Foundations of Research Introduction to critical thinking and

Foundations of Research Introduction to critical thinking and science 1 Part 1. This is a Power. Point Show ü Click “slide show” to start it. ü Click through it by pressing any key. ü Focus & think about each point; do not just passively click. ü To print: ü Click “File” then “Print…”. ü Under “print what” click “handouts (3 slides per page)”. © Dr. David J. Mc. Kirnan, 2014 The University of Illinois Chicago Mc. Kirnan. UIC@gmail. com Do not use or reproduce without permission Cranach, Tree of Knowledge [of Good and Evil] (1472)

Foundations of Research 2 Core components of science What is science? Values An approach to understanding. What makes an idea or a statement about the world “scientific”? We will think about three elements of a scientific approach: Content Methods Facts & findings “Rules” for collecting evidence

Foundations of Research 3 Core components of science What is science? Values: Science combines Critical thought with Empiricism ü We strive to understand the Natural World Personal Statements Many If Critical nothing scientific thinking values else, about ais ü The core purpose is Theory: how do natural ultimate studies scientific the underlie coredescribe purposes the of statement a processes work? or grounded the is scientific integrity meaning world, oforbut science are inthe beliefs, bottom observable empirical as a whole. line not attitude. is facts to or ü Theory development rests on Evidence: What scientific facts. understand findings. how empirical findings support your hypothesis. things work. ü Scientific thinking is Skeptical: “how do you know that? ”, “is that logically coherent…”. ü Scientific Integrity demands honest reporting and interpretation of empirical findings.

Foundations of Research 4 Core components of science What is science? Values: Critical thought + Empiricism Classification systems or taxonomies Basic Of course, theories –the e. g. , – core learning diagnoses, of theory, science evolution is “types”, factually – are personality genus and species well describing enough – are the established important natural elements ofworld. to scientific description. represent “facts”. Content ü Empirical findings: Facts ü Ways of classifying nature ü Well supported theories Objective, Measurement empirical or direct data collection observation methods – e. g. , are Experiments are often –the tracking designed disease to overcome rates is “gold standard” personal one biases major and stream error. of scientific research. Methods ü Objective approaches ü Measurement & observational studies ü Experiments

Foundations of Research 5 What will we address in this module? We will use this frame work for these introductory modules: Part I will address the Values component …. Values How we understand. Content Methods Facts & findings “Rules” of evidence n We mostly talk about Critical Thinking… Active n n Skeptical; n n Part II will introduce Content and Methods. Critically evaluate explanations. Creative n We will use a critical thinking perspective to understand the basic process of scientific (or empirical…) thought. Actively explain the world. Develop alternative explanations.

Foundations of Research 6 Core components of science What is science? Science and empiricism are about explaining things … events in the world. Values: n Criticalsomething? thought + Empiricism How do we explain n What makes a good or bad explanation? n ü Understand the Natural World ü Theory: How or Why? How do we determine an do explanation ü Evidence: if. How you know? is ‘valid’ or meaningful? Content Methods ü Objective approaches ü Empirical findings: Facts n Being clear about how we explain is called ü Basicthings experimental design ü Ways of classifying nature how research we think. Critical Thought; thinking about ü Specific procedures ü Well supported theories ü Science is public

Foundations of Research 7 Emotions and critical thinking Let’s begin with an exploration of why or how critical thinking may be important. Why is our culture so partisan? Why does it seem that Liberals and Conservatives cannot see eye-to-eye on anything? Read two short articles: Shutterstock Click for Civil. Politics. org: Fight Club Politics, a history of partisanship in U. S. politics. First, by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times; liberals and conservatives may differ in core emotional dispositions. Second, by Lane Wallace in The Atlantic; our partisan impasse will only be solved by critical thinking; discussing emotions is a distraction. Think critically: How strongly does each author make his point? What evidence or logic did (did not!) convince you of the authors’ points.

