6.6: What is Accuracy?
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- 324699
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)The correctness and reliability of the information.
One of the simplest and yet most critical evaluation criteria is accuracy. If your source is inaccurate then it is not useful to your research! Determining the accuracy of a source can be challenging. By relying on relevant and authoritative sources you can help to ensure accuracy, but that doesn't guarantee it. There are a number of types of inaccuracy that you should be wary of:
- Misinformation: Information that is unintentionally inaccurate.
- Disinformation: Information that is deliberately inaccurately.
- Biased information: Information that has been skewed by the author's internal bias. This may or may not be intentional.
- Scientific error (Also known as an experimental error): Inaccuracies that come from errors in how scientific variables are measured.
Scientific Error
One of the key reasons that authority is so important, is because researchers without professional or academic expertise may not know how to correctly conduct research. Inexpert researchers are more prone to bias as well as different types of scientific error. Even experienced academic researchers can fall victim to scientific errors.
- Environmental errors: Errors occurring when some factor in the environment leads to an error in the data.
- Human errors: Errors occurring due to carelessness or mistakes made by people.
- Instrumental errors: Errors occurring due to the use of a flawed instrument providing inaccurate readings.
- Observational errors: Errors occurring because an observer incorrectly reads a measurement.
- Procedural errors: Errors occurring when the procedures established for conducting the research are not followed consistently.
- Sampling errors: Errors occurring due to the research participants that were selected.
Accuracy Clues
The following can help you identify the accuracy of a source:
- Logical, well-organized writing.
- Evidence that supports their claims (cited sources/references/etc.).
- Evidence of the creator's authority.
- Articles that have been peer-reviewed.
- Avoid spelling and grammatical errors.
- Look for other sources to verify their claims.
Peer Review
Peer review is a key process in academic publishing. For many academic journals, peer reviewers are experts in that topic area who review other author's articles for quality. An academic author submits their paper to an editor who reviews it before submitting it to multiple peer reviewers. Those reviewers evaluate the paper and make recommendations for improvements. This process examines academic works looking to ensure they are new and innovative, accurate and reliable, clearly written, and significant to the field.
Lateral Reading
Lateral reading is a technique used to evaluate the accuracy and credibility of an information source. Lateral reading is particularly useful when considering information from online sources like websites and news blogs. Simply put, lateral reading involves checking a source's information by looking up other sources to compare it with. After reading information from one source, you go in search of other comparable sources; looking specifically for that same information.
This can sometimes be difficult to do with scholarly sources, as each articles tries to be original. However, by reviewing multiple scholarly sources you can often identify and establish trends that help you understand the professional consensus (or agreement) about a topic.