org.rr0.im.service.function
Interface CaseReliability

All Known Implementing Classes:

CaseReliabilityImpl

public interface CaseReliability

extends Function

Reliability Index, symbolized as Pi.
It will be a decimal value between zero and one, indicating the witness "credibility".
There are six categories within this parameter and each is assigned a "weight factor".
From the information recorded, in the report, one selects the appropriate number from each category,
multiplies it by its "weight factor," and ultimately adds the six results together to produce the index.
Obviously, if little or nothing is recorded about the witnesses and their activity at the time of the sighting,
they will receive a very low , so it is incumbent on the Field Investigator to take as much care
in reporting this information as that which just describes the anomaly.

Author:

Ballester-Guasp (MUFON Spain) for specification. Thanks to Terry Groff for publishing it., Jérôme Beau for implementation.

Version: 15 juin 2003 17:42:37

public double getOccupationFactor(Being witness)

Factor depending on the profession or occupation of the witnesses
(indicates their level of job responsibility, from which can be inferred a measure of their dependability or social status).

Note that "retired" is not a profession.
Investigators should ask and record what the witness' career was before they retired,
as well as military service, and anything else that would help to assess that person's reliability
as an observer and reporter of phenomenal events. MUFON report forms provide extensive space
for "additional comments;" in too many cases unused).

Parameters:

witness

Returns: A value between 0 and 1.

public double getWitnessesAgeFactor(Account someAccount)

Factor depending on relationship between witnesses
(provides indication of the theoretical tendency to generate a hoax together,
based on the different types of ties between them).

Returns: A value between 0 and 1.

public double getWitnessesRelationshipFactor(Case someCase)

Factor depending on relationship between witnesses
(provides indication of the theoretical tendency to generate a hoax together,
based on the different types of ties between them).

Returns: A value between 0 and 1.

public double witnessCountFactor(Case someCase)

Factor depending on the number of witnesses (a sighting is more believable if it has more witnesses).
Note that MUFON requires this to be the number of witnesses interviewed or having signed report forms.
A witness that is interviewed and says that others were present remains a single witness
unless those others are somehow contacted and confirmed.

Parameters:

someCase

Returns: A value between 0 and 1.