Job Aids

Evidence

The objective of evidence is to give proof about the truth or belief of an issue.

Types of evidence:

Best evidence: primary evidence, generally are original documents.  This is the strongest form of evidence.  It is the most difficult to dispute. However, be careful of what is considered primary evidence.  What may appear to be primary on the surface may not be. It is important to validate the source if there are any questions of validity.

Secondary evidence is not as solid as primary evidence.  These are often copies of original documents. Copies can be altered.

Direct evidence: proves a fact without the necessity to use presumptions or inferences.  An example is direct testimony from a witness who has observed an event.

Circumstantial evidence: does not directly prove the existence of a fact.  It does give an inference that a fact exists.  Circumstantial evidence by itself should not be used to establish a fact.

Conclusive evidence: is very strong evidence.  By itself it establishes a condition or fact.  It overbeas all other evidence.  Only one reasonable conclusion can be drawn from conclusive evidence.

Corroborative evidence: is different evidence, evidence of a different character, which when combined with other evidence will establish the fact.

Opinion evidence: is often used by expert witnesses.  Evidence should establish a fact. Opinion evidence is, as it says, the opinion of the person providing the information.  Even though experts often provide opinion evidence the opinion of every human being can be somewhat different.  Opinion evidence is often used to clarify a point for individuals less familiar with the topic.

Evidence (cont.)

Hearsay evidence: is second hand evidence.  Hearsay evidence is made by someone other than the person who actually witnessed the event.  This should not be taken by itself as the sole evidence to support a fact.  However, it can be used as an indicator to prompt further investigation.

Physical evidence: is obtained by observation, photographs, charts, graphs, or other physical representations.  A witness in the observation process can further substantiate the physical evidence.  This can help eliminate controversy about the representation of the physical evidence.

Testimonial evidence: is in the form of letters statements or notes in response to inquiries or interviews.

Documentary evidence: is documentation received by request.  They are documents related to the process being examined.  Some examples are: logs, absence records, error reports, packing lists.

Analytical evidence: this evidence results from such events as analysis recalculation, and verification.

Evidence should have the following components.

Evidence should be:

Sufficient, this means that evidence should be adequate to convince a person of appropriate knowledge of the facts.  The type of sampling and the method used should be appropriate for the objectives.

Competent: competent evidence should be the best obtainable.  Best evidence is generally from various inputs compared to each other.  In addition competent evidence should be from reliable sources. 

Relevance: relevant evidence should be related to the issued being reviewed or discussed.  For example, shipping invoices, although good evidence in some cases, may not be relevant to whether goods were received.  Relevant evidence needs to be related to the issue and must prove or disprove the condition.

Evidence and the proper application of evidence are useful tools in the Control Self-Assessment Process.  It can help establish a condition that everyone can recognize believe-in and most importantly address.