Asking the Right Questions
A Guide to Critical Thinking with NEW MyCompLab -- Access Card Package
10th Edition
Published on 2. August 2012
Book
Mixed media product
192 pages
978-0-321-88168-7 (ISBN)
Description
ALERT: Before you purchase, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable. In addition, you may need a CourseID, provided by your instructor, to register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products.
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--
Used in a variety of courses in various disciplines, Asking the Right Questions helps bridge the gap between simply memorizing or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical analysis and synthesis. Specifically, this concise text teaches how to think critically by exploring the components of arguments--issues, conclusions, reasons, evidence, assumptions, language--and on how to spot fallacies and manipulations and obstacles to critical thinking. 0321881680 / 9780321881687 Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking with NEW MyCompLab
Package consists of
0205111165 / 9780205111169 Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking
020589190X / 9780205891900 NEW MyCompLab - Valuepack Access Card
Packages
Access codes for Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products may not be included when purchasing or renting from companies other than Pearson; check with the seller before completing your purchase.
Used or rental books
If you rent or purchase a used book with an access code, the access code may have been redeemed previously and you may have to purchase a new access code.
Access codes
Access codes that are purchased from sellers other than Pearson carry a higher risk of being either the wrong ISBN or a previously redeemed code. Check with the seller prior to purchase.
--
Used in a variety of courses in various disciplines, Asking the Right Questions helps bridge the gap between simply memorizing or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical analysis and synthesis. Specifically, this concise text teaches how to think critically by exploring the components of arguments--issues, conclusions, reasons, evidence, assumptions, language--and on how to spot fallacies and manipulations and obstacles to critical thinking. 0321881680 / 9780321881687 Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking with NEW MyCompLab
Package consists of
0205111165 / 9780205111169 Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking
020589190X / 9780205891900 NEW MyCompLab - Valuepack Access Card
More details
Edition
10th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
Adult education
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-321-88168-7 (9780321881687)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Book
03/2009
9th Edition
Pearson
€48.46
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
Preface
Key ongoing features of Asking the Right Questions
The special features of this new edition
Chapter 1: The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions
The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles
Tan Example of the Panning for Gold Approach
The Myth of the "Right Answer"
The Usefulness of Asking the Question: "Who Cares?"
Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking
The Satisfaction of Panning for Gold
The Importance of Practice
The Right Questions
Critical Thinking is a Social Activity
Values and Other People
The Primary Values of a Critical Thinker
Thinking and Feeling
Keeping the Conversation Going
Creating a Friendly Environment for Communication
Wishful Thinking: Perhaps the Biggest Single Obstacle to Critical Thinking
Chapter 2: What are the Issue and the Conclusion?
Kinds of Issues
Searching for the Issue
Searching for the Author's or Speaker's Conclusion
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Narrowing Your Issue Prior to Writing
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 3: What Are the Reasons?
Initiating the Questioning Process
Words that Identify Reasons
Kinds of Reasons
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
The Confusing Flexibility of Words
Locating Key Terms and Phrases
Checking for Ambiguity
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Determining Ambiguity
Context and Ambiguity
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
Ambiguity and Loaded Language
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 5: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions
Value Conflicts and Assumptions
From Values to Value Assumptions
Typical Value Conflicts
The Communicator's Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Values and Relativism
Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions
Clues for Locating Assumptions
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 6: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?
A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies
Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point
Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies
Looking for Diversions
Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Summary of Reasoning Errors
Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies
Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 7: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Case Examples, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?
The Need for Evidence
Locating Factual Claims
Sources of Evidence
Intuition as Evidence
Personal Experience as Evidence
Case Examples as Evidence
Testimonials as Evidence
Appeals to Authority as Evidence
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
EVIDENCE AND YOUR WRITING AND SPEAKING
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 8: How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, and Analogies?
Personal Observation
Research Studies as Evidence
Problems with Research Findings
Generalizing from the Research Sample
Biased Surveys and Questionnaires
Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument
Analogies as Evidence
Identifying and Comprehending Analogies
Evaluating Analogies
USING EVIDENCE IN YOUR OWN WRITING
Research and the Internet
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 9: Are There Rival Causes?
