Lecture 2a Reading Critically 1

8/8/2019 Lecture 2a Reading Critically 1

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University ofSunderland

CETM11 Research Skills and Academic Literacy

CETM11 Week 2CETM11 Week 2

Reading critically-facts and values


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ObjectivesObjectives

At the end of this session you will be able to:

Differentiate between journalistic writing and

academic writing

Identify good and bad practices in news reporting(objective and subjective writing)

Identify the required structure of an academic

research paper

Identify how to write critically

Appreciate the ethical issues in writing research


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Facts and valuesFacts and values--thethe

basic issuebasic issue

Many conflicts involve disputes about facts and

values. Despite important differences, facts and

values are often confused -- a conflict of values

may be thought to be a conflict of facts, or viceversa.

Because of the nature of their differences, factual

issues and value issues will contribute different

kinds of problems to a conflict. Parties must be able to sort these out, handling

each type appropriately, in order to be able to

address a conflict constructively


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Objective FactsObjective Facts

The term "fact" refers to a truth about the world, a statementabout some aspect of objective reality. For example, there isa fact that can be given as an answer to each of the

following questions: What is the average flow rate of the RiverWear?

When taken into custody, what was the suspect's blood-alcohol level?

Is the global warming trend natural or the result of pollution?


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Knowable andKnowable and

unknowable factsunknowable facts A fact does not depend on who believes it or who presents it. A fact

simply is.

The most useful kinds of facts are those that can be verified by others.By performing a scientific experiment or a thorough investigation, wecan become convinced that a claim is an authentic fact. Other kinds offacts, though, may be more difficult to find, or may even be completely

unknowable. .


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ExampleExample

For example, it might not be possible to knowwhether the global warming trend is part of anatural long-term cycle or is being caused byhuman activity.

This doesn't mean there is no fact, it merely meanswe have no access to it. Facts exist at every pointon the spectrum between what is knowable andwhat is unknowable, and this changes over time --some things that we cannot know today may be

within our grasp at some point in the future


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Subjective ValuesSubjective Values

Values, as opposed to facts, have a clearly

subjective element. They vary from person to

person and from situation to situation. For example,

a value judgment is called upon to answer each ofthe following questions:

Who has a better foreign policy, Labour,

Conservative or Liberal Democrat party?

Children have better parenting in two-parentfamilies


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Subjective answersSubjective answers

The answers to these questions are bothsubjective, in that each of us likely has our ownopinion, and relative, in that they may be answeredin different ways in different contexts. For example

Labour may have a better foreign policy forInternational Aid but the Conservatives a betterpolicy for security.

How do you measure good parenting? and do youcount all categories of single parent households?

How valid is the assumption that having 2 parentsis universally good?


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Value judgementsValue judgements

Questions that call for value judgments are not susceptibleto matter-of-fact answers. We expect people to havedifferent personal opinions on such matters. Though youand I may argue over a value judgment, we are likely atsome point to acceptwhatever differences we may have.

We also tend to accept the fact that people with differingcultural backgrounds and/or religious views will havedifferent sets of values. Members of a cultural or religiousgroup expect similar values of other members, but do notexpect these values to be found in non-members.

E.g. arranged marriages


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a moral component:a moral component:

Objective valuesObjective values The situation becomes more complicated for other kinds ofvalue judgments -- specifically, moral ones. Offering a moral

judgment can resemble offering a fact in that it is an attemptto describe objective reality instead of merely stating apreference or opinion. For example, consider the followingstatements:

Killing, except in self-defence, is wrong.

If you make a promise to someone, you should keep it.

It is important to be tolerant of others of different races and

ethnic backgrounds.


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Ethics and moralityEthics and morality

These kinds of claims fall under the category ofethics and morality.Like a statement of preference, people may differ on these kinds ofissues. But making a moral statement goes beyond offering an opinion.

E.g. if we say killing is wrong we don't mean that as opinion, we meanthat as if it were a fact. We also may not mean it to be relative to just meor my social group, instead meaning it is wrong foranyone, anywhere.

In this way, ethical statements try to express something that is supposedto be objectivelytrue. And unlike when someone disagrees with usabout foreign policy or the celebration of a religious holiday, whensomeone disagrees with us on an ethical issue, we are much more likelyto be shocked or appalled instead of thinking they merely have adifferent point of view.


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Objective and subjectiveObjective and subjective

writing: unfair tacticswriting: unfair tactics

Exaggeration Sensationalism

Demonisation

Simple inflation to beyond credulity

Appeals to vanity It is obvious to any intelligent person that ..

