Assessing credibility in oral statements: A scientifically based decision aid

Purpose and goal

The aim of the project was to provide a concrete and powerful contribution to a safer migration by focusing on something that is at the very core of all migration cases: the applicant´s statement. The contribution is a user-friendly decision aid consisting of scientifically based knowledge relevant to credibility assessments of oral statements.

Expected results and effects

A concrete result of the project is a science-based decision aid that is going to be submitted to the Swedish Migration Agency. By implementing the decision aid, the Agency´s work with credibility assessments is expected to be more founded in scientific knowledge. The project has also generated ideas for new collaborations and encouraged the work of ensuring the quality of credibility assessments in migration contexts.

Planned approach and implementation

The project was conducted by prominent researchers in legal psychology and social anthropology. Initially the project group conducted a list of relevant themes to include in the decision aid. An advisory board of international experts in the field came with valuable feedback before the writing of the script, for example by discussing the list of themes with the project group. The writing of the decision aid has been a process where different perspectives had to face each other, which stimulated the quality of the decision aid´s form and content.