Transcript Issues/Research

Issues/Research
KNR 208
Topic vs Issue
• Topic – The subject of a discussion,
speech
• Issue - Are matters of wide public
concern arising out of complex human
problems. Issues exist in society as a
result of complex social, economic,
political and/or technological problems
and involve multiple interests and
viewpoints.
• Issues have two sides: a pro and a con
side
Persuasive Argument
• The most persuasive argument is
the one that supports its thesis by
referring to relevant, accurate, and
up-to-date information from the
best sources.
Your Investigation
• How credible is the author?
• How recent is the material?
• What type of research was
conducted?
• To what degree is there
documentation of the
argument?
• Are there several sources
with the same
data/information?
Empiricism
• Empiricism implies going to the
best source for material.
• Original research material is
preferable to secondary sources,
which is preferable to hearsay.
Fact vs. Opinion
• Fact – a statement that can be proven.
Generally determined through research. They
are documented and can be known or
observed by others. It can be replicated by
other research.
• Opinion – a statement that expresses how a
person feels about an issue or what someone
thinks is true. They carry less weight in
evaluating an argument. They are a product
of the writers biases and beliefs.
• Many authors will blend fact and opinion. It is
the responsibility of the critical thinker to
discriminate successfully between the two.
Propaganda
• Propaganda is information
presented in order to influence
a reader. It is not necessarily
“good” or “bad”.
• Look at the author’s
background and motivations.
• Check the editorial policies of
the source of the publication.
Examples of Propaganda
• Name-calling – Trash-talking another product or
person (My opponent is an alcoholic.)
• Testimonial – A famous person recommends a
product; political endorsements
• Card-stacking - Manipulating information to
make a product appear better than it is often by
unfair comparison or omitting facts. (Mac vs
Windows)
• Bandwagon - An appeal to be part of a group.
Finding common threads – race, religion,
vocation (Ads for working America)
• Plain folks - Appealing to regular people's
values like family, patriotism (Presidents
portraying themselves as “common folks”
Examples of Propaganda
• Generating fear - Fear is generated to change
people’s behavior. An ad will show a bloody
accident then remind people to wear their
seatbelts.
• Creating a false dilemma - An example of
false dilemma is where two choices are
offered as if they are the only two options. For
example, a president saying in order to
reduce the deficit, we have to either tax the
wealthy more or ask seniors to pay more for
Medicare.
• Using slogans - If a slogan is repeated
enough times, eventually the public will come
to believe it.
Cause/Effect
• Some material is written to establish or
advance a hypothesis that some
circumstances “cause” specific things
to happen.
• Example – “Birds fly south in winter
because it gets cold in northern areas.”
Cause/Effect
• Data exists to show a relationship
between temperature and bird
population density: population
decreases as temperature
decreases.
• But, no experiment has conclusively
established that temperature is a
causative factor of bird migration.
• Could it be that food supplies
become scarce during colder
temperatures?
• Could it be their means of breeding
instincts?
• Could it be that they just want a
change of scenery?
Cause/Effect
• To analyze for this cause/effect relationship
try to generate alternative plausible
hypotheses.
• Questions to ask:
– Is information distorted?
– Are there faulty generalizations? (Ducks
and geese migrate south for the winter,
therefore, all birds migrate south)
– Is the author oversimplifying the issue?
(Authors completely ignore opposite
positions)
Cause/Effect
• In one city there
was an increase in
the number of
mother-in-laws
and an increase in
the number of
sales of rum.
• Therefore, more
mother-in-laws
were drinking rum!
Cause/Effect
• A South Carolina professor sent his
students to observe Coke vending
machines.
• More overweight individuals selected
“diet” coke than regular coke, therefore
diet coke is the cause for individuals
being overweight!
Generalizations
• Judgments are based
on inaccurate or
incomplete information.
• Example: Greek
organizations on
college campuses have
been identified with
excessive use of
alcohol. Therefore all
members of a Greek
organization drink
alcohol.
Evaluating On-Line Health
Care Information
• A good rule of thumb is to find a Web site that has a
person, institution or organization in which you
already have confidence. If possible, you should
seek information from several sources and not rely
on a single source of information.
• Trust what you see or read on the Internet only if
you can validate the source of the information.
Authors and contributors should always be
identified, along with their affiliations and financial
interests, if any, in the content. Phone numbers, email addresses or other contact information should
also be provided
Evaluating On-Line Health
Care Information
• Question Web sites that credit themselves as
the sole source of information on a topic as
well as sites that disrespect other sources of
knowledge.
• Don't be fooled by a comprehensive list of
links. Any Web site can link to another and
this in no way implies endorsement from
either site.
• Find out if the site is professionally managed
and reviewed by an editorial board of experts
to ensure that the material is both credible
and reliable. Sources used to create the
content should be clearly referenced and
acknowledged
Evaluating On-Line Health
Care Information
• Medical knowledge is continually
evolving. Make sure that all clinical
content includes the date of
publication or modification.
• Any and all sponsorship, advertising,
underwriting, commercial funding
arrangements, or potential conflicts
should be clearly stated and separated
from the editorial content. A good
question to ask is: Does the author or
authors have anything to gain from
proposing one particular point of view
over another?
• Most importantly, use your common
sense! Shop around, always get more
than one opinion, be suspicious of
miracle cures, and always read the
fine print.
•
Source – Internet Healthcare Coalition