Credibility of Information

Credibility of information is vital for safe decision-making in any industry. Naturally, in the healthcare field, use of credible information is a must in order for healthcare leaders and managers to ensure that quality and safe care is given to individuals as well as to a community as a whole. How well an article is written and the presence of proper research methods help us determine if sources are reputable. To add, mistakes such as spelling and grammar can help determine credibility. Face validity matters; research/data needs to make sense and if it doesn't, more analysis is needed. It is important that results correlate with the researcher's original hypothesis (reason for the research). If an article seems to lead to no specific conclusion, further research needs to be done. If conclusions drawn are not related to the original hypothesis, whether they support or refute the hypothesis, then proper research steps (The Scientific Method) might not have been followed and the article might not be credible. Healthcare leaders never want to be in a position to explain why decisions were made or policies were written using data that is questionable.

 Please research and thoroughly discuss the following questions; support your answers with direct quotes or paraphrases from credible sources.

• Give at least five characteristics of a credible author.
• Give at least five characteristics of a credible website.
• What are at least three "red flags" to consider when determining credibility of information?
• Please research  credible online resources to find three healthcare research studies. Analyze the studies for credibility and discuss your analysis.