Author Credentials

Can you can trust an author?

This is a difficult problem, but it is helpful to look at an author's credentials. Credentials are proof that other experts in the field recognize the author as a peer.

There are several types of credentials

Educational Credentials

• In order to achieve educational credentials, the author has to have proven his/her expertise to other experts in the field
• Educational credentials have differing degrees of value. A PhD is a sign of more expertise than a Master's degree. Except for a few fields in which a Master's degree is the terminal (highest) degree, most authoritative scholars have a PhD

Leadership Credentials

• Leaders are people who are recognized as outstanding in their field
• Sometimes they are the recipients of awards (like the Pulitzer Prize)
• Sometimes they are identifiable through their title (such as Chief Information Officer for Motorola or President of Amnesty International)
• People with Leadership Credentials may or may not have Educational Credentials, but leaders have abundant experience that gives them authoritative expertise

Affiliation Credentials

• Sometimes people gain authority through their affiliations
• Scholars gain some authority for their academic posts and affiliations with institutions of higher learning or think tanks

Warning!

These credentials do not provide authority across the board but apply to a specific area of expertise. An author with a PhD in Physiology is not necessarily qualified to write about parenting skills. The President of Amnesty International is not necessarily qualified to recommend medical procedures. A faculty member at Harvard School of Business is not necessarily qualified to talk about the Holocaust.