Rubric reference
Evidence Strength Rubric
Evidence Strength: A 0–100 grade of how well a single research finding is supported, scored on independent sources, method diversity, segment coverage, recency, qualitative-quantitative agreement and contradicting evidence.
How do you evaluate whether a research finding is reliable?
Score it on six factors: how many independent sources support it, how many kinds of method, whether it covers every segment the decision affects, how recent it is, whether qualitative and quantitative evidence agree, and whether you looked for contradicting evidence. A finding from one source or one method can't be graded Strong, however convincing it sounds.
Criteria and weights
| Factor | Max | Scoring |
|---|---|---|
| Independent sources | 20 | One 4 · two or three 13 · four or more 20 |
| Method diversity | 25 | Method families: one 6 · two 16 · three or more 25 |
| Segment coverage | 20 | Thin 5 · main segment 12 · every affected segment 20 |
| Recency | 15 | Under 3 months 15 · 3–6 12 · 6–12 8 · 12–18 4 · over 18 0 |
| Qual-quant agreement | 15 | Agree 15 · one type only 6 · partly disagree 3 · disagree 0 |
| Contradicting evidence | 5 | None found after looking 5 · explained 4 · not looked or unresolved 0 |
Bands
| Score | Grade |
|---|---|
| 75–100 | Strong |
| 55–74 | Moderate |
| 35–54 | Emerging |
| 0–34 | Anecdotal |
Caps and overrides
- Single source and single method: capped at Emerging.
- Single source, or single method: capped at Moderate.
- Unresolved contradicting evidence: capped at Moderate.
- Qualitative and quantitative evidence disagree: capped at Moderate.
How to apply it
- Write the finding as one sentence, separate from the evidence.
- List every source and the method behind each.
- Score the six factors and add them up.
- Apply any caps, then read the grade.
Use it
Score it in the free Research Evidence Strength Calculator, or keep it running in Research Repository OS.
Plotted Work Studio rubric by Dominique Simmons. You may cite or adapt it with a link to this page.