Showing papers on "Credibility published in 1992"

Qualitative Evaluation And Research Methods

Abstract: PART ONE: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES IN THE USE OF QUALITATIVE METHODS The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Strategic Themes in Qualitative Methods Variety in Qualitative Inquiry Theoretical Orientations Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications PART TWO: QUALITATIVE DESIGNS AND DATA COLLECTION Designing Qualitative Studies Fieldwork Strategies and Observation Methods Qualitative Interviewing PART THREE: ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND REPORTING Qualitative Analysis and Interpretation Enhancing the Quality and Credibility of Qualitative Analysis

Misunderstood misunderstanding: social identities and public uptake of science:

Abstract: This paper draws general insights into the public reception of scientific knowledge from a case study of Cumbrian sheep farmers' responses to scientific advice about the restrictions introduced after the Chernobyl radioactive fallout. The analysis identifies several substantive factors which influence the credibility of scientific communication. Starting from the now-accepted point that public uptake of science depends primarily upon the trust and credibility public groups are prepared to invest in scientific institutions and representatives, the paper observes that these are contingent upon the social relationships and identities which people feel to be affected by scientific knowledge, which never comes free of social interests or implications. The case study shows laypeople capable of extensive informal reflection upon their social relationships towards scientific experts, and on the epistemological status of their own `local' knowledge in relation to `outside' knowledge. Public uptake of science might...

Explaining the evidence: Tests of the Story Model for juror decision making.

Abstract: This research investigates the Story Model, Pennington and Hastie's (1986, 1988) explanationbased theory of decision making for juror decisions. In Experiment 1, varying the ease with which stories could be constructed affected verdict judgments and the impact of credibility evidence. Memory for evidence in all conditions was equivalent, implying that the story structure was a mediator of decisions and of the impact of credibility evidence. In Experiments 2 and 3, Ss evaluated the evidence in 3 ways. When Ss made a global judgment at the end of the case, their judgment processes followed the prescriptions of the Story Model, not of Bayesian or linear updating models. When Ss made item-by-item judgments after each evidence block, linear anchor and adjust models described their judgments. In conditions in which story construction strategies were more likely to be used, story completeness had greater effects on decisions.

Biased press or biased public? attitudes toward media coverage of social groups

Abstract: Mass media credibility has been defined and studied largely as an attribute of message sources. This article argues that trust in media can be better understood as a relational variable-an audience response to media content. In addition, audience assessments of credibility are commonly explained as the result of each individual's skeptical disposition, either toward mass media in particular or as a general trait. The author dissents from this view as well, proposing that distrust is more likely to be a situational response, stemming from involvement with issues and groups. Using data from a national probability sample, the hypothesis was tested by analyzing the effect of numerous independent variables on respondent ratings of newspaper and television news coverage of social groups. As hypothesized, a respondent's own group identification proved to be the strongest predictor. The evidence was strengthened by replication across social groups, which provided built-in controls and demonstrated that an important part of the variance in trust of mass media news is within persons rather than between persons.

Perceived teacher affinity‐seeking in relation to perceived teacher credibility

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between teachers' use of Bell and Daly's affinity‐seeking strategies and students' perceptions of teacher credibility (competence and character) in the classroom The associations among students' motivation to study, teachers' perceived credibility, and teachers’ perceived use of affinity‐seeking strategies also were investigated Results indicated that several affinity‐seeking strategies were positively and significantly associated with competence and character, indicating that use of affinity‐seeking in the classroom may assist in the development of teacher credibility Perceptions of teacher credibility and teachers' use of affinity‐seeking strategies also were found to be positively and significantly associated with students' motivation to study

Interpretations, Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Abstract: Key elements of an expectancy violations (EV) framework are forwarded as a possible organizing framework for understanding how touch functions in interpersonal communication. Central to applying an EV framework to touch is assessing the expectedness, interpretations, and evaluations of touch and its influence on such communication outcomes as evaluations of communicator attractiveness and credibility. To address these considerations, an experiment required participants to engage in dyadic problem-solving discussions during which they were touched or not touched by high-valence (attractive, high status, expert) or low-valence (unattractive, low status, inexpert) confederates. Brief touches by high-valence communicators were less expected than from low-valence communicators but positively evaluated from both. Touch also carried many favorable relational message interpretations, and the combination of touch and high communicator valence generally produced the highest credibility and attraction ratings. Some gender effects emerged, which appeared to moderate touch effects. Results suggest that brief touches among strangers may have positive consequences, especially when initiated by high-valence communicators, for whom they may qualify as positive violations.

