Evidence ladder
Use the strongest evidence practical for the decision. A higher class can still be stale, irrelevant, or too broad for the nearby claim.
- Direct current observation — reproduced behavior, command output, inspected artifact, or measured result.
- Authoritative primary source — official specification, dataset, law, documentation, first-party repository, or original research.
- Independent corroboration — competent sources with distinct underlying evidence.
- Explicit inference — a conclusion whose premises and assumptions are visible in the map.
- Weak proxy — related metric, benchmark, anecdote, or test that does not exercise the exact claim.
- Unsupported assertion — confidence, repetition, or polished language without evidence.
Source-region test
Before creating an evidence node, answer:
- What exact sentence, table, command output, page, section, or line range is being relied on?
- Does it entail the node text, or merely discuss the same subject?
- Is its date and version appropriate for the claim?
- Is the evidence independent, or copied from another cited source?
- What context would reverse or narrow the interpretation?
If the exact region cannot be located, create an unknown node instead of an
evidence node.
Edge test
| Relation | Use when | Common counterfeit |
|---|---|---|
supports |
The source increases reason to accept the target | Topical similarity |
contradicts |
Both cannot hold under the same scope and conditions | Different dates or populations |
qualifies |
The source narrows scope, strength, or applicability | Hiding inconvenient evidence |
missing |
A specific absent fact blocks or could reverse the target | Generic “more research needed” |