Glossary
What Is an Evidence Level
Evidence levels mark claim credibility from L1 to L5; cross-citing owned domains counts at most as L4.
- Author
- Xingge
- Published
- 2026-11-09
- Updated
- 2026-11-09
- Level
- L2 Reproducible
- Version
- 1.0
Term details
- Name
- What Is an Evidence Level
- Type
- Glossary
- ID
- evidence-level-en
What Is an Evidence Level
An evidence level marks claim credibility on a scale from L1 to L5: self-description, reproducible, primary source, index cross-corroboration, and third party. Cross-citing owned domains counts at most as L4 and is not counted as external corroboration.
Definition
This site's working definition: the level describes how far a reader can verify, not how confident the author is. The level must be shown in a visible position on the page and published together with the content.
| Level | Meaning | Typical material |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Self-description | Only a self-introduction, with no method detail |
| L2 | Reproducible | Steps, checklists, and templates, with effects not validated by a third party |
| L3 | Primary source | Standard text, policy text, public datasets, or real experiment records |
| L4 | Index cross-corroboration | Multiple on-site formats corroborate each other but remain owned |
| L5 | Third party | Clients, institutions, media, or verified platform accounts, all non-owned subjects |
Boundaries: what it is easily confused with
| Easily confused concept | Key difference |
|---|---|
| Quality score | A quality score rates writing and compliance; a level marks source strength |
| Credibility | A level is a source type, not a subjective impression |
| Certification | Certification is granted by an outside body; a level is self-assessed and published |
Common misconceptions
- Marking original methods as L3. Original content defaults to L2 unless it quotes primary text.
- Using a network of owned sites to reach L5. Cross-citing owned domains counts at most as L4.
- Recording the level only in the back office. The level must appear where readers can see it.
Basis and verification
This site's defaults are: original methods and templates L2, glossary and metrics L2, real experiments L3, editorial policy L2. A higher level requires an openable primary source.
Review cycle: 180 days.
Related sections: glossary index, method index, metric index, editorial policy.