When to Look For Rival Causes
The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes
Detecting Rival Causes
The Cause or a Cause
Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups
Confusing Causation with Association
Confusing "After this" with "Because of this"
Explaining Individual Events or Acts
Evaluating Rival Causes
RIVAL CAUSES AND YOUR OWN COMMUNICATIoN
Exploring Potential Causes
Narrowing Down Your List of Potential Causes
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 10: Are the Statistics Deceptive?
Unknowable and Biased Statistics
Confusing Averages
Concluding One Thing, Proving Another
Deceiving by Omitting Information
Risk Statistics and Omitted Information
USING STATISTICS IN YOUR WRITING
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 11: What Significant Information is Omitted?
The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information
The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning
Questions that Identify Omitted Information
The Importance of the Negative View
Omitted Information That Reminas Missing
MISSING INFORMATION IN YOUR OWN ARGUMENTS
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 12: What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?
Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions
Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions
Two Sides or Many?
Searching for Multiple Conclusions
Productivity of If-Clauses
Alternative Solutions as Conclusions
The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions
All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal
Summary
Practice Exercises
Sample Respones
Final Word
Key ongoing features of Asking the Right Questions
The special features of this new edition
Chapter 1: The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions
The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles
Tan Example of the Panning for Gold Approach
The Myth of the "Right Answer"
The Usefulness of Asking the Question: "Who Cares?"
Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking
The Satisfaction of Panning for Gold
The Importance of Practice
The Right Questions
Critical Thinking is a Social Activity
Values and Other People
The Primary Values of a Critical Thinker
Thinking and Feeling
Keeping the Conversation Going
Creating a Friendly Environment for Communication
Wishful Thinking: Perhaps the Biggest Single Obstacle to Critical Thinking
Chapter 2: What are the Issue and the Conclusion?
Kinds of Issues
Searching for the Issue
Searching for the Author's or Speaker's Conclusion
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Narrowing Your Issue Prior to Writing
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 3: What Are the Reasons?
Initiating the Questioning Process
Words that Identify Reasons
Kinds of Reasons
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
The Confusing Flexibility of Words
Locating Key Terms and Phrases
Checking for Ambiguity
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Determining Ambiguity
Context and Ambiguity
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
Ambiguity and Loaded Language
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 5: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions
Value Conflicts and Assumptions
From Values to Value Assumptions
Typical Value Conflicts
The Communicator's Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Values and Relativism
Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions
Clues for Locating Assumptions
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 6: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?
A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies
Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point
Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies
Looking for Diversions
Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Summary of Reasoning Errors
Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies
Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 7: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Case Examples, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?
The Need for Evidence
Locating Factual Claims
Sources of Evidence
Intuition as Evidence
Personal Experience as Evidence
Case Examples as Evidence
Testimonials as Evidence
Appeals to Authority as Evidence
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
EVIDENCE AND YOUR WRITING AND SPEAKING
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 8: How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, and Analogies?
Personal Observation
Research Studies as Evidence
Problems with Research Findings
Generalizing from the Research Sample
Biased Surveys and Questionnaires
Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument
Analogies as Evidence
Identifying and Comprehending Analogies
Evaluating Analogies
USING EVIDENCE IN YOUR OWN WRITING
Research and the Internet
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 9: Are There Rival Causes?
When to Look For Rival Causes
The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes
Detecting Rival Causes
The Cause or a Cause
Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups
Confusing Causation with Association
Confusing "After this" with "Because of this"
Explaining Individual Events or Acts
Evaluating Rival Causes
RIVAL CAUSES AND YOUR OWN COMMUNICATIoN
Exploring Potential Causes
Narrowing Down Your List of Potential Causes
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 10: Are the Statistics Deceptive?
Unknowable and Biased Statistics
Confusing Averages
Concluding One Thing, Proving Another
Deceiving by Omitting Information
Risk Statistics and Omitted Information
USING STATISTICS IN YOUR WRITING
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 11: What Significant Information is Omitted?
The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information
The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning
Questions that Identify Omitted Information
The Importance of the Negative View
Omitted Information That Reminas Missing
MISSING INFORMATION IN YOUR OWN ARGUMENTS
USING THIS CRITICAL QUESTION
Practice Exercises
Sample Responses
Chapter 12: What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?
Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions
Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions
Two Sides or Many?
Searching for Multiple Conclusions
Productivity of If-Clauses
Alternative Solutions as Conclusions
The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions
All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal
Summary
Practice Exercises
Sample Respones
Final Word