fbpx
Wikipedia

Anecdotal evidence

February 16, 2024

Anecdotal evidence is evidence based only on personal observation, collected in a casual or non-systematic manner.

When used in advertising or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal reports are often called a testimonial, which are highly regulated[1] 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.[2][3] Similarly, psychologists have found that due to cognitive bias people are more likely to remember notable or unusual examples rather than typical examples.[4] 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.[5] Misuse of anecdotal evidence in the form of argument from anecdote is an informal fallacy[6] 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.

Scientific context edit

See also: Scientific evidence

In science, definitions of anecdotal evidence include:

  • "casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis"[7]
  • "information passed along by word-of-mouth but not documented scientifically"[8]
  • "evidence that comes from an individual experience. This may be the experience of a person with an illness or the experience of a practitioner based on one or more patients outside a formal research study."[9]
  • "the report of an experience by one or more persons that is not objectively documented or an experience or outcome that occurred outside of a controlled environment"[10]

Anecdotal evidence can have varying degrees of formality. For instance, in medicine, published anecdotal evidence by a trained observer (a doctor) is called a case report, and is subjected to formal peer review.[11] Although such evidence is not seen as conclusive, researchers may sometimes regard it as an invitation to more rigorous scientific study of the phenomenon in question.[12] For instance, one study found that 35 of 47 anecdotal reports of drug side-effects were later sustained as "clearly correct."[13]

Anecdotal evidence is considered the least certain type of scientific information.[14] Researchers may use anecdotal evidence for suggesting new hypotheses, but never as validating evidence.[15][16]

If an anecdote illustrates a desired conclusion rather than a logical conclusion, it is considered a faulty or hasty generalization.[17]

In any case where some factor affects the probability of an outcome, rather than uniquely determining it, selected individual cases to prove nothing; e.g. "my grandfather smoked two packs a day until he died at 90" and "my sister never smoked but died of lung cancer". Anecdotes often refer to the exception, rather than the rule: "Anecdotes are useless precisely because they may point to idiosyncratic responses."[18]

In medicine, anecdotal evidence is also subject to placebo effects.[19]

See also edit

 
Look up anecdotal evidence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References edit

  1. ^ "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" (PDF). FTC.gov.
  2. ^ Weiten, Wayne (2010). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. p. 75. ISBN 9780495601975.
  3. ^ Goodwin, C. James (2009). Research in Psychology: Methods and Design. John Wiley & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 9780470522783.
  4. ^ Gibson, Rhonda; Zillman, Dolf (1994). "Exaggerated Versus Representative Exemplification in News Reports: Perception of Issues and Personal Consequences". Communication Research. 21 (5): 603–624. doi:10.1177/009365094021005003. S2CID 145050644.
  5. ^ Schwarcz, Joe; Barrett, Stephen. . Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Fallacies | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy". www.iep.utm.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  7. ^ "anecdotal". YourDictionary.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative - Glossary - NWSRI". www.nechakowhitesturgeon.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  9. ^ "Anecdotal evidence - Smart Health Choices - NCBI Bookshelf". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  10. ^ "No Love for Anecdotal Evidence". NeuroLogica Blog. 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  11. ^ Jenicek, M. (1999). Clinical Case Reporting in Evidence-Based Medicine. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann. p. 117. ISBN 0-7506-4592-X.
  12. ^ Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2001). "In Defense of Case Reports and Case Series". Annals of Internal Medicine. 134 (4): 330–334. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-134-4-200102200-00017. PMID 11182844. S2CID 867759.
  13. ^ Venning, G. R. (1982). "Validity of anecdotal reports of suspected adverse drug reactions: the problem of false alarms". Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 284 (6311): 249–52. doi:10.1136/bmj.284.6311.249. PMC 1495801. PMID 0006799125.
  14. ^ Riffenburgh, R. H. (1999). Statistics in Medicine. Boston: Academic Press. pp. 196. ISBN 0-12-588560-1.
  15. ^ Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Lynn, Steven Jay; Lohr, Jeffrey M. (2014). "Initial Thoughts, Reflections, and Considerations". Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology (2 ed.). New York: Guilford Publications. p. 9. ISBN 9781462517510. Testimonial and anecdotal evidence can be quite useful in the early stages of scientific investigation. Nevertheless, such evidence is almost always much more helpful in the context of discovery (i.e., hypothesis generation) than in the context of justification (i.e., hypothesis testing [...]).
  16. ^ Mebius, A. (2022). "Against 'instantaneous' expertise". Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine. 17 (11): 11. doi:10.1186/s13010-022-00123-3. PMC 9490894. PMID 36127693. S2CID 252384889.
  17. ^ Thompson B. Fallacies. April 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Sicherer, Scott H. (1999). "Food allergy: When and how to perform oral food challenges". Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 10 (4): 226–234. doi:10.1034/j.1399-3038.1999.00040.x. PMID 10678717. S2CID 1484234.
  19. ^ "Evaluating Treatment Products". MedicineNet.

