critical thinking

It is important that you learn how to critically review research.  In our society today, we are exposed to so much information and so many studies.  Some of this information is excellent, some is useful, and some is very, very bad.  How can you determine what information is useful and what is dangerous?  One way is to take a course like Critical Thinking; however, the facts that I give you will be outdated all too soon. The most important thing you will learn from this course—and from your college education—is how to critically evaluate information presented to you. Critical thinking involves asking five questions: who, what, when, where, how.

1. Find and read an article in the media or a video clip that reports the results of a scientific study.   You must include the link to the website.

   2. How accurately did the mass media report the study?

   3. Answer the above five questions about the article (Who, What, When, Where, and How). Refer to page 351 of your text and be sure to cover all the highlights discussed.  

   Do NOT use entertainment or sports articles for your review. These are to be research based

  CRITICAL THINKING REVIEW EXAMPLE

Critical thinking involves asking five questions—who, when, what, where, how. You should organize your paper in the following manner:  

Your Name                                                                                           Critical Review

Author, I. (date of publication). Title of article. Name of Journal, volume #, <italicized>, issue #, page #-#, Retrieved from <URL> OR DOI

OR  

Author, I. (date of publication). Title of article <italicized>.  Publishing organization, Retrieved from <URL>

Where: Where did this article/Web page appear? Is this reasonable? Is the publishing entity respectable/responsible?  

Who: Who wrote/published the article/Web page? What are their credentials? Are the credentials appropriate for their argument?

When: Is this current information? If yes, do you think it will stand the “test of time”? If no, is it outdated or is it classic?  

What: What argument is/are the author(s) making? Is it logical? Based on what you know, is it reasonable? What evidence is given to support the argument? Can you think of evidence to refute it?

How: How was the supporting/refuting evidence collected? Is this credible? What kind of evidence do you think needs to be gathered to test the argument? Did the author(s) do this?  

Summarize the quality of the article (it does not have to be a “good” article in your opinion), and whether you consider this to be a worthwhile and trustworthy article. Did you think it was biased? Could the author have underlying motives? What do you think? Is it valid?

NOTE: Do not simply answer yes or no to the questions above. Write a thoughtful response to each section. 

<<NOTE:  This is a sample but NOT indicative of how long the assignment is to be.  Remember, the minimum word count is 300 words>>