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, e-mail 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