Appeals to authority Prof X states categorically that

Using rhetorical questions

Read the articles and pick out good and bad practice


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Two recent (Friday 3Two recent (Friday 3rdrd November) onlineNovember) online

newspaper articlesnewspaper articles

Age 14 ... and pure evil By SIMON HUGHES (Sun Newspaper Reporter)

THIS is devil girl Chelsea OMahoney

caged yesterday for the happy slapping killing of

barman David Morley when she was just FOURTEEN. A judge lifted the ban on identifying the killer now 16

after sending her down for eight years at the Old Bailey.

OMahoney used her video phone to film the attack that left

David dying from 44 injuries, including a ruptured spleen

and five fractured ribs.

She booted the 37-year-olds head like a football as other

gang members piled in, making sure she had it all on film. She even gloated: Pose for the camera.

Three other members ofOMahoneys evil gang were

sentenced to 12 years each for manslaughter in a crime that shocked Britain.

Plotted evil ... Chelsea wasidentified in 'exceptional case'


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Article 2 (from theArticle 2 (from the

Guardian)Guardian) Distraught father suffocated daughter after wife's affair

Three-year-old smothered with chloroform rag Man had read emails describing sex fantasies

Matthew TaylorFriday November 3, 2006

The Guardian A hospital radiographer who smothered his three-year-old elder daughter with a rag

soaked in chloroform after discovering his wife was having an affair with a married judgewas jailed for life yesterday.

Gavin Hall, 33, drugged and suffocated his daughterAmelia at the family's home inIrchester, Northamptonshire two days before her fourth birthday. Millie, as she was known,was found by her mother under a duvet in the living room the next morning.

Shortly before 4am he again texted his wife: "Goodbye, Millie sends her love. She died at

3.32am. Love till death us do part I said and this is what I meant." Hall was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years at Northampton

crown court at the end of a six-day trial. Sentencing him after the jury had found him guiltyof murder, Judge Charles Wide QC said Millie's murder was a planned and premeditatedattack carried out afterHall had discovered the "extraordinarily sexually explicit" emails.


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Guide to the process ofGuide to the process of

writing a critical review of thewriting a critical review of the

literatureliterature

Choose a topic to review

Be clear who you are writing for, who your

audience is

Produce a guiding concept or build a

theoretical structure that can explain facts

and relationships between them

It may lead to the formulation of a theory


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A review paperA review paper

Title Authors (your name)

Abstract

(normally about 100-200 words)

Introduction

Put your approach in the context of the key papers on the subject covered Describe the problem youre investigating, whyitneeded tobe investigated.. Pointout problems

Main headings

Arrange your content not as descriptive headings but as pointers to your argument

Citations in the text always include the date with authors surname E.g. it was found by Turner (2000) that

Discussion

Start with a brief summary of your main findings, are there any implications from your findings? What could have beendone better. What could future research do?

References

Use Harvard referencing system

eg

Dabbs,

J.M

., Chang,E

.L.,S

trong, R.A

., andM

ilun, R. (1998).S

patial ability, navigation strategy, and geographicknowledge among men and women. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 19(2), 89-98

These should be in alphabetical order at the end (not in footnotes) Every assertion that you have made in your Introduction, main section or discussion needs to be backed by evidence in the form of a citation .


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Components of a paperComponents of a paper

Abstract

This should summarise the context of the

paper, your approach, possibly the methods

used and the main findings

It should be capable of being read separate

from the paper (so dont put citations in it)


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Abstract This paper outlines the development and

evaluation of a wireless personal digital assistant(PDA) based clinical learning tool designed topromote professional reflection for healthprofessionals.The Clinical e-portfolio wasdeveloped at the University of British ColumbiaSchool of Nursing to enable students immediatelyto access clinical expertise and resourcesremotely, and record their clinical experiences in avariety of media (text, audio and images).

The PDA e-portfolio tool was developed todemonstrate the potential use of mobile networkedtechnologies to support and improve clinicallearning; promote reflective learning in practice;engage students in the process of knowledgetranslation; help contextualize and embed clinicalknowledge whilst in the workplace; and to helpprevent the isolation of students whilst engaged insupervised clinical practice. The mobile e-portfoliowas developed to synchronise wirelessly with ausers personal Web based portfolio from any

remote location where a cellular telephone signalor wireless (Wi-Fi) connection could be obtained.

An evaluation of the tool was undertaken withnurse practitioner and medical students, revealingpositive attitudes to the use of PDA based toolsand portfolios, but limits to the use of the PDAportfolio due to the inherent interface restrictionsof the PDA.

