Critical thinking

Professor Mariana NICOLAE

International Business & Economics, 3rd year, 2015

Overview

Finding & evaluating sources of evidence

Types of sources

Literature review

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

Finding & evaluating sources of evidence

two types of evidence obtained through:

First hand research:

Second hand research:

Examples?

Finding & evaluating sources of evidence

First hand research:

Contemporary letters, documents, images

Newspapers, books, pamphflets, leaflets of the time

Videos of the time

Audio recordings of the time

Artefacts tools, pottery, furniture

Testimonies

Raw data of experiments

Materials on the internet if proper

Things you did yourself - interviews, experiments,

surveys/questionnaires, or personal experience/diaries and
anecdotes.

Finding & evaluating sources of evidence

Second hand research:

Done by others

texts, books, periodicals, documentaries, Web sites.

Interviews

Biographies

Papers, reports of various events

sources must be checked for credibility. They must be

reliable, accurate, & trustworthy.

Evaluating sources of evidence

How to check credibility? Ask the following questions:

Who is the author?

(Credible - authors respected in their fields; will cite their

sources; a good way to find more sources for your own research.)

How recent is the source?

depends on your topic. (history may use old sources: sources on

IT, or industries experiencing rapid changes, need to be much
more current)

Evaluating sources of evidence

What is the author's purpose?

to give a neutral, objective view of a topic?

to advocate one specific view of a topic?

Who is funding the research of this source?

A source written from a particular point of view may be

credible; but it may limit your coverage of a topic to one
side of a debate.

Evaluating sources of evidence

What type of sources does your audience value?

professional or academic audiences prefer peer-reviewed

journals

a group of general public may prefer mainstream sources

(Time, The Guardian, Adevarul, internet depending on
profile).

Be careful when you evaluate Internet sources!

Do not use Web sites where materials are anonymous

(except those associated with reputable institutions - a
respected university, a credible media outlet, government
programme/department, well-known NGOs.

Wikipedia

Literature review

What is a lit review?

A lit review =

a select analysis of existing research relevant to your topic,

shows how it relates to your work.

explains & justifies how your work may help answer questions or
gaps in this area of research.

A lit review is not:

a summary of all you have read on the topic

a chronological description of what was discovered in your field.

Lit review

A lit review demonstrates that you are able to:

Understand & critically analyse the background research

Select & source the information that gives a context for your own
research

Shows how your work relates to previous research

Shows the contribution that your research makes to this field (fills a
gap, builds on existing research)

Offers evidence that may help explain your findings later

lit reviews are needed for a graduation paper, a thesis,

dissertation, or a long report

Lit review how to?

start out broad and then become more specific.

briefly explain the broad issues related to your investigation

shows that you are aware of the scale of your subject.

narrow your focus to deal with the studies that overlap with
your research.

concentrate on research directly related to your specific

research.

https://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/E
ssays/sta-startinglitreview.aspx

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

relevant - it has a definite relation to the claim.

not direct or clear, but definite - it has to be there.

evidence may be 100% accurate
worthless, because it does

not relate to the claim.

Irrelevant evidence =

one of the most common problems in arguments

used at times in a deliberate attempt to confuse or mislead

more commonly used by people who are confused

themselves. They think they see a relationship where there
isnt any.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

To decide upon the relevance or irrelevance of evidence is

not easy.

irrelevant at first glance does not mean it has no connection

to the claim.

a good way is to assume the evidence is relevant & then try

to see how. (it trains your mind to spot hidden connections

Relevance a matter of degree.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

People need to improve their understanding of how

language works so that they can use it more effectively.
Research studies (Bloggs, 2003; Bloggs, 2006) show that
the study of a foreign language improves our
understanding of the structure of language, providing a
way of comparing different language structures.
Therefore, people who only speak one language should be
encouraged to study a second language.

Conclusion - people who speak only one language should

be encouraged to study a second language.

Evidence - study of a foreign language improves

understanding of the structure of language. relevant.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

People need to improve their understanding of how language

works so that they can use it more effectively. Research
studies (Bloggs, 2003; Bloggs, 2006) show that many people
cannot describe the different components of their own
language. A surprising number of people have difficulties
remembering the rules even of their mother tongue.
Therefore, people who only speak one language should be
encouraged to study a second language.

Conclusion if people have difficulties in their own language

why should they be encouraged to study a second one?

Evidence relevant to the debate, but does not support the

conclusion. More information is needed.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

People need to improve their understanding of how

language works so that they can use it more effectively.
Research studies (Bloggs, 2003; Bloggs, 2006) show
people can recognise concepts in a foreign language even
when there is no word for that concept in their mother
tongue. Therefore, people who only speak one language
should be encouraged to study a second language.

Evidence recognising concepts in a foreign language. No

apparent relevance to the conclusion.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence

Read the passage. Identify whether the evidence and reasons are
relevant to the conclusion.

Relevant & irrelevant evidence