Evidence Finder

Type a claim, search the web, and cut cards from ranked, credibility-scored sources.

Evidence Finder is for when you have a claim but no source yet. You type the claim, and it expands it into several searches, runs them across the web and academic databases at once, ranks what comes back for how cuttable it is, and lets you cut a card straight from any result. It is the search-the-web-and-cut tool.

When to use it

  • Use Evidence Finder when you need a source you do not have yet, especially current or specific evidence.
  • Use Single Card Snipe when you already have the article in hand.
  • Use Logos when the argument is common and someone has probably already cut a card for it.

Single or batch

A toggle at the top of the search picks how many claims you run at once:

  • Single: one claim. Type it (at least 10 characters), and submit.
  • Batch: several claims, one per line, up to ten at a time.

You also pick a format (PF, LD, Policy, or Any). This changes how results are ranked, not what gets searched. It defaults to your active topic's format.

How to use it

  1. Open Evidence Finder from the Tools menu.
  2. Type your claim, for example "nuclear power is the fastest way to decarbonize the grid."
  3. Click Find Evidence (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter). You will see the searches it is running and sources streaming in. A search takes up to about 25 seconds.
  4. Browse the ranked results.
  5. Pick a source and cut a card from it (next section).

Reading the results

Each source is scored so you can judge it at a glance:

  • Relevance (0 to 100 percent): how directly the source supports your exact claim.
  • Cuttable (a score out of 10): how good the passage is as a card, rewarding specific statistics, named mechanisms, and credentialed experts.
  • Tier: how credible the publication is, from peer-reviewed journals and government data at the top down to blogs and opinion at the bottom.
  • Key Quote: the single best verbatim line to highlight and read aloud. The app checks that this quote actually appears in the source.
  • Access: whether the source is open or paywalled.

Cutting a card from a result

  1. Click Cut Card on a source. The app fetches the article text.
  2. When the text is ready, click Generate Card. This uses the same card-cutting engine as Single Card Snipe, so the result is a fully formatted, highlighted card. You can keep browsing other sources while it generates.
  3. When it is done, Copy it (Word- and Docs-ready) or Save to Library.

If the source is paywalled or blocked, the app switches to a paste box: paste the article text (or open it through the Archive.is link), then generate the card from that.

Limits and cost

  • Free: 5 searches per month. Pro: 200 per month.
  • A batch counts as one search per claim, not one total. A batch of eight claims uses eight of your monthly searches.
  • One search is one search no matter how many sources it finds, and a search that returns nothing still counts (the work happens up front).
  • Rate limit: 5 searches per minute.

See Plans & Limits for resets and Pro pricing.

Common problems

  • No results. Rephrase with more specific terms, or broaden the claim. Submit a real claim, not a keyword.
  • "Search took too long." A more specific claim searches faster.
  • Paywalled source. Use the paste box that appears, or the Archive.is link, then cut the card.
  • Out of searches. Free accounts reset on the first of the month; Pro raises the cap to 200.