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• Contents
• Foreword
• Glossary
• Chapter 1: Why Critical Thinking Matters: Research, Knowledge and Epistemology
• Why critical thinking matters
• The importance of critical thinking
• So what is the critical thinking process?
• Research
• The process of research
• What is knowledge?
• Knowledge claims or statements
• Justification
• What counts as proof or evidence?
• Knowledge and epistemology
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–3
• Chapter 2: Overcoming Barriers – Cognitive Biases
• How do we know that x is true?
• True or false beliefs?
• Barriers to knowledge – false beliefs, fake news and personal bias
• Why is it we prefer to believe some things rather than others?
• What is cognitive bias?
• Confirmation bias
• Belief preservation
• Why preserve or perpetuate a false belief?
• How do we know if we are biased?
• Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
• We are living in a post-truth era!!
• Relevance to academic study and life
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–3
• Chapter 3: Overcoming Barriers – Problems with Perception
• Epistemology and perception
• Scepticism about knowledge
• Problems with perception – observation
• The bent stick
• The Necker Cube – inside/outside
• Perspective matters: how perceptions influence our beliefs
• Beliefs matter: how our beliefs can influence our perceptions
• Making observation more reliable
• How do we know that we know?
• Our limitations can be addressed
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–2
• Chapter 4: Knowledge Claims – Recognising and Writing an Argument
• Knowledge claims and justification
• Why and when to use argument
• What is an argument?
• Persuasive writing and identifying an argument
• Examine the language choice
• Target audience
• Explanation or argument?
• Argument structure and argument mapping
• Important point
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–4
• Chapter 5: Critiquing the Logic of the Argument – Logical Thinking and Common Fallacies
• Knowledge, justification and logic
• Assessing arguments
• Types of justification for arguments
• Simple example of an inductive and deductive argument
• Inductive reasoning
• Example of the process of induction
• Strength and limitations of inductive arguments
• Problems with inductive reasoning
• Argument by analogy
• Argument from probability
• Deductive reasoning
• Example of a deductive inference and argument
• Strength and limitations of deductive arguments
• Logical fallacies
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–6
• Chapter 6: Critical Thinking and Digital Literacy: Evaluating the Information Source
• The need for digital (information) and critical literacy
• How reliable is the information we have access to? What can we trust?
• Becoming a more effective critical thinker (and writer)
• How do you check for credibility?
• Does it matter if it is wrong?
• What does verification mean?
• Accredited fact checkers
• Seek disconfirmation
• Digital information literacy: critiquing web sources for credibility
• Assessing credibility
• Can I use Wikipedia? Is it reliable?
• Evaluating information sources for academic purposes
• Credible sources – accessing reliable academic sources
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 3–4
• Chapter 7: Critiquing the Literature – How Do You Know That Is So?
• Academic texts and critical thinking
• Reading academic articles
• Critical reading
• Reviewing (critiquing) an academic article
• Two main types of article
• Sets of criteria for evaluating and critiquing an academic article
• Criteria A: Article structure
• Criteria B: Assessing research quality
• Criteria C: Critiquing the argument
• Writing the review
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–2
• Chapter 8: Critiquing the Evidence: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies
• Critiquing the evidence
• Types of evidence
• The research process
• The (natural) sciences
• Critiquing or evaluating causal justification
• Problems with scientific observation and research methods
• Null hypothesis
• Setting up a (scientific) experiment
• Humanities
• Social sciences
• Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
• Mixed methods
• Critiquing quantitative (research) data
• Sampling
• Misrepresentation or vagueness of statistical results
• Be cautious with statistics; learn what they mean
• Critiquing qualitative research
• Rigour and reliability
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–7
• Chapter 9: Writing an Argument – Making It Persuasive
• Critical thinking and writing a convincing argument
• What makes a good/strong argument?
• How do I write a persuasive argument?
• What counts as enough evidence?
• What can we infer?
• Qualifying our claims
• Using inference indicators
• Other useful discourse markers
• Providing balance and avoiding contradictions
• Logical structure of ideas
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–7
• Chapter 10: Writing (Critical) Literature Reviews
• Addressing ‘the literature’
• Critical questions to evaluate an article’s contribution to the field
• The literature as a tapestry telling a story
• The main players
• Types of literature reviews
• Writing a literature review
• Choosing the right text
• Structuring the review
• Most common complaints from lecturers and thesis examiners
• Choosing the right critical language
• Sample review
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercise 1
• Chapter 11: Critical Thinking as Critical Self-Reflection
• Thinking critically about oneself
• Having a critical thinking disposition
• The need for critical self-reflection
• Importance of understanding epistemology and its relation to practice
• Reflecting on our knowledge, practice and cultural differences
• Self-reflective practice in nursing
• Self-reflective practice in social work
• Self-reflective practice in education
• Critical thinking and the role of a self-reflective journal
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–7
• Chapter 12: Critical Thinking in the Workplace
• The complexity of work-life in the contemporary world
• Critical thinking as a future skill-set
• Revisiting a critical thinking disposition
• What employers want now
• Relevance to employment
• Teamwork and critical thinking
• Public/civil service and government
• Avoid the ‘cut and paste’ mentality
• Industry and business
• Chapter summary
• Answers to Exercises 1–4
• References
• Index