The above is used when the speaker passes on what s/he heard or read to someone else.
Nによると and Nでは indicate the source of information. Note that ～では does not directly follow a person.
According to Mr./Ms. Tanaka, ～.
According to what Mr./Ms. Tanaka said, ～.
ニュースによると、交通事故が増えてきたそうです。
According to the news [program], the number of traffic accidents is on the rise.
統計によると、男性の人口は女性の人口より多いそうです。
According to statistics, the population of men is larger than that of women.
田中さんの話では、あの学生はあまりまじめではないそうです。
According to what Mr./Ms. Tanaka said, that student is not very earnest.
新聞によると、去年、海外旅行をした人は約九百万人だそうです。
According to the newspaper, the number of people who traveled abroad last year is about nine million.
Lesson 23-2, 3「あの荷物は重そうです。」
That baggage looks heavy.
1. The です ending of ～そうです is not used in the past tense or in the negative form.
2. ～そうです is not used if what one heard has turned out to be wrong.
The following expression is used instead of ～そうです.
I had heard that the test would be easy, but it was hard.
