How should we assess the credibility of a source of information?
The age of the internet has brought with it an unprecedented flow of knowledge and information. The number of sources and forms of information have inflated to the extent that distinguishing ‘right information’ from ‘wrong’ has become an incumbent skill for any critical thinker. This is where source credibility comes in.
What is credibility?
Yesterday at 5 am in the morning, my neighbor saw a UFO whirling in the sky. I did not believe it for a second. Later that day, I see a NASA executive on T.V talking about a UFO sighting. My previous disbelief starts to waver. Why?
Information of this nature becomes more believable when coming from an expert, as compared to a known meth head.
As per the Middle Way Society, “Credibility is an estimation of how much trust to place in a source of information — e.g. a person, an organization, or a book. Most of the information we actually encounter that is used to support arguments has to be taken on trust, because we are not in a position to check it ourselves.”
The two extremes
While assessing the credibility of a source, the following two extremes must be avoided. Neither should one be severely skeptical nor should one be overly trusting of a source.
In the case of the former, acquisition of knowledge of any kind would become difficult, unless it is purely first hand knowledge, which, once you realize, is rare. For example, not believing in the existence of Asian tigers just because you’ve never seen one, and you don’t trust sources like BBC Nature.
In case of the latter, believing everyone and everything unquestioningly makes one vulnerable to delusion at best and exploitation at worst. For example, falling prey to the tactics of sly salesmen because they highly praise their product and you take their word for it.
One must have a clear, open and inquisitive mind to ensure one only gives credit to genuine information and sources.
How should we evaluate sources?
Librarians at California State University came up with an effective method to assess the credibility of a source of information. It is known as the CRAAP test, and its elements are explained below-
Currency — This refers to the current value of a certain piece of information. It includes taking in account the time sensitivity of the information. If it is likely to change frequently with time, or if it is already dated, the credibility of that information from the source decreases.
Relevance — When looking for information on a particular topic, one needs to know the right resources to refer to. For this, the pool of resources needs to be updated, relevant to the topic, and intended for the audience one identifies with.
Authority — Knowing where the information is coming from is an important step in evaluating its credibility. If it is from an expert on the topic, its credibility increases, and if it’s from a non-expert, its credibility takes a blow.
Accuracy — Assessing the format of the source can also tell one about its credibility. If it is well-documented, with proper citations, footnotes and bibliography through which its information can be verified, its credibility increases.
Purpose — Knowing the intentions of the source delivering the information is very important. They might have a vested interest if by selling the information, they get to profit directly. If they have a bias, their information might not be complete and do injustice to the topic. All these reduce its credibility. A credible source must present different points of views fairly to its audience and let them come up with their own stand on the topic.
The bottom line
No source is 100% credible. Credibility can only be measured in degrees. More often than not if a source passes the CRAAP test, its credibility is strong. These form a strong base for one’s knowledge. This is why it is important to be a critical thinker to make the most of this age of information.
https://www.middlewaysociety.org/critical-thinking-21-credibility-of-sources/
