Definitions for anecdotal evidence
anec·do·tal ev·i·dence

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. anecdotal evidencenoun

   A limited selection of examples which support or refute an argument, but which are not supported by scientific or statistical analysis.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Anecdotal evidence

   Anecdotal evidence is evidence from anecdotes: evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily or entirely on personal testimony. The term is sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony which are uncorroborated by objective, independent evidence such as notarized documentation, photographs, audio-visual recordings, etc. When used in advertising or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal reports are often called a testimonial, which are highly regulated or banned in some jurisdictions. When compared to other types of evidence, anecdotal evidence is generally regarded as limited in value due to a number of potential weaknesses, but may be considered within the scope of scientific method as some anecdotal evidence can be both empirical and verifiable, e.g. in the use of case studies in medicine. Other anecdotal evidence, however, does not qualify as scientific evidence, because its nature prevents it from being investigated by the scientific method. Where only one or a few anecdotes are presented, there is a larger chance that they may be unreliable due to cherry-picked or otherwise non-representative samples of typical cases. Similarly, psychologists have found that due to cognitive bias people are more likely to remember notable or unusual examples rather than typical examples. Thus, even when accurate, anecdotal evidence is not necessarily representative of a typical experience. Accurate determination of whether an anecdote is typical requires statistical evidence. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is an informal fallacy and is sometimes referred to as the "person who" fallacy ("I know a person who..."; "I know of a case where..." etc.) which places undue weight on experiences of close peers which may not be typical. In all forms of anecdotal evidence its reliability by objective independent assessment may be in doubt. This is a consequence of the informal way the information is gathered, documented, presented, or any combination of the three. The term is often used to describe evidence for which there is an absence of documentation, leaving verification dependent on the credibility of the party presenting the evidence.

WikidataRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. Anecdotal evidence

   The expression anecdotal evidence refers to evidence from anecdotes. Because of the small sample, there is a larger chance that it may be unreliable due to cherry-picked or otherwise non-representative samples of typical cases. Anecdotal evidence is considered dubious support of a claim; it is accepted only in lieu of more solid evidence. This is true regardless of the veracity of individual claims. The term is often used in contrast to scientific evidence, such as evidence-based medicine, which are types of formal accounts. Some anecdotal evidence does not qualify as scientific evidence because its nature prevents it from being investigated using the scientific method. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is an informal fallacy and is sometimes referred to as the "person who" fallacy. Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily representative of a "typical" experience; in fact, human cognitive biases such as confirmation bias mean that exceptional or confirmatory anecdotes are much more likely to be remembered. Accurate determination of whether an anecdote is "typical" requires statistical evidence.

How to pronounce anecdotal evidence?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say anecdotal evidence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of anecdotal evidence in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of anecdotal evidence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of anecdotal evidence in a Sentence

1. Lake Ingle:

   You can’t say that anecdotal evidence is fact, my professor pretty much just tried to shut me up because she was just letting women speak. I brought up the fact that biologists don’t agree that there’s more than two genders and I said the wage gap she’s referring to – 77 cents on the dollar – that even the New York Times debunked that.

2. Duncan Weir:

   This survey is the first step for us in examining, in detail, the wide range of issues currently affecting participation in golf, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence available but we conducted the survey to obtain accurate data on how much of an issue pace of play is for golfers and to give us an insight into what they see as the main factors contributing to slow rounds.

3. Simon Talbot:

   It is definitely higher than 12 percent, perhaps around the late teens or even the lows twenties, but that is a guess based on anecdotal evidence.

4. Flavia Mwangovya:

   Anecdotal evidence, including various reports from police and activists, indicate that in some communities there has been an increase, including girls being subject to FGM en masse.

5. Evan Karson:

   Anecdotal evidence suggests that bottlenecks are not easing, and survey evidence indicates that many businesses anticipate disruptions to last throughout 2022.

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Anecdotal_Evidence
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotal_Evidence
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=anecdotal evidence