How evidence and Discoveries work
The Atlas starts with evidence
The Civic Atlas brings together information about organisations, neighbourhoods and other aspects of Birmingham's civic landscape.
Where the Atlas makes an observation about an organisation or group of organisations, it aims to show the evidence on which that observation is based.
Evidence is presented as specific statements from identified sources, rather than treating an entire source as though everything it contains supports every conclusion.
From evidence to Discoveries
The Atlas analyses this evidence to look for patterns, relationships and questions that might otherwise be easy to miss.
A Discovery is an analytical proposition arising from that process. It is not a verified fact or a conclusion that the Atlas claims to have established.
Some Discoveries arise directly from source evidence. Others emerge when existing Discoveries are considered together.
Independent and Derived Discoveries
Independent Discovery
An Independent Discovery is identified through direct analysis of source evidence.
Derived Discovery
A Derived Discovery is developed by considering existing Discoveries together. Derived Discoveries link back to the Discoveries from which they emerged.
Discovery terminology
Lens
The lens describes the perspective through which a Discovery was developed.
The Atlas currently uses two lenses:
- General — looking for potentially useful observations across the available evidence.
- Lateral — deliberately looking beyond the most obvious interpretation or connection.
Confidence
Confidence describes how strongly the available material supports a Discovery as an analytical proposition.
It does not mean that the Discovery has been independently verified as fact.
Source evidence
Source evidence shows the specific evidence statements underlying an Independent Discovery.
Remaining uncertainties
Remaining uncertainties identify things the available material does not establish, or questions that remain unresolved.
Additional evidence needed
Additional evidence needed identifies evidence that could help investigate a Discovery further.
Useful comparisons
Useful comparisons identify organisations or other comparisons that may help explore a Discovery further.
Editorial assessment
Before a Discovery is retained, it is assessed through the Atlas's editorial process.
This review is intended to assess whether the Discovery is useful, appropriately cautious and supported by the available evidence; it is not independent verification of every underlying fact.
Discoveries should therefore be read as prompts for understanding and further investigation, rather than as definitive statements of fact.