C1 | Vocabulary | 12 min

Research and Evidence

12 collocations and verbs for talking about evidence, with the small differences in meaning.

Expression	Meaning	Example
compelling evidence	evidence so strong that it is hard to doubt	The lawyer presented compelling evidence: three independent witnesses and a video.
anecdotal evidence	evidence based on personal stories rather than systematic research	Anecdotal evidence suggests that commuters are happier at work, but nobody has measured it.
a growing body of evidence	more and more research pointing in the same direction	A growing body of evidence suggests that early intervention helps.
a tentative conclusion	a cautious conclusion that may change if more evidence appears	The data are incomplete, so any conclusion must remain tentative.
robust findings	results that stay reliable when a study is repeated or tested in different ways	The model produced robust findings even when we changed the starting assumptions.
inconclusive	not leading to a clear answer	Earlier studies were inconclusive because they used different methods.
corroborate	confirm a claim with extra evidence from another source	Bank records corroborate her account of events.
substantiate (adjective: unsubstantiated)	support a claim with proof (unsubstantiated = not supported by proof)	She was unable to substantiate her claim that the figures had been altered. Unsubstantiated rumors spread quickly online.
undermine	weaken the basis or credibility of something	The leaked emails undermined public trust in the agency.
call into question	make people doubt whether something is true or reliable	Her interview calls into question the official version of events.
account for	explain the cause of something, or make up a part of a total	Rising rents account for most of the increase in living costs.
underpin	form the basis of something; support it from below	Trust underpins every successful partnership.

Nuance

• corroborate vs substantiate: corroborate means a second source confirms a claim; substantiate means you provide proof that a claim is true.
• undermine vs call into question: undermine means weaken something so that it is less strong or less trusted; call into question means make people doubt whether it is true.
• anecdotal vs inconclusive: anecdotal describes the kind of evidence; inconclusive describes the result of a study.

____ a. compelling ____ b. robust ____ c. anecdotal ____ d. conclusive

____ a. tentative ____ b. compelling ____ c. robust ____ d. definitive

____ a. pile ____ b. stack ____ c. crowd ____ d. body

____ a. inconclusive ____ b. robust ____ c. compelling ____ d. anecdotal

____ a. undermine ____ b. account for ____ c. call into question ____ d. corroborate

____ a. corroborates ____ b. undermines ____ c. underpins ____ d. substantiates

____ a. accounts for ____ b. undermines ____ c. replaces ____ d. substantiates

____ a. call into question ____ b. account for ____ c. undermine ____ d. underpin

Word Bank

Use each word or phrase from the box once. Change its form if necessary.

1. The documentary was so ____ that half of the audience changed their minds about the issue.

2. The results proved ____ : they stayed the same when the experiment was repeated in three different countries.

3. The new figures are much lower than the old ones, so they ____ the earlier estimate.

4. Two basic assumptions ____ the whole theory; if either is wrong, the theory collapses.

5. It is unwise to ____ firm conclusions from a single small survey.

6. The second survey, carried out by a different team, ____ the original findings: both found the same pattern.

7. The rumors remain ____ : nobody has produced any evidence to support them.