Three answers, one decision
You must pick a cable standard for a new office. A maker's page says one thing. A textbook says another. A colleague says a third.
You cannot trust all three. You need a fair way to compare them.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Compare | look at two or more things and note how they are the same and different |
| Reliable | you can trust it to be right |
| Valid | it is right for your question and your system |
| Bias | an unfair lean towards one side |
| Credibility | how believable the author or publisher is |
| Currency | how up to date the source is |
| Publisher | the person or group that put the source out |
| Score | a number that sums up how well something does |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can compare sources against the reliability and validity factors and see which does best.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Worked example: three sources for a cable choice
| Factor | Maker's page | Textbook | Colleague |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credibility of publisher | Maker, an expert, but sells | Named authors, a publisher | Ten years of fitting cables |
| Currency | This year | Four years old | Last month |
| Evidence and citations | Test results shown | Lists its sources | Told from memory |
| Bias | Some: it sells the cable | Little | None |
| Fit for this job | Right product | General, not this product | Same size of office |
| Score out of 5 good signs | 4 | 3 | 3 |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Reading the comparison
The maker's page scores highest, but it has some bias. So you use it for facts, and a second source to check it.
The textbook is solid but dated. The colleague is current and has no stake, but has no written proof. Compare the outcomes, then decide.
Try it: score one source
source = {"author_named": True, "cited": False, "year": 2025, "sells": True}
score = 0
if source["author_named"]:
score = score + 1
if source["cited"]:
score = score + 1
if source["year"] >= 2023:
score = score + 1
if not source["sells"]:
score = score + 1
print("score:", score)
# Set cited to True. What is the score now?