Understanding Authority Levels
Interpret MARCUS authority scoring before you rely on a cited answer.
Authority scoring helps MARCUS and the user answer a practical question: "How much weight should this document probably carry relative to the others in the project?"
Authority is not the same thing as truth, completeness, or local applicability. It is a structured signal that helps you sort stronger from weaker source types.
Why Authority Matters
Two answers can both be cited and still deserve different levels of trust. For example:
- one answer may rely on a local protocol or formal guideline
- another may rely on lecture notes or a lower-formality document
Both can be informative. They should not necessarily be weighted the same.
Authority helps users and the system avoid treating every piece of uploaded text as equally strong evidence.
Current User-Facing Levels
The source briefing panel currently displays these labels:
| Level | Current label | Plain-language meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unverified source or personal notes | Useful for context, but usually weak as a final basis for action |
| 2 | Case series or lecture notes | Educationally useful, but still limited or narrow |
| 3 | Review chapter or cohort study | Moderate background support, often helpful for context and synthesis |
| 4 | Peer-reviewed article or protocol | Stronger operational or evidence source for many questions |
| 5 | Guideline or meta-analysis | High-weight source type when relevant and current |
How To Use Authority In Practice
- Prefer answers grounded in level 4 to 5 material when available.
- Treat level 1 to 2 material as context, prompts, or supporting texture rather than the final arbiter.
- When a lower-authority source is the only available evidence, treat the answer as a cue for manual review.
- If a local institutional protocol conflicts with an external review, resolve the conflict deliberately rather than assuming one always overrides the other.
What Authority Does Mean
Authority does:
- help rank source strength
- support briefing interpretation
- influence retrieval and answer framing
- help you quickly identify whether the evidence basis looks strong or weak
What Authority Does Not Mean
Authority does not:
- guarantee the source is current
- guarantee the source fits the patient, workflow, or operational context
- guarantee the source is the correct local standard
- remove the need to read the cited passage
A highly authoritative source can still be the wrong source for a local workflow question.
Local Policy Versus External Evidence
This is where authority needs judgment rather than blind obedience.
Examples:
- A local protocol may be the right controlling source for a workflow even if an external review is broader.
- A guideline may be the strongest general evidence source, but local policy may dictate the operational answer.
- A lower-formality internal memo may still matter if it defines a live local process.
The useful question is not "Which number is bigger?" The useful question is "Which source should govern this decision in this setting?"
A Practical Way To Read Authority
When you see a source, ask:
- Is the authority level reasonable for the document type?
- Is this the kind of source I would expect to control this question?
- Is there a more authoritative or more local source that should probably be present?
This turns authority from a passive badge into an active review habit.
When Low-Authority Evidence Is Still Useful
Lower-authority sources are not useless. They can help with:
- local context
- orientation for new staff
- edge-case operational details
- educational explanation
- identifying what stronger evidence is missing
The mistake is not using them. The mistake is treating them as if they settle a question that really needs stronger evidence.
Signs You Should Slow Down
Slow down when:
- a high-stakes answer is grounded only in low-authority material
- the cited source is narrow, informal, or obviously provisional
- the project contains no strong local policy source for an operational question
- the answer sounds stronger than the evidence base underneath it
In those cases, the right next move is often to improve the corpus, not to ask the same question again.
How Authority Interacts With Other Signals
Authority should be interpreted alongside:
- citation relevance
- coverage
- project scope
- recency
- local applicability
For example, a high-authority answer with low coverage may still be incomplete. A moderate-authority local protocol may be more operationally important than a higher-authority but generic external source.
A Safe Habit
If a high-stakes answer rests mainly on low-authority material, either add stronger sources to the project or treat the answer as an informed prompt for manual review rather than a final answer.