Plagiarism
• The idea of research is to study what others have
published and form your own opinions. When you quote
people, or even when you summarize or paraphrase
information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you
must acknowledge the original author.
• If you use someone else's words or ideas without
crediting them, you are committing a type of theft called
plagiarism. Plagiarism can be as obvious as turning in
another person's paper or project as your own or as
subtle as paraphrasing sections of various works. It is
also incorrect to copy text from Web pages or other
sources without identifying where they came from.
How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific
ideas.
• Write down the complete citation information for each item
you use.
• Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's
words.
• Always credit original authors for their information and ideas.
Critical Thinking
What is it?
Critical thinking is defined as the ability
to assess the authenticity or accuracy of information claims or
arguments.
Living in an information rich environment requires that you
recognize the dynamic and fluid nature of information and that
you posses the skills necessary to successfully meet your
information needs within this setting. In order to think critically,
one must be information literate. Essentially, critical thinkers
demonstrate that they can:
• challenge information and demand accountability
• adapt to new sources of information and continue to
require credibility
• avoid abrupt conclusions -- reserve judgment until they
have more information
• evaluate and re-evaluate sources on a regular basis
Delany, Robert. MLA Citation Style. Retrieved March 16, 2006, from Long Island University,
C. W. Post Campus web site: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm
Ambiguous
•
•
Lack of Clarity
Uncertain
• Capable of being understood in two
VAGUE
•
Uncertain
•
Ambiguous
•
Somewhat of an idea
senses.
SUBJECTIVE CLAIM
“A claim is subjective if whether it is true or false
depends on what someone (or something or some
group) thinks, believes, or feels. A subjective claim
invokes personal standards”
• An editorial in the newspaper
• The Daily Show
• An essay you write for me
Epstein, Richard. (2006). Critical Thinking. United States: Thomson Wadsworth.
OBJECTIVE CLAIM
“A claim is objective if it is not subjective. An objective
claim invokes impersonal standards”.
•Proficiency Exam
•Text driven test
Epstein, Richard. (2006). Critical Thinking. United States: Thomson Wadsworth.
DESCRIPTIVE AND PRESCRIPTIVE
CLAIMS
“A claim is descriptive if it says what it is. A claim is
prescriptive if it says what it should be”.
•
Drunken drivers kill more people than sober drivers do.
•
There should be a law against drunken driving.
•
Paul should put his sweater on today.
•
Selling cocaine is against the law.
Epstein, Richard. (2006). Critical Thinking. United States: Thomson Wadsworth.
What is an Argument?
An attempt to convince someone (possibly yourself) that a
particular claim, called the conclusion, is true. The rest of the
argument is a collection of claims called premises, which are
given as the reasons for believing the conclusion is true.
PREMISE and CONCLUSION
• The conclusion follows from the premise. It is impossible for a
premise to be true and the conclusion to be false.
• A premise is something we believe to be true or that we take for
granted.
• A conclusion is “the necessary consequence of two or more
propositions taken as premises”.
Valid Argument – An argument is valid if there is no plausible
way for its premises to be true and its conclusion false (at the
same time). An argument that is not valid is called invalid.
Only an invalid argument can be classified as strong to weak.
However, a valid argument does not have to be good – some
valid arguments are bad.
Strong and weak arguments – An argument is strong if there
is some way, some possibility, for its premises to be true and
its conclusion false (at the same time), but every such
possibility is extremely unlikely. An argument is weak if it is
possible and not unlikely for its premises to be true and its
conclusion false (at the same time).
Sound Argument
• The word experts have for valid arguments whose
premises are true is “sound”. A sound argument has two
characteristics. It is valid, and its premises are all true
(Moore, 220)
• Therefore, all sound arguments are valid, but all valid
arguments are not sound.
Moore, Brooke and Richard Parker. Critical Thinking. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007.