Back to Curriculum
Evaluating Reliability
The ability to assess the quality and trustworthiness of different types of evidence by their design and limitations.
Understanding the skill
Why this matters
- You stop being fooled by studies that sound legitimate but aren't.
- You understand what evidence actually proves versus suggests.
- You know when more evidence is needed versus when you have enough.
What goes wrong
- Assuming all studies are equally reliable regardless of sample size.
- Not noticing conflicts of interest in who funded the research.
- Forgetting that correlation is weaker evidence than causation.
Best practices
- Ask: Who could disprove this evidence and why haven't they?
- Check: Is this peer-reviewed or just someone's claim?
- Verify: Would someone with opposite interests accept this evidence?