A March of Evidence

Evidence is the information that establishes the credibility of an argument. Most popularly, the term evidence is associated with legal proceedings, but it is a general term used in many situations. There are at least 31 terms that describe types of evidence (see figure). Some characterize the forms of evidence (e.g., physical evidence as opposed to testimony evidence), some characterize the effectiveness of evidence (e.g., exculpatory versus insufficient evidence), and some characterize the role of evidence (e.g., corroborating evidence versus conflicting evidence).
The important thing about evidence is that every argument relies on that information. It may be called something different, like background or premises, or be embodied in data and metadata. But, it must be made clear. Without it, there can be no argument and no validity to the results. Consequently, in evaluating a statistical presentation, be sure you understand the evidence.