Foundations of Research Critical thinking Values: Critical thought + Empiricism do you that? Core How question for know critical thought: § What is the question? • What actually needs explaining? • Does this explanation really fit the question? § What assumptions are you making? • Are you making assumptions you are not aware of… • …that may not be appropriate. § What empirical evidence is there? • How do you know if the evidence is valid and reliable? § Does your explanation make sense? • Is it logically coherent? • Does it jibe with what we already know about the world? § What other explanation or interpretation makes more sense? • What is the most simple way to explain this? 8

Foundations of Research 9 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question; What needs explaining? Sometimes the stated question is not what the explanation is actually addressing… § § § This is from a critical thinking (? ) quiz. ‘d’ is given as the correct answer. Look at it for a minute and How does it show sloppy thought? try to figure it out… Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust.

Foundations of Research 10 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question; What needs explaining? Sometimes the stated question is not what the explanation is actually addressing… § § § This is from a critical thinking (? ) quiz. ‘d’ is given as the correct answer. How does it show sloppy thought? Click through to see what is going on here: Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? ? a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust.

Foundations of Research 11 Critical thinking; How do you know that? 19. Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? ? (There is not likely to be much consensus as to the 'correct' answer. Think critically and objectively about this issue. ) a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust. Not correct. The loss of ozone increases ultraviolet light, which is harmful but does not affect climate change.

Foundations of Research 12 Critical thinking; How do you know that? 19. Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? ? (There is not likely to be much consensus as to the 'correct' answer. Think critically and objectively about this issue. ) a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust. Both of these are important sources of C 02 increase. The question designer considered both to be false (not the major source…).

Foundations of Research 13 Critical thinking; How do you know that? 19. Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? ? (There is not likely to be much consensus as to the 'correct' answer. Think critically and objectively about this issue. ) a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust. This item is scored as being correct. See if you can figure out why it is not. Does the answer actually address the question?

Foundations of Research 14 Critical thinking; How do you know that? 19. Here is an interesting question. Which might be the major factor responsible for the rise in carbon dioxide ("greenhouse gases") in our atmosphere? ? (There is not likely to be much consensus as to the 'correct' answer. Think critically and objectively about this issue. ) a. A hole in the ozone layer. b. Excess carbon dioxide due to the loss of tropical forests. c. The carbon dioxide from utility power plants. d. The major source of carbon dioxide is likely coming from volcanoes, vents in our earth's crust, the oceans, and weathering of the earth's crust. The answer tells us where C 02 comes from at all – volcanoes etc. However, the question does not ask about where C 02, comes from generally. . If you read closely you can see it asks about the rise in C 02. Since these general causes of C 02 have been stable since the industrial revolution, they cannot account for a rise in C 02.

Foundations of Research 15 Critical thinking; How do you know that? Another frame for these options is: • Why is there climate on the planet at all, vs. • Why is the planet’s climate changing. By giving a correct answer to the wrong question…. . the writer steers us away from recognizing empirical evidence ü C 02 levels have been rising substantially since the late 19 th century, coincident with the industrial revolution. ü Global temperatures have tracked perfectly with increasing C 02. ü Theories of Global warming are strongly supported by both temperature observations* and counts of extreme weather events. *including ocean temperatures

Foundations of Research 16 Critical thinking; How do you know that? Another frame for these options is: • Why is there climate on the planet at all, vs. • Why is the planet’s climate changing. By giving a correct answer to the wrong question…. . the writer steers us away from recognizing empirical evidence. . . and distracts us from more substantive questions. ü How do we precisely gauge human contribution to C 02 increase? ü How do air temperature increases relate to ocean temperature? ü Are climate change theories predicative as well as descriptive?

Foundations of Research What is the question; What needs explaining? § There are lots of examples of explanations that do not actually address the questions. § From a recent radio show where people call in their answers to common questions: Why does my cat suddenly show up and hang around when I am sitting on the toilet? ➔ The questioner wanted to know why cats hang around cats like to lay on bathroom floor tile. Answer : at. Because specifically that time. Of course not. Question: ➔ The answer explained why cats may generally be in the § Whatbathroom is the caller really asking? (particularly on a hot day), not why they magically when actually you are explain sitting on the toilet… § Doesappear this answer that? Being on what the question actually is may seem § Click forclear the answer. obvious, but can take some thought to get right… 17

Foundations of Research 18 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question? § What assumptions are you making? § What empirical evidence is there? § Does it make sense? § What other explanation or interpretation makes more sense?

