Credibility

About: Credibility is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13730 publications have been published within this topic receiving 331944 citations. The topic is also known as: believability & plausibility.

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.

Transparency and Assurance Minding the Credibility Gap

Abstract: There is a growing realisation that the current upward trend in levels of disclosure of social, ethical and environmental performance by corporations and other organisations is not being accompanied by simultaneous greater levels of public trust. Low levels of confidence in the information communicated in public reporting is probably undermining the impetus for this disclosure. This article suggests that this credibility gap can be narrowed through the use of third party independent assurance. However, this is not an unqualified panacea. Much verification and assurance practice itself has to date been of questionable robustness, reliability and consistency, and has been framed by financial assurance models that are inadequate for the broader, qualitative dimensions of social, ethical and environmental performance. The paper argues that there is need for a universal standard for the provision of assurance of social, ethical and environmental reporting, and indeed for the credibility of the assurance providers themselves. The new AA1000S Assurance Standard, developed by the Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility, offers an approach and a tool for addressing these gaps.

Foundations of empowerment evaluation

Abstract: Introduction Introducing Empowerment Evaluation as Part of the Intellectual Landscape of Evaluation Background and Theory Exploring the Background and Theory of Empowerment Evaluation with Relevant Examples and Tools Three Steps Presenting the Three Steps of Empowerment Evaluation and Related Facets Four Case Examples Highlighting the Steps of Empowerment Evaluation with Four Case Examples A High Stakes Case Example Documenting the Utility, Credibility, and Rigor of Empowerment Evaluation in a High-Stakes Arena-Accreditation The Standards Applying the Standards to Empowerment Evaluation Caveats Discussing Caveats and Concerns About Empowerment Evaluation A Dialogue Distinguishing Empowerment Evaluation From Other Approaches The World Wide Web Using the Internet as a Tool to Disseminate Empowerment Evaluation Worldwide Conclusion Concluding by Speaking One's Truth About the Strengths, Limitations, and Conditions of Empowerment Evaluation

Effects of Online Health Sources on Credibility and Behavioral Intentions

Abstract: Online health information comes from a variety of online sources. Based on a typology of online sources, this research examines the direct and combined influences of original sources (doctors vs. laypersons) and selecting sources (Web sites vs. bulletin boards vs. blogs vs. personal home pages vs. Internet) on perceived credibility of—and behavioral intentions toward—health information. A large 2 (message) × 2 (original source) × 5 (selecting source) full-factorial online experiment revealed that respondents (N = 555) were more likely to take action based on the information sourced from a Web site than from a blog or a personal home page. The effect was mediated by perceived level of gatekeeping and perceived information completeness. The analysis also yielded a three-way interaction between message, original source, and selecting source on perceived credibility, suggesting the operation of an appropriateness heuristic when evaluating source combinations for less relevant health topics. Theoretical and pr...

Linking science with environmental decision making: Experiences from an integrated modeling approach to supporting sustainable water resources management

Abstract: The call for more effective integration of science and decision making is ubiquitous in environmental management. While scientists often complain that their input is ignored by decision makers, the latter have also expressed dissatisfaction that critical information for their decision making is often not readily available or accessible to them, or not presented in a usable form. It has been suggested that scientists need to produce more ''usable'' information with enhanced credibility, legitimacy, and saliency to ensure the adoption of research results. In basin-scale management of coupled human-water systems, water resources managers, like other decision makers, are frequently confronted with the need to make major decisions in the face of high system complexity and uncertainty. The integration of useful and relevant scientific information is necessary and critical to enable informed decision-making. This paper describes the main aspects of what has been learned in the process of supporting sustainable water resources planning and management in the semi-arid southwestern United States by means of integrated modeling. Our experience indicates that particular attention must be paid to the proper definition of focus questions, explicit conceptual modeling, a suitable modeling strategy, and a formal scenario analysis approach in order to facilitate the development of ''usable'' scientific information. We believe that these lessons and insights can be useful to other scientific efforts in the broader area of linking environmental science with decision making.