Current Issues, Problems, and Trends to Advance Qualitative Paradigmatic Research Methods for the Future

Abstract: Paradigmatic research has great potential to discover some of the most covert, complex, and difficult human problems and concerns. There remain, however, a number of critical issues and problems related to the misuse of qualitative methods and a lack of knowledge about the purposes, goals, and proper uses of the qualitative paradigmatic methods. Moreover, there are still too few researchers who have been prepared and mentored to use the nearly 20 different kinds of qualitative research methods in light of specific epistemic and ontologic philosophies related to specific research methods. In addition, many researchers tend to violate data analysis by using quantitative criteria instead of qualitative criteria to establish the credibility and accuracy of findings. These problems and many others reflect a general lack of substantive knowledge about qualitative methods that is leading to serious abuses and misuses of methods. It is, therefore, time to rectify past problems and to address realistic issues rela...

Structure of international collaboration in science: Typology of countries through multivariate techniques using a link indicator

Abstract: In this article patterns of international collaboration in science are investigated using a specific procedure to analyse data collected from theScience Citation Index. We develop an indicator based on the scientific linkages between countries established through internationally co-authored articles (COPs). The credibility, advantages and uses of this indicator are discussed. We apply the Correspondence Factorial Analysis method and the Minimum Spanning Tree classification to this indicator in order to observe the level of resemblance and the main characteristics of the collaboration structured by 98 countries in eight principal fields of science. The results shown summarize the diverse aspects of countries participating in collaborative works and bring into view the cognitive structure of international research. The use of these methods in the investigation of international collaboration contributes to the analysis of the complex structure of the scientific communities of different countries.

Testing for credibility effects

Abstract: Recent techniques designed to draw inferences about the credibility of changes in macroeconomic policy regimes are examined. An alternative two-step approach, based on the decomposition between permanent and transitory components of a "credibility variable," is proposed. The methodology is then used to test for the existence of a credibility effect in the cruzado stabilization plan implemented in Brazil in 1986.

From Truth to Disinterestedness in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract: Words have social as well as lexical meanings. This paper traces a semantic shift of the word `objective', and the issues arising from it, in the seventeenth century. A word attaching to the concept of `truth' at the beginning of the century came increasingly to give way to considerations of `disinterestedness'; the restructuring of European intellectual life associated with the Scientific Revolution thus involved the constitution of knowledge-claims from criteria of trustworthiness, rather than from purported criteria of `objective' truth. The change appears to have followed the loss of general credibility of the scholastic educational structure, which brought about the creation of new forms for making knowledge. The career of the word `objective' took a turn away from `truth', a distancing that modern usages actively preserve.

Information styles of marketing and R&D personnel during technological product innovation projects

Abstract: The research question in the present article can be phrased in the following way: what are the elements which influence the perception of the utility of information received from another function? A field study research has been conducted in 40 Belgian companies. In each company, we have studied two on-going innovation projects (one planning project, one development project). Crossfunctional communication behaviours at the R&D/marketing interface have been measured by means of mailed structured questionnaires. Three-hundred and eighty-six questionnaires have been returned. The data analyses show that there are four underlying information dimensions, i.e. the perceived relevance, the perceived comprehensibility, the perceived novelty and the perceived credibility of information. We also discuss some contingency variables (function of the message receiver, stage in the innovation process) that might moderate the impact of these dimensions. It will be shown that the interaction between source and receiver has a significant impact on the perceived credibility, the perceived comprehensibility and the perceived novelty of the received information.

Research in educational settings

Abstract: Educational Research What an Interesting Idea Getting Started Accessing School Populations Establishing Credibility, Increasing Understanding, and Gaining Commitment Dreaming an Impossible Dream? Issues of Design, Sampling, and Analysis School Personnel Committed, Indifferent, or Resistant Selecting Measures Comprehensiveness and Depth of Assessment Versus Brevity and Efficiency How Long Does My Study Need To Be? Implementing the Research Hoping for the Best and Coping With the Worst Data Analysis and Interpretation What Does It All Mean?

Conceptual models and nursing practice: the reciprocal relationship.

