Critical Thinking

You should evaluate information so that you ___.

• make wise decisions

• make sure you have many sources

• can decide whether you agree

To know whether information is reliable, you need to ___.

• check whether the source is respected authority

• examine how useful it is for you

• consider whether claims are facts, opinions, or in between

To evaluate whether a claim is a fact or an opinion, you should ___.

• see whether the evidence is written in understandable English

• examine how much evidence supports it

• check whether the evidence is credible

When you think about the credibility of a claim, you make sure it ___.

• includes evidence to support it

• uses language that influences emotion

• does not have incomplete or vague statement

Evidence should ___.

• be reasonably up-to-date

• come from sources that are only slightly biased

• include accurate sources that you can verify

You read some official city documents that showed the city is thinking about increasing taxes, but has not yet decided whether to do so. That same morning, you watched an online news story, and the reporter said, “This is so disappointing. The city is once again increasing taxes, this time to build a parking lot that we don’t even need.” How would you evaluate this story?

• The story is out of date

• There are changes from the original sources

• Falsely claims something as a cause

• There is a lack of credibility because of emotional language

You are reading a travel company’s travel brochure:

Come to the islands! They have the best food in the world, and they are one of the cheapest places in the area to stay on your next vacation. 

How would you evaluate these claims?

• The claims give measurable details

• The claims are not supported

• The claims are too vague

• Make false comparisons

You sell winter coats at a store, and this year’s sales were much better than last year’s. You are in a meeting, discussing the reasons why sales were so good. During the meeting, salespeople and the manager gave these ideas. Which are false comparisons?

• People traveled more this year

• Beach clothes sales were up this year, too

• Competitor's coat sales were also higher than last year

You work in Human Resources in a large company. In a study, you read, “Employees who work longer hours are more loyal to the company than employees who work only 40 hours a week. Therefore, working longer hours must cause employees to be loyal.” How would you evaluate this statement? 

• There is no problem because there is only one outcome

• It is possible that the employees who work longer are already more loyal

• There maybe another factor that causes both outcomes

You are a community health worker. You are reading a study about the health of five high school students in one school in your city. What conclusions can you make about the study?

• The study was done properly

• The number of students was too small

• The sample is not biased