Evidence Decision Maker

a / b / c
Is the evidence based on accepted scientific knowledge? / Data has clear links to widely accepted scientific thinking or knowledge / Data has some links to scientific thinking or knowledge / Data has weak or no links to scientific thinking or knowledge
Are other sources of data/studies used or referred to? / There are clear links between the sources of data. Other sources of data are based on accepted scientific thinking. Other sources are credible. / Conclusions or assumptions are drawn from weak or controversial data / Assumptions have been plucked from ‘thin air’ when linking the sources of data. Other sources may represent an idiosyncratic/minority view.
How much of the evidence is based on opinion? / Very little. Any opinions are clearly identified as such. / Some opinions are used in the evidence and could be taken as ‘facts’ / Most. There is no guidance as to whether these opinions are held by large or small numbers of people.
If statistics/graphs are used as part of the evidence… / Statistics are easy to verify
Graphs do not have misleading scales / Statistics sound plausible but need to be checked out
Scales on the graphs could cause over- or underestimation / Statistics cannot be verified and appear to be a work of fiction
Graphs are meaningless or based on incorrect data
Is the evidence based on proper experimental procedure? E.g. large sample size? Sufficiently long enough? / Results from experiments are valid and reliable, e.g. carried out by respected scientists/organisations / Some concerns about the way the experiment was carried out, which means that the results may not be fully reliable or valid / No, or weak, experimental evidence
Is the information relevant to the original question or theory? / The information is very relevant / There are some relevant aspects but I need to find out more to be sure / The information is interesting but not really relevant
Do the inferences drawn link to the observations? / The inferences drawn clearly link to the observations / The inferences drawn need to be checked further / The inferences are questionable – other inferences could be drawn
Is the author of the article credible? / Yes, definitely / Possibly, but I need to check to find out more about them / Unlikely
Is the evidence the original research? / Yes – it may be a summary / No but it contains extracts from the original research / No – Newspaper or other individual’s interpretation
  • Mainly As: good source of data
  • Mainly Bs: the source should be used cautiously, and only when it accompanies other ‘A’ sources of data
  • Mainly Cs: should not be considered as a source of evidence