1. “Can We Trust The Author?”
Credibility
“Can We Trust The Author?”

2. What is Credibility?
Credibility is how trustworthy an author or source is. Authors that are “adequate and accurate” must use “credible” sources for information so we can believe them.
An author must have credentials to be credible. There are THREE credentials.

3. Three Types of Credentials
1. Education
Author went to college/school for the topic he/she wrote about and can be considered an expert.
Example: Doctors go to medical school and can write about medicine.
Beware: Even if the author went to college: if he/she didn’t study or become an expert in what he/she is writing about, then you cannot trust him/her. Would you trust a lawyer to perform surgery?.

4. Three Types of Credentials
2. Leadership
An author has a high title (CEO, President, Principal, etc) or a great deal of experience in his/her field and thus can be considered an expert.
Example: As Principal, Nathan could write an article about Da Vinci Schools.
Beware: Barack Obama has great leadership and a fancy title (President of the United States) but would we trust him to write about Da Vinci? No.

5. Three Types of Credentials
3. Affiliation:
An author is associated with (spends time with) certain schools, businesses, or people enough to write about them, and thus can be considered an expert.
Example: A mother could write a book about her son.
Beware: The governor’s assistant is affiliated with Gov. Jerry Brown at work, but would we trust an article she writes about the governor’s home life or personal life? .
Encyclopedias are written by expert researchers (even if they aren’t listed as an author) and are reliable through affiliation with the encyclopedia company.