Foundations of Research 19 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question? § What assumptions are you making Assumptions often critically affect the inferences we make. Imagine a situation… A man is lying in the gutter What Inference might you make about it? That man is a vagrant. That man needs help. Example taken from The Critical Thinking Community.

Foundations of Research 20 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question? § What assumptions are you making Assumptions often critically affect the inferences we make. Imagine a situation… A man is lying in the gutter What assumptions underlie your inference? ü Only bums lie in gutters. ü People are wholly responsible for their fate. ü He is getting what he deserves… Note how the inference is based on both a simple assumption and larger social values or ideology. What Inference might you make about it? That man is a vagrant. That man needs help.

Foundations of Research 21 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the question? § What assumptions are you making Assumptions often critically affect the inferences we make. Imagine a situation… A man is lying in the gutter What happens when you change your assumption? ü Anybody in the gutter is in need of help. ü People suffer from personal or social problems that they cannot control. ü No one deserves… Note how the inference changes with a different social values or ideology… What Inference might you make about it? That man is a vagrant. That man needs help.

Foundations of Research 22 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § How do you know that? § What assumptions are you making § What empirical evidence is there? ü As people we have built-in difficulties being objective… • We all have a confirmatory bias; § We are most sensitive to “facts” that support our assumptions (hypotheses…). § This self-serving bias can make us cherry pick only certain kinds of information. • We are swayed by the emotional salience of information § We are particularly sensitive to information, assumptions, or conclusions that make us feel better or in control of our world. • Critical thinking – science – demands that we overcome these sources of bias.

Foundations of Research 23 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § How do you know that? No, global warming is not a myth just § What assumptions are you making because it was cold last winter… § What empirical evidence is there? ü To think Critically we must strive to minimize our personal or ideological biases; • Evidence must not depend upon who is collecting it. “You can have your own opinions, but you ü Critical thinking demands honesty. cannot have your own facts”. • We must be willing to “go with the data”; accept when our assumptions are contradicted by evidence. • Ignoring the larger context and citing self-serving “facts” is invariably misleading.

Foundations of Research 24 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § How do you know that? § logically What assumptions are youcauses making In a coherent explanation and effects are independent and potentially be falsifiable. § What empirical evidence is there? In circular reasoning you assume a certain cause only by § • Does it make sense? observing an effect; you do not assess them independently. § § § “All behavior is due to an external, learned stimulus. ” “But how do we know when an important stimulus is present? ” “We see behavior occurring, so there must be an important stimulus…” § § § “All adult neuroses are due to problems in childrearing. ” “Wait, this patient reports a fine childhood, but is crazy as a loon. ” “Clearly your patient is in denial about her problem childhood…” • These causes “explain” the outcomes only if we already believe theory! • They do not actually test or support theory.

Foundations of Research 25 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § Does it make sense? In a logically coherent explanation causes and effects are independent and potentially be falsifiable. • In circular reasoning you assume a certain cause only by observing an effect; you do not assess them independently. • In a “No True Scotsman” –type fallacy an explanation cannot be found false; § No true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge. § “Wait, I am an Scotsman and I put sugar in my porridge!” § “Well, clearly you are not a true Scotsman…” § “No one who truly understands Christianity could reject it. ” • These statements cannot be proved false; any counterinformation is dismissed as not “real”. • You are either not a true Scotsman… • …or do not understand Christianity…

Foundations of Research 26 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § Does it make sense? These and many of the fallacies show the danger of taking statements – even (ostensibly) empirical statements at face value. Clear thinking comes only from care and work! Of course a core value underlying Science and critical thought generally is honesty. Despite structures to monitor the integrity of evidence, personal integrity on the part of researchers is still crucial. We will spend time on this when we get to Research Ethics. Image: Shutterstock

Foundations of Research 27 Critical thinking; How do you know that? § What is the real question? § What assumptions are you making § What empirical evidence is there? § Does it make sense? § What other explanation or interpretation may make more sense?

