Evidence Cards Library Research Internet Resources Play Books & Preparation
Evidence Cards
- What Is A Card? Traditionally in policy debate, evidence used during a round was written on a 3x5 or 4x6 inch index card and was thereby labeled a "card." Today, evidence cards come in a variety of formats and some debaters continue to use the traditional 3x5 index card. Basically, an evidence card contains a single quotation, a specific set of facts or statistics, or other information that has been obtained from an authoritative source.
- What Is A Good Evidence Card? Just
about anything can compose a "good" evidence card as long as the information is
credible and supportive of a specific position or argument. In order to be credible
(trustworthy) the source of the information should be obtained from -
- A reliable (responsible) publisher, magazine or newspaper. Information from a tabloid or an obscure newspaper is generally not considered credible.
- An author that is qualified as an expert (specialist) in the specific field being discussed and/or an author who is well known and generally accepted as an authority in a particular area, e.g. Ralph Waldo Emerson in the area of German Transcendentalism and American Romanticism.
- What Must An Evidence Card Contain? In order to be considered reliable and to withstand an evidence test, a card should contain the following information in written form: the author, the author's qualifications, the complete source (i.e. magazine), the date of publication, and the page number.
- Taglines? A tagline is a sentence
that briefly summarizes the evidence or it may be a statement that the evidence supports
as being true.
- Stringent Guidelines Reduce Possible Negative Effects To Virtually Nil.
- BIO reports, "Following initial concerns that genetic engineering could give rise to infectious organisms ... a stringent set of guidelines was drawn up by the government and leading scientists in the mid-1970s ... While it is not possible to eliminate completely the risk of a genetic engineering accident, the experience of the last ten or so years of research has indicated that the chances of constructing a disease-producing organism by accident are very remote... Provided such vigilance is maintained, mankind can look forward to a wide range of exciting prospects that stem from biotechnology." ("Biotechnology in Perspective." Washington, D.C.: Biotechnology Industry Organization, 1990 (NP))
- Availability: If a debater (or judge) asks to see an evidence card during c-x, between speeches, or at the end of the round, a debater is required to make that card available - if evidence is used in a speech, it must be in written form.
- How Do I Organize My Cards? Again, there are variety of methods. I suggest in a playbook form (see section on Playbook and Preparation).
Library Research
- Initial Research: A generalized search for articles related to the proposition should be completed before an in-depth analysis is initiated. General articles, i.e. magazines, should be gathered, read, and discussed in order to gain an overall understanding of the importance of the topic in the "real world." Some of the information found during this search may be "usable" for debating but most of it should be considered simple background information.
- Specific Research: Once the initial
search has been completed and discussed, an in-depth search for specific information can
be initiated. During this search, a debater will be looking for two types of information:
- Pragmatic: facts, statistics, details, and specific information related to both affirmative and negative aspects of the topic from experts in the particular field. Depending on type of information retained within the high school library, many debaters will need to travel to a university or large public library in order to obtain information from trade related journals. i.e. Journal Of Modern Medicine, abstracts, i.e. CRS Brief: Impact of Immigration on U.S. Labor, or other specialized publications, i.e. U.S. State Department Dispatch.
- Philosophical: theories, explanations, and essays on topics related to values and criteria for both the affirmative and negative positions. Again, depending on the level of service provided by the high school library, a debater may need to travel to a larger facility in order to locate specialized encyclopedias, journals, or periodicals related to specific areas contained within a topic.
- Debate Briefs: Buying debate briefs offer an advantage to debaters in remote, isolated areas who have limited access to a well-equipped library because it allows them to gain information otherwise not accessible. Debate briefs also offer an advantage in that a debater can check his own progress and research to "see if he's on the right track." A disadvantage of using debate briefs is that students frequently become dependent on someone else's train of thought and fail to develop their research and thinking skills independently.
- Method Of Research: In general,
debaters may have one of two goals in mind while they are completing their research:
- to find information that will support their particular point of view and position, or
- to find information in order to develop a point of view and position.
A debater who seeks support for his particular point of view will generally find that support somewhere; but, that debater may very well suffer from tunnel vision as a debate season progresses. The wise debater will seek information from a variety of sources, become well informed on all aspects of the topic, and then formulate a position based on the best possible course of action available.
Internet Resources
Surprisingly, the vast potential resources of modern technology have yet to be exploited by the debate world even though debaters may be able to profit more from advanced technology than any other single group in the United States. Through the use of the Gopher system, I was able to locate, read, and download into my computer a variety of sources on ethical considerations for biotechnology. In a matter of thirty minutes, I had obtained sufficient information to construct an affirmative and negative sample case for this handbook.
- What Is The Internet? The internet is a worldwide system of computer networks coupled to each other over telephone connections. Each individual computer network allows individuals from other networks to enter their computer system, explore their resources, and retrieve information and documents. This system was established in order to facilitate the sharing of information.
