RURU - Reliable
When deciding if the source is reliable, you should consider the following:
- Neutral, not taking any sides.
- Having something to gain from promoting or protecting an interest.
- A preconceived notion or idea about a thing, person or group of people based on personal belief.
- expertise
Impartiality
Establishing impartiality means asking certain questions.
- Is the source taking a particular side?
- Does it have a motive to distort the truth and/or actively persuade?
If it isn’t taking a particular side, or hasn’t got a motive to distort the truth and/or actively persuade, it can be considered as impartial.
Question
How would you find out if an organisation was impartial?
There are very few organisations that can be considered as wholly neutral. Where possible, try to check whether the organisations you have listed are impartial by carrying out an online search.
Real-life example
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders helps people worldwide by delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflicts and disasters. They state they are impartial, independent and neutral. For them, their neutrality saves lives. Another example is the Red Cross.
Vested interest
Another indicator of reliability involves deciding if the source has a vested interest.
In other words, does the source have something to gain from protecting or promoting that interest? Vested interest could involve:
- making money
- staying in a position of power
- creating a good reputation
Bias
Source bias could be based on:
- being one-sided and ignoring evidence that might contradict this view
- lacking a neutral viewpoint that is strongly held
- not having an open mind as a result of a prejudgement which could lead to An adverse opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
Expertise
Reliability involves considering the expertise and reputation involved in the source.
In deciding whether a document is believable, it is important to make a judgement about the expertise of the person who wrote it. If someone is considered to have the necessary expertise, they are known as an authority.
Reputation is also important. Generally people with a high reputation are seen as having credibility as they can be relied on.
Real-life example one
Robert Maxwell was head of the Mirror Group of newspapers and he had a vested interest in the Labour Party during the latter part of the last century. It was suggested that readers of the Mirror newspaper would be most likely to vote Labour based on the information that they were reading, which was not always impartial.
Real-life example two
An example of a reliable source is an academic article, whereas an unreliable source could be Wikipedia. While Wikipedia is a good starting place for an overview, the facts need to be checked by looking in other sources. For example, conflicting facts about the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest have appeared in the Wikipedia source compared to the official site of the Eurovision Song Contest. Which source would you be most likely to believe?
RURU - Up to date
It is important to look at the date of the source. Information may go out of date and this may mean it becomes inaccurate.
Real-life example one
If a new government has been elected, laws may be changed so that information related to Laws made by the government. may become out of date, and therefore inaccurate.
Research is happening all of the time, so while information may be found that backs up a An initial guess to a question which is then supported or rejected depending on the evidence collected. in a project, the date of the publication must be checked as there may be more recent information available that goes against previous research.
Real-life example two
For many years, the government set the number of alcoholic units that an adult can drink at 21 units per week for men, but in 2016 this was cut to 14 units per week.
RURU - Relevant
Considering the relevance of the source is also important. The type of information required will affect the relevance of the source.
Real-life example
If you want the latest information on a breaking news story, the best source would be newspapers, news sites and programmes. However, if you want to find out about the long-term impact of an event, then magazines, journals or diaries may be a more appropriate source.
RURU - Useful
The source information also needs to be useful. It needs to contain believable and appropriate information that can be understood.
Real-life example
Historical data may be useful when carrying out research for an essay, but it may be useless when carrying out research about people’s views of a historical era. Some documents may also seem relevant at first but move in a direction that becomes irrelevant, so the document becomes no longer useful.