Confidence Scale
How much should you trust this study's conclusions? This scale rates the strength of the research design, not the size of the effect.
| Score | Label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 5/5 | Gold standard | A mega-analysis or meta-analysis pooling many randomized controlled trials. Over 1,000 total participants. Published in a top-tier journal. This is as reliable as science gets. |
| 4/5 | Very strong | A single well-designed experiment with 100+ participants and a proper comparison group doing an alternative activity. Or a meta-analysis with a moderate number of participants. |
| 3/5 | Solid | A good experiment, but the comparison group just waited instead of doing an alternative activity. Or a large long-term observational study with strong statistical controls. Credible, but with a gap that prevents full certainty. |
| 2/5 | Suggestive | A small experiment (under 60 people), a snapshot-in-time survey, or a before-and-after study with no comparison group. Interesting, but not definitive. |
| 1/5 | Preliminary | A pilot study, case study, or qualitative-only research. Useful for generating ideas, not for making confident claims. |