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Evidence Check

Audience: Students and faculty

Use this before accepting a claim or recommendation.

Four-step check

  1. Source and method: Where did the claim come from, and how was it generated?
  2. Units and boundary: Are units, basis, and boundary conditions explicit and consistent?
  3. Omissions: What was omitted, and could that omission alter the decision?
  4. Independent corroboration: Does at least one separate line of evidence support this claim?

Good vs weak application

Weak: "The simulation output looks reasonable."

Strong: "Simulation predicts 18% duty reduction. Units were reconciled to kW on the same basis, boundary excludes startup transients, and a hand estimate predicts 15-20% reduction, so the claim is provisionally accepted."

Notebook-ready checklist

  • Claim under review:
  • Source/method:
  • Units/boundary check result:
  • Omission identified:
  • Independent corroboration:
  • Decision impact:

Connects to rubric criteria

  • Reasoning Rubric: Assumption quality, Quantitative discipline, Verification trace

Use with