data

In the Toulmin model of argument, the evidence or specific information that supports a claim.

Examples and Observations:

• "Toulmin suggested that every argument (if it deserves to be called an argument) must consist of three elements: data, warrant, and claim.
  
  "The claim answers the question 'What are you trying to get me to believe?'--it is the ending belief. Consider the following unit of proof: 'Uninsured Americans are going without needed medical care because they are unable to afford it. Because access to health care is a basic human right, the United States should establish a system of national health insurance.' The claim in this argument is that 'the United States should establish a system of national health insurance.'
  
  "Data (also sometimes called evidence) answers the question 'What have we got to go on?'--it is the beginning belief. In the foregoing example of a unit of proof, the data is the statement that 'uninsured Americans are going without needed medical care because they are unable to afford it.' In the context of a debate round, a debater would be expected to offer statistics or an authoritative quotation to establish the trustworthiness of this data.
  
  "Warrant answers the question 'How does the data lead to the claim?'--it is the connector between the beginning belief and the ending belief. In the unit of proof about health care, the warrant is the statement that 'access to health care is a basic human right.' A debater would be expected to offer some support for this warrant."
  (R. E. Edwards, Competitive Debate: The Official Guide. Penguin, 2008)



• "Data would be counted as premises under the standard analysis."
  (J. B. Freeman, Dialectics and the Macrostructure of Arguments. Walter de Gruyter, 1991)