, events, or phenomena of a
particular kind are observed, the resulting statistical data is termed
(a) descriptive.
(b) inferential.
(c) unambiguous.
(d) methodological.
6-7 The reliability of the source of information is one test to perform when assessing the
reliability of
(a) artifacts.
(b) examples and illustrations.
(c) premises.
(d) statistics.
6-8 __________ are tested by having the audience employ their own senses for
verification.
(a) Statistics
(b) Premises
(c) Artifacts
(d) Examples
6-9 __________ are that form of factual evidence which is accepted on the basis of
uniform patterns of experience.
(a) Statistics
(b) Premises
(c) Artifacts
(d) Examples
6-10 In scientific evidence, the variable which is hypothesized to produce changes in
another variable is the
(a) dependent variable.
(b) hypothesized variable.
(c) independent variable.
(d) nuisance variable.
6-11 Scientific evidence must meet the test of
(a) source reliability.
(b) statistical accuracy in data collection.
(c) comparing things that are really comparable.
(d) All of the above
6-12 What test of evidence must scientific evidence must meet?
(a) The generalizability of settings.
(b) The generalizability of subjects.
(c) The consistency with other findings.
(d) All of the above
6-13 An audience will accept the opinion of an uncredentialed source
(a) when the opinion was expressed recently.
(b) when they view the opinion as expressing a premise.
(c) if the opinion is internally consistent.
(d) under no circumstances.
6-14 What test of evidence must opinion evidence meet?
(a) The source must be a qualified expert in the field by training or background.
(b) The source must be relatively unbiased.
(c) There must be a reliable factual basis for the opinion.
(d) All of the above
6-15 Experimental observations, statistics, expert opinion statements, premises, or
artifacts, are common sources of
(a) claims.
(b) evidence.
(c) warrants.
(d) propositions.
6-16 The type of evidence used as grounds in the argument stated above is
(a) an example.
(b) a premise.
(c) an opinion.
(d) a scientific report.
6-17 The type of evidence used as backing in the argument stated above is
(a) an example.
(b) a premise.
(c) an opinion.
(d) a scientific report.
6-18 “Offensive linemen now average nearly 315 pounds—65 more pounds than they
did 30 years ago” is
(a) an example.
(b) a statistic.
(c) an opinion.
(d) a scientific report.
6-19 Professor of Neurology at Boston University, Dr. Ann McKee statement, “when
helmets clash, the head decelerates instantly, yet the brain continues to lurch forward, like
a driver who jams the brakes on. Even though the skull is protected by a helmet, the brain
itself is still in motion and a concussion is often the result” is
(a) an example.
(b) a statistic.
(c) an opinion.
6-20 In assessing the reliability of Dr. McKee’s statement we would be concerned about
(a) the recency of the observation.
(b) the comparability of units being compared.
(c) the expertise of the source.
(d) the generalizability of settings and subjects.