Foundations of Research 28 Critical thinking § What other explanation or interpretation may make more sense? Many of our explanations – including scientific hypotheses – may have equally plausible alternative explanations. This is particularly the case with correlational findings. • During the recent recession economists found a strong correlation Marco Rubio between the U. S. budget deficit and unemployment. • Some politicians took this to mean that to lessen unemployment we must first lower the deficit, since deficits cause unemployment. • What alternative explanation of the finding can you imagine? • Perhaps unemployment and deficits are not causally related. • Perhaps unemployment leads to deficits, rather than the other way around. ü Lower tax revenues; ü More unemployment compensation. . . • As you can imagine, people with different political agendas seized on one or the other of these interpretations… Click to read a discussion in the Daily Kos.

Foundations of Research 29 Critical thinking § What other explanation or interpretation may make more sense? Many of our explanations of things – including scientific hypotheses – may have equally plausible alternative explanations. It is always important to ask “…what else may be going on here…? ” Take a critical thinking quiz here.

Foundations of Research 30 Critical thinking § How do you know that: § What assumptions are you making? § What empirical evidence is there? So, how do we think critically? § Does it make sense? What does that look like? § What other explanation or interpretation may make more sense? Critical thinking is…

Foundations of Research n Active n n n What is critical thinking? 31 Click for cool critical thinking site. Seek (new & diverse) information rather than passively accepting an existing or traditional conclusion. Skeptical; (Not simply doubting everything; click the image for a discussion. ) n Suspend belief until there is evidence n Make judgments about whether something… n Is plausible & rational n Is supported by evidence Shutterstock n Be clear on the limitations of your and others’ knowledge n Be prepared to change in the face of new evidence or theory Creative n n Develop and consider alternative explanations or interpretations Imagine different ways to evaluate or test a claim

Foundations of Research Examples of critical thinking. Critical thinking is important every approach to knowledge Science Math Humanities Health fields Criminal justice Politics, debate Critically analyzing results of experiments in light of the quality of the data and existing theories. Selecting and evaluating strategies for modeling a problem. Putting literature and art into their historical context; critically analyzing the meaning of a work. Evaluating symptom patterns to make decisions in clinical settings. Weighting evidence to reach decisions about guilt and responsibility. Honestly analyzing others’ points of view, basing arguments on evidence and logic. Examples in this section adapted from: http: //www. spcollege. edu/criticalthinking/documents/Critical_thinking_examples. ppt. 32

Foundations of Research 33 Examples of critical thinking. We engage in critical thinking all the time… How concerned should I be about crime? Should I just stay home? Is this plane ticket really cheaper? How much should I believe this news story? Where did I hear it – what biases do they have? Do celebrity “dietary cleansings” really help? Is she angry at me? …or just in a bad mood? What real evidence is there? Did I do something wrong? What are my real chances of winning the lottery? How do I figure out of s/he is a good match for me? Which phone company plan is best? Adapted from: http: //www. spcollege. edu/criticalthinking/documents/Critical_thinking_examples. ppt. Images: Shutterstock. com

Foundations of Research 34 Examples of critical thinking. We engage in critical thinking all time in day-to-day life: by: Wethe answer these questions ü Collecting & critically evaluating How concerned should I be about crime? evidence Is this plane ticket really cheaper? ü Framing it in terms of what we already know about the world How much should I believe this news story? ü Forming a logical conclusion. Do “The Secret” or diet cleansing really. This help? is critical thought in action! Emotions – T Mobile has the coolest ads – distracts from clearly evaluating our options. Is she angry at me? The more we hone our critical thinking What are my real chances of winning the lottery? skills… – the more we think about how we are thinking – How do I figure out of s/he is a good match for me? Which phone company plan is best? . . the better we are at navigating the world.