Abstract: There is a reciprocal relationship between conceptual models of nursing and nursing practice. Conceptual models influence clinical nursing practice by specifying standards for and purposes of practice; identifying relevant clinical problems, settings for practice, legitimate recipients of nursing care, and the content for the nursing process; suggesting methods for delivery of nursing services; and by providing frameworks for clinical information systems, patient classifications systems and quality assurance programmes. Nursing practice, in turn, provides data that can be used to determine the credibility of the conceptual models. Sources of data from clinical practice for credibility determination include evaluations of nursing interventions, the recipient's perspective of nursing care and quality assurance reviews.

Seeing is believing: facial appearance, credibility and attitude change’, Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour, .

Abstract: One-hundred twenty-eight subjects (64 female, 64 male) viewed either a babyfaced or maturefaced female speaker delivering a persuasive communication, and also received information designed to make the speaker seem either untrustworthy or inexpert. Subjects indicated how much they agreed with the speaker's position and completed other measures concerning her appearance and their perceptions of her speech. Babyfaced speakers induced more agreement with their position than did maturefaced speakers when trustworthiness was in question, presumably because babyfaced speakers still appeared honest due to their babyish facial features. Conversely, maturefaced speakers produced more attitude agreement as compared to babyfaced speakers when expertise was questioned, perhaps because knowledgeability was still communicated via their mature countenance. Attitude change was not related to perceived likability, age, attractiveness, or communication skills of the speakers, or subjects' interest in the topic.

Thinking Differently about Secondary Physical Education

Abstract: At a time in American culture when sport, fitness, and physically active leisure experiences are increasingly valued, school physical education is so often devalued, generally lacking in credibility within the secondary school culture, and often ridiculed by those outside the school.

Perception of risk and credibility at toxic sites.

Abstract: This study integrates previous research methodologies to compare the risk perceptions and responses to risk messages of agency personnel and neighbors of Superfund sites in Michigan. The integration attempted and the focus on risk messages are shaped by a critical review of the social amplification conceptual framework. The study involved all four agency groups and three groups of site neighbors actively involved in Superfund planning across the state. The first part of the study utilized the psychometric techniques of hazard rating and hazard profiles that had not previously been used in studies involving stakeholders. While agency personnel responded similarly to experts in previous studies, the responses of individuals in the neighbor groups reflected experience with toxic sites and were dissimilar to previous ratings by the general public. The second part of the study consisted of a hypothetical toxic site scenario that focused on specific risk messages at different times in the site history. Results indicate that the difference in perception of risk occurs after the first testing at a site, and that dramatic differences arise between agency and resident groups regarding the credibility of information sources and the need for independent testing. A general lack of trust in the Superfund program was demonstrated by all groups. The results indicate that problems of institutional credibility and program adequacy cannot be addressed by better risk communication.

The Effects of Source Credibility on the Dilution of Stereotype-Based Judgments:

Abstract: The present research investigated the relationship between stereotypical and individuating information in judgmental tasks. In particular, it was hypothesized that, in addition to considering the nature of the individuating information presented to subjects, it is also important to investigate how the credibility of the source of this information can affect stereotype dilution. Extending ideas from the literature on persuasion, the present results supported the prediction that subjects differentiate between high-and low-credibility sources only when they provide stereotype-disconfirming individuating information. They did not, however support the contention that stereotype dilution is invariably mediated by a reliance on the representativeness heuristic. These findings are considered in the wider context of cognitive approaches to stereotyping and stereotype change.

The european monetary system: credible at last?

Abstract: We update tests of the credibility of the EMS exchange rate target zones. Our main methodological innovation is to use a survey of exchange rate forecasts, as well as interest differentials, in measuring exchange rate expectations. We investigate the hypothesis--suggested by the apparent stabilization of the EMS and by recent institutional developments--that the EMS target zones have experienced an increase in credibility since their 1987 realignment. The evidence tends to support this hypothesis for most currencies studied. We also examine the empirical failure of standard target zone models, but find no evidence that it can be attributed to mismeasurement of expectations. Finally, we consider an alternative credibility measure which captures the importance of possible realignments in overall expectations of exchange rate changes. Copyright 1992 by Royal Economic Society.

The Effects of Uncertainty and Source Credibility on Attitudes about Organizational Change

Abstract: A substantial portion of the literature on organizational change focuses on the effects of change but fails to consider how information about change is communicated and processed. Social information processing is used as a theoretical framework to guide the development of a causal model in which the impact of uncertainty, source competence, and source similarity were examined as precursors to employees' attitudes about organizational change. The results of this study indicate that social information had its strongest effect on employee attitudes in situations involving high source credibility and high uncertainty. A test of the path model incorporating the interaction between uncertainty and credibility provided a good fit to the data. The implications for research and theory in organizational change are discussed.

