Three essential lines of evidence
There are basically three different bits of information that are crucial for a good understanding of a certain linguistic variable: statistical significance, the constraint ranking and relative strength.
Statistical significance
At first the analyst must check whether or not a factor group is statistically significant. Generally, a factor group is considered significant as soon as it exceeds the 0.05 level. This step is important to the extent that the decision about the underlying grammar of the linguistic variable at hand is largely dependent on which set of factor groups are statistically significant. When, for example, investigating a linguistic variable, which occurs in two different communities and the analysis shows that the respective statistically significant factor groups are not the same, it becomes obvious that, though the variation can be found in both communities, the underlying system differs markedly (cf. Tagliamonte 2006: 237).
Constraint ranking
In addition to the statistical significance, the variationist must also account for the constraint ranking, which “is the hierarchy from more to less of the categories within a factor group” (Tagliamonte 2006: 237). According to the literature, when a factor weight, which is a measure of the probability of the variant under investigation in a specific context, is anything over .50 it generally favors the application of the rule, while it commonly disfavors it when deceeding the .50 level. However, a much more adequate way of conceiving of factor weights in regards to achieving relevant results is focusing on their relative position within the constraint ranking. In principle, interpreting the constraint ranking is an indispensable part of conducting a reliable variation analysis, as it provides valuable insight into the relationship between variant and linguistic context (cf. Tagliamonte 2006: 237).
Relative strength
The third and last level of evidence provided by the step-up/step down analysis “comes from the relative strength exerted by a factor group” (Tagliamonte 2006: 242). The essential term in regards to a factor group's strength is the so called range. The range is reckoned by simply subtracting the weakest category's factor weight from the strongest category's factor weight. The calculated range is then compared to the ranges of the remaining significant factor groups. The highest figure or widest range equals the strongest constraint. This information enables the analyst to position certain factor groups with respect to each other according to their relative strengths (cf. Tagliamonte 2006: 242).
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