ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the interplay between the broad and general notion of probability and the idea of multi-source evidence amalgamation, evaluation, and synthesis. When looked at from a more practical or operational perspective, the goal of the ensuing analysis is to lay out a general rationale and the ‘how-to’ mechanics detailing the process that can be used to conclusively summarize the totality of dissimilar and divergent evidence. Organizational decision-making commonly entails making choices under conditions of uncertainty, in which context objective evidence offers means of reducing choice-related doubts. Expert judgment is commonly viewed as one of the most dependable sources of subjective evidence because it allows decision-makers to tap into the tacit knowledge accumulated by those with considerable experience and expertise in a domain of knowledge. The rich diversity of types and sources of organizational data is suggestive of a need for metadata, which somewhat tautologically defined, is data about data.
