testimonial evidence

Examples of testimonial evidence in the following topics:

• Expert vs. Peer Testimony

  • There are two types of testimony: expert testimony and peer testimony.
  • For example, in the law, testimony is a form of evidence that is obtained from a witness who makes a solemn statement or declaration of fact.
  • There are two major types of testimony: peer testimony and expert testimony.
  • Though an expert is an authority in a particular subject, his or her testimony can certainly be called into question by other facts, evidence, or experts.
  • Peer testimony, unlike expert testimony, is given by a person who does not have expertise in the subject in question.

• Considerations for Eyewitness Testimony

  • Increasing evidence shows that memories and individual perceptions are unreliable, biased, and manipulable.
  • Eyewitness testimony has been considered a credible source in the past, but its reliability has recently come into question.
  • Research and evidence have shown that memories and individual perceptions are unreliable, often biased, and can be manipulated.
  • Analyze ways that the fallibility of memory can influence eyewitness testimonies

• Types of Supporting Materials

  • Scientific evidence is evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis.
  • Anecdotal evidence is evidence from anecdotes (stories).
  • A testimonial is when someone speaks on behalf of another idea, product, or person.
  • For example, weight loss commercials often utilize testimonials.
  • The power lies in how convincing the person giving the testimonial is.

• The Importance of Gathering Information

  • However, one person's opinion holds less weight than an opinion that is shared by other experts, supported by evidence, or validated by testimonials.
  • Find evidence, illustrations, anecdotes, testimonials, or expert opinions that support your claims.
  • Compare these two statements—the first is a personal opinion, and the second is an argument supported with evidence.
  • The second statement backs its claim up with evidence from a recent study and lists specific problems.
  • A parking garage in another city provides "concrete" evidence (pun intended) to support your argument that the structure encourages people to shop downtown.

• Deploying Evidence

  • Make sure that your evidence, be it facts, statistics, personal testimony, or other pieces of information, comes from credible sources.
  • Just how well does your evidence actually back up your argument?
  • Make sure your evidence is directly related to the points you are trying to make.
  • Likewise, your audience may have evidence of their own to contradict your line of reasoning; anticipate these contradictions and argue your point with evidence to counter their disagreements.
  • Your evidence may only skim the surface.

• Persuasive Speeches on Questions of Fact

  • To persuade an audience that the Loch Ness monster exists, a speech could cover unexplained sightings, factual evidence that many of the sightings cannot be explained, and collected testimony from people who have seen the Loch Ness monster and scientists who have studied the claims.
  • It is important to consider the evidence carefully.
  • The speaker proves the position by presenting compelling evidence to support the thesis.
  • Ethics: As a speaker you have an ethical responsibility to provide reliable, valid evidence to the audience and be aware of and avoid your own bias in the selection of the evidence which you use.
  • Explain how to present evidence to prove that a fact is true

• How to Incorporate Expert Testimony

  • Expert testimony can be incorporated after introducing a point of your argument.
  • Once you have found experts to support your ideas, you may wonder how to incorporate their testimony into your speech.
  • Expert testimony is considered supporting point; it is used to support the main and subpoints of your speech.
  • Therefore, expert testimony is commonly introduced after a claim is made.
  • State why it is beneficial to incorporate expert testimony into a speech

• The Collins Case

  • The prosecutor called upon for testimony an instructor in mathematics from a local state college.
  • The basic fallacy results from misunderstanding conditional probability, and neglecting the prior odds of a defendant being guilty before that evidence was introduced.
  • When a prosecutor has collected some evidence (for instance, a DNA match) and has an expert testify that the probability of finding this evidence if the accused were innocent is tiny, the fallacy occurs if it is concluded that the probability of the accused being innocent must be comparably tiny.
  • If the DNA match is used to confirm guilt that is otherwise suspected, then it is indeed strong evidence.
  • However, if the DNA evidence is the sole evidence against the accused, and the accused was picked out of a large database of DNA profiles, then the odds of the match being made at random may be reduced.

• Defining Credibility

  • Credibility is both objective, or based on facts and evidence, and subjective, based on opinions and feelings.
  • Credentials include relevant degrees, certifications, testimonials, recommendations, work experience, volunteer experience, and informally, other types of personal experience.

• The Coal Strike of 1902

  • The commissioners then held hearings over the next three months, taking testimony from 558 witnesses, including 240 for the striking miners, 153 for nonunion mineworkers, 154 for the operators, and eleven called by the Commission itself .
  • Although the commissioners heard some evidence of terrible conditions, they concluded that the "moving spectacle of horrors" represented only a small number of cases.
  • Darrow, for his part, summed up the pages of testimony of mistreatment he had obtained in the soaring rhetoric for which he was famous for saying: "we are working for democracy, for humanity, for the future, for the day will come too late for us to see it or know it or receive its benefits, but which will come, and will remember our struggles, our triumphs, our defeats, and the words which we spake. "