Tip 656: Determining the Reliability of Claims

From the Critical Thinking Workshops: Determining the Reliability of Claims 

We’re surrounded by conflicting claims. Product claims. Political claims. Business claims. Personal claims.

How do we determine the reliability of these claims? 

Consider five tests: 

  • Logic. Is the claim internally consistent? Does it make sense? Does the offered evidence support the claim? And every claim must have supporting evidence.

  • Context. Does the claim fit within its surroundings? Or has it been taken out of an other-indicating context?

  • Reliability. What other claims has the source made? Have these other claims held up?

  • Corroboration. Do other sources support the claim? The broader the sources, the greater the reliability.

  • Some Natural Variation. Do these other sources provide some variation—within limits—on the claim? Absolute and verbatim repetition may indicate a prepared (and thus an open-to-question) claim.

What are your questions?  

Let us know. 

We love this stuff. 

Kurt Weiland