CREDIBILITY

1
CREDIBILITY

• Who to believe?
• What to decide?

Which sources are trustworthy, reliable and
believable?
2
Who would you believe?
What sort of criteria would you use to decide how
reliable a witness was in a court of law?
3
Reputation

• A BBC Journalist
• Vs.
• A Sun Journalist

4
Ability to see

• I was there, you werent.
• You were at the wrong angle to see.
• It was raining hard, so you couldnt really tell
  what was going on.
• It was nearly dusk, so you couldnt really tell
  what colour the car was.

5
Vested Interest
Theyd shaken on the deal, to have admitted the
truth to the cops would have meant the Mob would
be after them for life. They all had a vested
interest in keeping quiet.
6
Expertise
Do you have the training or skills to make a
comment in a situation? When having an argument
about specific points of law would you trust a
policeman or a bar tender?
7
Neutrality
When deciding upon the presence or absence of
weapons of mass destruction would you trust
George Bush, Tony Blair or Hans Blix? (WMD
Inspector)
8
RAVEN
Reputation
Ability to see
Vested interest
Expertise
Neutrality
9
Corroboration
Whos story backs up whom?
Is the person confirming the story neutral?
The reverse being contradiction
10
Assessing Credibility
Score 1 Highly reliable, 4 Very
unreliable. ( Explain why)

• 2nd hand car dealer on the wonders of his latest
  bargain.
• 6th form reference for a student applying to
  university.
• Divorcees view of an ex-partner.
• High court judge summing up in a murder trial
• Pathologists evidence on a DNA test in a murder
  trial.
• Gary Linekers opinion of different types of
  crisp.
• A war correspondent who stayed in his hotel
  during the conflict.