- Who Is Connected To This System? The system is vast, huge, large, tremendous - it's big, O.K. Most major universities (U.S. and foreign), government agencies, and numerous private and commercial companies have networks that are available to internet users.
- How Do I Access The Internet? Most school districts have access to the Internet through TENET, Texas Educational Network. Private individuals can access the Internet through local gateways such as Prodigy, Compuserve, American On Line, etc. basically, what is needed is a computer, a modem, a telephone line, and the software that enables one computer to talk to another. Most computers purchased today are packaged with this capability.
- Once I'm Connected What Can I Do? There are a number of search tools available to help locate information on the Internet; contact your Librarian for assistance.
- How Do I Learn How To Access The Internet? In most school districts there is a teacher who is designated as the TENET trainer who is responsible for teaching teachers how to use the Texas Educational Network - this teacher would be the best source for finding out how a debater could learn to use TENET. Commercial Internet gateways such as Prodigy and America On Line advertise that their systems are "user friendly" and relatively inexpensive - a debater who cannot gain access through their school district may seek assistance from one of these services. Another source would be a local computer service - several have begun to offer their own gateways to the Internet.
Play Books & Preparation
- Case Variety: For any given proposition, the variety of specific cases will be incalculable. Debaters, therefore, must prepare a wide range of generic (general) arguments and specific evidence in order to flexibly respond to each particular case. Many debaters drag large boxes, tubs, and stack of books with them during a tournament in hopes of never being caught off-guard. I have always marveled at their dedication but have also wondered how they find information from those stacks of papers and files. There are other ways.
- Debate Materials: Since a value debater only has three minutes prep time during a round, he must be able to locate arguments and evidence quickly. One effective method is the use of a play booklet. Play booklets organize information into compact, indexed notebooks which enable a debater to locate and retrieve information quickly. Debaters who use this method carry three one-inch notebooks - an affirmative, a negative, and a generic playbook.
- Play Booklets: The affirmative and
negative play books are divided into three sections - case shells, prepared arguments, and
supplemental evidence.
- Case Shells - Case shells are composed of outlines of the stock issues and organizations that will be used in each speech. A debater may include in these outlines a brief introduction and transition between the stock issues. During an actual debate, case specific arguments will be plugged into the shells and the debater presents his position following the shell format. The affirmative construction, naturally, contains the entire contents of the first speech. Debaters may choose to develop a number of different shells in order to respond to different needs that may develop during a round. Case shells are particularly useful for beginning debaters who may become confused about what they are supposed to do and in what order they are supposed to do it.
- Prepared Arguments - When preparing an affirmative and negative position, a debater will discover a variety of viewpoints on the topic. Some of these points of view will support while other will contradict his position. As each is encountered, the debater should develop these perspectives into arguments that will either (1) provide backup support for his case or (2) provide a foundation for attacks on opponent's cases. As the debate season progresses, these arguments can be refined and further arguments added.
- Supplemental Evidence - Information compiled from research, debate briefs, and other sources that has been used or most likely will be used should be placed on cards, provided taglines, organized, and indexed. Debaters frequently experience a frustrating feeling when they encounter a situation where they need a specific card but cannot locate it. (Evidence cards are actually printed on paper 8½ by 11 in size with four or five cards per sheet.)
- The Generic Playbook: Information and cards that have been gathered, sorted, and organized, but have only a remote chance of being used in a round are placed in a third generic notebook. This third notebook may also consist of a particular debate brief that has attached itself to a debater.
- Word Processors: In so much as possible, all shells, arguments, and supplemental evidence should be typed into a word processor. When refinements and additions are made to the play booklet only the new material need be added and the index updated (many modern wordprocessors will automatically generate a table of contents and index). Generally, students develop one play booklet among themselves, contribute arguments and cards, make modifications after a tournament, and then print out an updated version of the booklet before each tournament. Cutting and pasting will work, but it may be difficult to insert a new card in between two existing cards.
- Organization: Regardless of the format used to carry debate materials, a debater must organize that material extensively - he must be able to find it before he can use it. A suggested method includes dividing information into affirmative and negative fields, then dividing it into stock issues, and then alphabetically. Since some sub-topics may contain between thirty and forty cards, dividing the information into stock issues allows a debater to locate information that is useful under a particular situation instead of being puzzled over which piece would be suitable. (Please note, just because an evidence card is labeled "Affirmative" doesn't mean that it can't be used in a negative shell-be willing to be flexible and adapt as situations change.)
Research Review
- In order for a piece of evidence to be considered credible, the source of the information should be obtained from xxxxx and xxxxx.
- What information must an evidence card contain? (List 5 items)
- What is a tagline?
- During the initial research, for what type of information is a debater looking?
- When conducting specific research, for what type of pragmatic information will the debater be searching?
- When conducting specific research, for what type of philosophical information will the debater be searching?
- What is a disadvantage to using a prepared debate brief that has been purchased?
- What is the Internet? And, how can a debater learn how to access its resources?
- What is the purpose of organizing and indexing evidence?