Knowledge Calibration

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe the concept of knowledge calibration within the context of knowledge management. Knowledge calibration is a concept borrowed from the psychology of decision making. It refers to the correspondence between knowledge accuracy and the confidence with which knowledge is held. Calibration is a potentially important concept for knowledge management because it describes one of the subtle errors that can lead to poor decisions. Where the correspondence between the accuracy of one’s knowledge and the confidence in that knowledge is high, decisions are described as well calibrated; but poor correspondence implies miscalibrated decisions. Since one concern of the field of knowledge management is the best use of knowledge for decision-making purposes, this topic is relevant.