Losing Credibility: The Stabilization Blues

Abstract: In exchange rate-based stabilization programs, credibility often follows a distinct time pattern. At first it rises as the highly visible nominal anchor provides a sense of stability and hopes run high for a permanent solution to the fiscal problems. Later, as the domestic currency appreciates in real terms and the fiscal problems are not fully resolved, the credibility of the program falls, sometimes precipitously. This paper develops a political-economy model that focuses on the evolution of credibility over time and is consistent with the pattern just described. Inflation inertia and costly budget negotiations play a key role in the model.

Information Complexity and Medical Communication: The Effects of Technical Language and Amount of Information in a Medical Message

Abstract: This research examines whether different amounts of technical language and different amounts of medical information (as independent variables) affect receivers' cognitive satisfaction, comprehension, perception of the speaker's credibility, reported intent to comply with advice, and ability to recall information. Four cluster samples of university students each viewed a different videotaped message about mononucleosis, a disease this population is at risk for contracting. In each videotape, the independent variables were manipulated. Based on the responses of 95 subjects, the results indicate that (a) cognitive satisfaction, comprehension, and recall scores were substantially lower in the technical conditions than in the nontechnical conditions; (b) technical and nontechnical conditions did not distinguish subjects' reported intent to comply or perception of the speaker's credibility; and (c) amount of information was not related significantly to any of the five dependent variables. The implications of th...

Source Credibility and the Language of Expert Testimony1

Abstract: In an examination of the language used by expert witnesses during actual courtroom testimony, it was expected that experts who exhibited content themes related to their credentials or experience (expertise) and to objectivity (trustworthiness) would be perceived as being more credible. Forty-three segments of expert testimony were taken from actual court transcripts and content analyzed. Two-factor analytically derived factors predicted expert witness membership into low- and high-credibility groups, defined a priori by credibility judgments of undergraduate raters (n = 348). These factors were (a) the use of passive voice and (b) the witnesses' background and qualifications. Further analyses revealed that perceptions of expert witness credibility were also a function of the usage of words that connote power (an expert's official status, degree of prominence and/or recognition) or negative (suffering or damage). Results are discussed in terms of dimensions of source credibility and their parallels to past research in persuasion.

Source Credibility, Legal Liability, and the Law of Endorsements:

Abstract: This paper reviews the endorsement advertising and source credibility literature to identify factors which make this type of advertising effective. These credibility factors resemble the legal conc...

The Power of Language in Adjudication and Mediation: Institutional Contexts as Predictors of Social Evaluation

Abstract: The language used by witnesses and litigants can powerfully influence evaluations by legal decision makers of disputant credibility and blame. Previous experimental research has addressed this claim in many studies of undergraduates and law students. It is not known whether this generalization applies to sitting judges or whether it extends to other institutional contexts in which dispute settlement occurs, such as mediation centers. In this article we present findings from three experiments conducted with undergraduates, sitting judges, and practicing mediators. Speech style (powerful, powerless) and discourse (rule, relational) were manipulated in a 2×2 repeated measures design in each subject pool. The findings suggest that students' and judges' evaluations of disputant credibility, social characteristics, and blame are affected by speech style, while mediators' evaluations of the same are affected by particular interactions of speech style and discourse only. These findings are interpreted as a function of the prescriptive and behavioral language norms to which students, judges, and mediators are routinely exposed in their institutional contests. Implications for future law and language research are also discussed.

Model Uncertainty Representation in Geotechnical Reliability Analyses

Abstract: An adequate representation of model uncertainties is important for reliability analyses based on geotechnical analysis models of unknown credibility. A procedure is outlined for calibration of the ...

Institutional commitments and policy credibility: a critical survey and empirical evidence from the erm

Abstract: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 1 . Credibility and inflation expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 A . Analytical underpinnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 B . Policies to achieve credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 C . Limitations of the credibility model . ........................... 54

Theoretical and practical considerations for school‐based research in a post‐positivist era

Abstract: During the last decade, the positivist perspective of social reality has lost credibility in education and other fields, giving way to a wide range of alternative conceptions of social science. This proliferation is welcome but confusing. This paper examines several intellectual traditions within the “post‐positivist camp” and identifies a number of approaches to decoding social reality as guidelines for field‐based research.