How to find out if an author is practicing pseudoscience or is fraudulent?
Context: I'm a PhD student in Computational Social Science, so I'm very knowledgable about Complexity Science and related fields and how they are applied to design, architecture, organization science, and economics.  Also, my adviser is a leader in the field of Design Science, particularly how Cognitive Science and AI can be applied to understand design and designers.  Finally, I have a lot of domain knowledge regarding Pattern Languages and generative models of conception and design.


  Is there any way to find if I can trust these authors?


I've encountered many authors, researchers, and consultants who I have identified as "charlatans" when it comes to applying Complexity Science or other models or theories to social systems.  For the most part, they apply Complexity Science only in a metaphorical sense (e.g. "edge of chaos" concept), but have no basis or foundation in empirical or theoretical research.

But to determine whether any particular author is a charlatan or not, there is no substitute for you understanding the underlying theory or method. There is no reliable method for you to determine whether author A has a valid foundation in theory X unless you do your homework and develop a working understanding of theory X.  If, on the other hand, you stay with your position that "I'm not a mathematician", then you have no basis for deciding either way.  Looking at what other people say or citations will not help you, in an academic sense.

If you don't want to do the work to understand the mathematics, computational science, and formal methods that these author use, then just go another direction.  If you must include them in your papers, then just say that you have no opinion on their validity or significance because their methods/theories are beyond your grasp.

Finally, just because you don't understand the mathematical and computational methods these authors use their theories doesn't mean there is any "junk science" going on.  As Steven Covey (7 Habits) advised: "Seek first to understand."



Edit: Whether or not these authors have tenured positions at important Universities is not very good evidence regarding whether their "science" is "junk" or not.