The purpose of this study is to present a critical analysis of those sources of evidence that are commonly used in reconstructing phonological developments in the Slavic languages. The types of sources can, roughly speaking, be classified into the following categories: 1) written sources (texts, inscriptions etc.); 2) dialect material; 3) foreign sources (glosses, anthroponyms, toponyms, and the like); 4) loanwords from non-Slavic languages and Slavic loans in non-Slavic languages; 5) contact linguistics. In general, one could argue that the quantity of available sources is important to a successful reconstruction, but it is ultimately the quality of sources and their correct interpretation that counts. Ideally, the reconstruction relies on a larger body of different types of sources. In this paper, not only the available sources will be analyzed but also their usage in the most representative scholarly endeavors.
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