February 16, 2024
anecdotal, evidence, evidence, based, only, personal, observation, collected, casual, systematic, manner, when, used, advertising, promotion, product, service, idea, anecdotal, reports, often, called, testimonial, which, highly, regulated, some, jurisdictions,. Anecdotal evidence is evidence based only on personal observation collected in a casual or non systematic manner When used in advertising or promotion of a product service or idea anecdotal reports are often called a testimonial which are highly regulated 1 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 2 3 Similarly psychologists have found that due to cognitive bias people are more likely to remember notable or unusual examples rather than typical examples 4 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 5 Misuse of anecdotal evidence in the form of argument from anecdote is an informal fallacy 6 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 Scientific context editSee also Scientific evidence In science definitions of anecdotal evidence include casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis 7 information passed along by word of mouth but not documented scientifically 8 evidence that comes from an individual experience This may be the experience of a person with an illness or the experience of a practitioner based on one or more patients outside a formal research study 9 the report of an experience by one or more persons that is not objectively documented or an experience or outcome that occurred outside of a controlled environment 10 Anecdotal evidence can have varying degrees of formality For instance in medicine published anecdotal evidence by a trained observer a doctor is called a case report and is subjected to formal peer review 11 Although such evidence is not seen as conclusive researchers may sometimes regard it as an invitation to more rigorous scientific study of the phenomenon in question 12 For instance one study found that 35 of 47 anecdotal reports of drug side effects were later sustained as clearly correct 13 Anecdotal evidence is considered the least certain type of scientific information 14 Researchers may use anecdotal evidence for suggesting new hypotheses but never as validating evidence 15 16 If an anecdote illustrates a desired conclusion rather than a logical conclusion it is considered a faulty or hasty generalization 17 In any case where some factor affects the probability of an outcome rather than uniquely determining it selected individual cases to prove nothing e g my grandfather smoked two packs a day until he died at 90 and my sister never smoked but died of lung cancer Anecdotes often refer to the exception rather than the rule Anecdotes are useless precisely because they may point to idiosyncratic responses 18 In medicine anecdotal evidence is also subject to placebo effects 19 See also edit nbsp Look up anecdotal evidence in Wiktionary the free dictionary Anecdotal value Argument from ignorance Informal fallacy Confirmation bias Bias confirming existing attitudes Correlation does not imply causation Refutation of a logical fallacy Empirical evidence Knowledge acquired by means of the senses Eyewitness testimony Account a witness gives in the courtroom of what they observed Fallacy Argument that uses faulty reasoning Faulty generalization Conclusion made on the basis of one or few instances of a phenomenon Hasty generalization Conclusion made on the basis of one or few instances of a phenomenonPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets List of fallacies List of faulty argument types Lived experience Phenomenological concept Post hoc ergo propter hoc Fallacy of assumption of causality based on sequence of events Presumption of guilt Presumption that a person is guilty of a crime Scientific method Interplay between observation experiment and theory in scienceReferences edit Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising PDF FTC gov Weiten Wayne 2010 Psychology Themes and Variations Wadsworth Cengage Learning p 75 ISBN 9780495601975 Goodwin C James 2009 Research in Psychology Methods and Design John Wiley amp Sons p 25 ISBN 9780470522783 Gibson Rhonda Zillman Dolf 1994 Exaggerated Versus Representative Exemplification in News Reports Perception of Issues and Personal Consequences Communication Research 21 5 603 624 doi 10 1177 009365094021005003 S2CID 145050644 Schwarcz Joe Barrett Stephen Some Notes on the Nature of Science Archived from the original on 20 September 2012 Retrieved 16 June 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Fallacies Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy www iep utm edu Retrieved 2020 04 07 anecdotal YourDictionary com Retrieved 17 June 2019 Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative Glossary NWSRI www nechakowhitesturgeon org Retrieved 2020 04 07 Anecdotal evidence Smart Health Choices NCBI Bookshelf www ncbi nlm nih gov Retrieved 2020 04 07 No Love for Anecdotal Evidence NeuroLogica Blog 2007 03 08 Retrieved 2020 04 07 Jenicek M 1999 Clinical Case Reporting in Evidence Based Medicine Oxford Butterworth Heinemann p 117 ISBN 0 7506 4592 X Vandenbroucke J P 2001 In Defense of Case Reports and Case Series Annals of Internal Medicine 134 4 330 334 doi 10 7326 0003 4819 134 4 200102200 00017 PMID 11182844 S2CID 867759 Venning G R 1982 Validity of anecdotal reports of suspected adverse drug reactions the problem of false alarms Br Med J Clin Res Ed 284 6311 249 52 doi 10 1136 bmj 284 6311 249 PMC 1495801 PMID 0006799125 Riffenburgh R H 1999 Statistics in Medicine Boston Academic Press pp 196 ISBN 0 12 588560 1 Lilienfeld Scott O Lynn Steven Jay Lohr Jeffrey M 2014 Initial Thoughts Reflections and Considerations Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology 2 ed New York Guilford Publications p 9 ISBN 9781462517510 Testimonial and anecdotal evidence can be quite useful in the early stages of scientific investigation Nevertheless such evidence is almost always much more helpful in the context of discovery i e hypothesis generation than in the context of justification i e hypothesis testing Mebius A 2022 Against instantaneous expertise Philosophy Ethics and Humanities in Medicine 17 11 11 doi 10 1186 s13010 022 00123 3 PMC 9490894 PMID 36127693 S2CID 252384889 Thompson B Fallacies Archived April 20 2006 at the Wayback Machine Sicherer Scott H 1999 Food allergy When and how to perform oral food challenges Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 10 4 226 234 doi 10 1034 j 1399 3038 1999 00040 x PMID 10678717 S2CID 1484234 Evaluating Treatment Products MedicineNet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Anecdotal evidence amp oldid 1187835513, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.