Corroboratie

Corroboratie, in English corroboration, is the process of providing additional evidence that confirms or strengthens a statement, hypothesis, or finding. The term derives from Latin corroborare, meaning to strengthen. In Dutch usage the noun is corroboratie; in English, corroboration. The core idea is that independent evidence adds credibility to a claim.

In legal contexts, corroboration historically referred to the need for independent support beyond a confession or sole testimony. Some jurisdictions require corroboration for certain crimes or for specific types of evidence. Today many systems do not require it as a formal matter of law, but corroborating evidence can affect credibility, corroborate timing or circumstances, and influence how a court weighs the testimony.

In journalism, research, and historical inquiry, corroboration means verifying information through multiple independent sources, corroborating documents, or independent observations. This practice helps to guard against bias, misinformation, and the unreliability of a single account, contributing to a more robust evidentiary basis.

In science, replication and independent verification serve a similar role. Replicating experiments, obtaining consistent results across different teams or methods, and meta-analytic synthesis all function as forms of corroboration, increasing confidence in findings rather than establishing absolute certainty.

Limitations include that corroboration does not prove truth beyond doubt, and it can be misleading if sources are biased or flawed. Absence of corroboration is not definitive either. Recognized forms of corroboration support credibility and triangulate evidence across different modalities, increasing the overall reliability of conclusions.