Foundations of Research Critical Thought and Free Speech 35 Critically evaluate two arguments: Click the image for a New York Times article on free speech and license plates. The case involves states allowing or disallowing certain vanity license plates: The Confederate flag vs. an abortion rights message. Shutterstock ü Should both be allowed? ü Neither? ü One but not the other? Take a position – not necessarily the author’s! – and use your list of critical thought questions to defend it. Write a sentence or two for each thought question. How do you know that: § What assumptions are you making? § § § What empirical evidence is there? Does it make sense? What other explanation may make more sense?

Foundations of Research n n 36 Critical thinking & Science How do the foundations of critical thought map on to scientific discovery? Here is one model of the scientific process: Phenomenon Theory What is it? How do I think it works? Hypothesis What do I predict, based on my theory? Methods What evidence will test my hypothesis?

Foundations of Research n Critical thinking & Science 37 One model of the scientific process: Phenomenon How or why are particular people attracted to each other? We begin by stating a general question; • What do we not understand about some important part of the world? • What needs further explanation? • What gaps are there in our knowledge? • What new idea or concept do I want to explore?

Foundations of Research n Critical thinking & Science 38 One model of the scientific process: Phenomenon How can we best explain the phenomenon? Theory Attraction may be enhanced by cultural similarity. Attraction may be mediated by antigenic complementarity. * • What coherent or logical principles might underlie what we observe? • What well understood physical, social or psychological processes can explain how or why this works? • What principles can I adopt from a completely different field to better explain this phenomenon? *Evolution has favored offspring of mates with complementary features of their immune systems, which are detectible in sweat.

Foundations of Research n Critical thinking & Science 39 One model of the scientific process: I predict that when I present research participants with: more / less attractive people Phenomenon who are more / less culturally similar Cultural similarity will be more Theory important than attractiveness. Hypothesis What concrete and specific prediction about the world flows from – and tests – our theory? • If I manipulate certain conditions in an experiment, what measurable outcome do I expect? • If I am observing nature – say, in paleontology or archeology, or historical or literary research – what patterns or relationships do I expect?

Foundations of Research n Critical thinking & Science 40 One model of the scientific process: I predict that when I present female research participants with t-shirts worn by men with Phenomenon …more / less antigenic complementarity… Complementarity will generally Theory predict attraction. Hypothesis What concrete and specific prediction about the world flows from – and tests – our theory? • If I manipulate certain conditions in an experiment, what measurable outcome do I expect? • If I am observing nature – say, in paleontology or archeology, or historical or literary research – what patterns or relationships do I expect?

Foundations of Research n Critical thinking & Science 41 One model of the scientific process: How do I structure my lab Phenomenon experiment so that the conditions are ü plausible & realistic, but ü still controlled enough to Theory clearly test my hypothesis… Hypothesis Methods What empirical evidence will test the hypothesis? • What must I measure or observe to determine whether or not the hypothesis is supported? • How do I assure that the evidence is unbiased and objective? o Could anyone repeat my study and get the same results? o Are my observations well understood or standard in my field?

Psychology 242 Introduction to Research Critical thinking in science Values: Critical thought + Empiricism As critical thought, scientific process is: Active; • Actively seek new or better Phenomenon Theory Hypothesis Methods / Data explanations… Skeptical; • Theories must be coherent and logical • New evidence can always overturn our theories or beliefs. • Hypotheses must be specific enough to be tested. • Without valid empirical evidence all beliefs are tentative. Creative; • Every stage benefits from innovation. 42

Foundations of Research Go on to Part 2 after a break. Summary; Introduction, part 1 43 SUMMARY ü In this module be have begun our exploration of the core elements of empirical or scientific thought… ü We began by asking some critical thought questions; How do you know that? ü What assumptions are you making? ü What empirical evidence is there? ü Does it make sense? ü Are there alternate explanations? ü To address these questions critical thought must be… Phenomenon Theory Hypothesis Methods Active; • We seek new or better explanations Skeptical; • Theories must be coherent and logical • Hypotheses must be specific enough to be tested. • New evidence can always overturn our theories. Creative; • Innovation helps develop and evaluate ideas. ü These values underlie the basic research process…