Readers still cannot evaluate whether the evidence itself is true

Suppose an author writes:

"This conclusion is based on 63 parliamentary speeches, 18 newspaper editorials, and 24 private letters."

That gives readers information about the evidence used.

But readers still do not know whether

the speeches were quoted accurately,

the letters are authentic,

important contrary documents were omitted,

the sample is representative.

So transparency allows readers to evaluate the author's reasoning, but not necessarily to verify every source unless they consult the sources themselves.

Academic work therefore allows others to check the references.

That is one reason citations matter.