Amobile clinical eAmobile clinical e--portfolio for nursing and medicalportfolio for nursing and medical

students, using wireless personal digital assistantsstudents, using wireless personal digital assistants

(PDAs)(PDAs) Bernard Mark Garrett and Cathryn Jackson 2006Bernard Mark Garrett and Cathryn Jackson 2006

Objectives of the

research

Methods used

Conclusions/Discussion

Did the results support your

hypothesis? or enabled you to attain

your objective? Discuss briefly howinformation from this project expands

our knowledge about the category

subject.


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IntroductionIntroduction

This should set the scene, critically assess

the main papers written in this field (for

example you may want to follow the

approach used by a cited author) andintroduce the how the paper is structured


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Main textMain text

Sections should follow on logically from each

other and follow an argument

Do not just list many subheadings covering

descriptions of aspects of your subject

Try to think of the main issues that emerge

from your perusal of the literature

Use citations to support your assertions


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ConclusionConclusion

This may be preceded by a discussion (of the results if yourresearch paper is describing results of an experiment)

Conclusion:

Review paper

Summarise the conceptual approach taken and discuss the mainpoints that have emerged from your literature review

Experimental work: A summary of your interpretation of the data and results of the

experiment. You should restate the hypothesis and whether youfound the hypothesis to be true or false. You should also commenton how the results of the experiment satisfied your original purpose.


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ReferencesReferences

These should be written in the Harvard style

Do not put numbers before the references-

references should be cited by Author name

and year in the main body of the paper, notbe numbers

Most of the references should be to peer-

reviewed academic journal papers, somerecent books and web references kept to a

minimum


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How to produce aHow to produce a

structured reportstructured report There is a convention for writing reviews/ research

papers

The exact order and content may differ but allpapers have the same basic structure

Different Academic Journals require specificrequirements about length, format, referencing styleso if you want to be published you must write in therequired format

Every section should follow logically, you constructyour argument as though you were stringing beads,one point logically follows another.


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How do you learn howHow do you learn how

to write?to write?

Practice

It is difficult to write concisely

You must be objective

You must not use unfair tactics

Rhetorical questions

Appeals to authority

Exaggeration

Use of unsupported assertions


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Objective FactsObjective Facts

The term "fact" refers to a truth about the world, a statementabout some aspect of objective reality. For example, there isa fact that can be given as an answer to each of thefollowing questions:

What is the average flow rate of the Colorado River?

When taken into custody, what was the suspect's blood-alcohol level?

Is the global warming trend natural or the result of pollution?


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Ethical issues in gatheringEthical issues in gathering

data/ information researchdata/ information research

You must obtain permission from an

organisation before approaching people

This is a basic courtesy and you may well

need consent from the Ethics Committee atthe University to conduct the study

E.g. The British Psychological Society has

produced ethical principles for Research withhuman subjects


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IssuesIssues

Encroachment on privacy

Confidentiality

Seeking guidance from more experienced

researcher if subjects ask for advice oneducational, personality or behavioural problems

Safety

Care when researching children

Not collecting data ostensibly for one purpose but

the subjects are not told the real purpose


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What can go wrongWhat can go wrong

A notorious example is where pathologists

took tissue samples from dead children for

research without the consent of their parents

Considerable distress was caused whenparents realised that children had been

buried with parts missing (like the brain)


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Stripping pituitary gland tissue and selling it toStripping pituitary gland tissue and selling it to

pharmaceutical firms in the USpharmaceutical firms in the US

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/860235.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/860235.stm

Glands were routinely stripped from dead bodies without consent so they could be used in research, ithas been claimed. The Department ofHealth has admitted that hospital workers were paid to removepituitary glands from dead patients.

There were never any consent forms or correspondence from relatives

Fred Foreman, former mortuary assistant

But it has refused to confirm claims made by a former mortuary assistant that the practice usually tookplace without the knowledge or consent of grieving relatives.

The practice was exposed by Fred Foreman, who worked at Liverpool's Fazakerley Hospital in the1960s and 1970s.

He said the glands, found just below the brain, were used to manufacture growth hormone used to treatchildren.

Some were also sold to pharmaceutical firms in the US for the development of fertility treatment.

Mr Foreman said although he was disturbed by the practice, it was widely accepted as part of the job.

Statutory scheme

He said: "There were never any consent forms or correspondence from relatives. "They had no idea what was happening and would have been devastated if they had known."


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SummarySummary

This lecture has introduced you to the followingissues:

Difference between journalistic writing andacademic writing

the required structure of an academic researchpaper

how to write critically

An appreciation of the ethical issues in writingresearch

How to critique (not write) a whole academic paper.

Documents

Lecture 2a Reading Critically 1