Always ask

What is the evidence?

What is the evidence supporting the claim?

To determine the trustworthiness of a claim, you should first find out whether there is evidence that supports (or contradicts) the claim. This evidence can come from the scientific literature, organizational data, or even professional experience.

Claims that are trustworthy are often supported by multiple sources of evidence. For example, there may be scientific research demonstrating that a claim regarding the positive effect of a particular intervention on a certain organizational outcome is likely to be true, as well as organizational data indicating that the intervention is effective in a wide range of organizational contexts.

BEWARE

Claims for which no supporting evidence is available should be regarded as merely a belief or personal opinion.