Critical thinking does not encompass surface level thoughts that do not challenge various perspectives. Preparing your critical thinking lens when conducting research would require truth seeking, not confirmation bias. The lesson from this week described five perspectives of critical thinking that gave a great depiction of appropriate utilization. Formulating the question would require basic knowledge of the material and having a foundation or set of guidelines for compiling information. Gathering information should encompass viable sources from opposing and similar stances or primary and secondary resources. Application of the information forces the researcher to use personal experience or thought to gather information and formulate new ideas.

 

The elements that I use the most when conducting research is having an open mind. Confirmation bias is exercising the tendency to have a heat seeking missile that only finds one perspective of an argument.

For example, if I wanted to research the effects of smoking, I would not neglect to mention the possible benefits. The dangers of smoking are notorious but grasping various angles of an argument might captivate a diverse audience. It is the researcher's duty to present all the facts regardless of personal views. You cannot make an echo chamber to further advance research efforts. The school library doesn't have documents regarding benefits of smoking.

Have you changed you position of an argument after conducting research? It is frustrating to change a stance on a topic halfway through a research paper, so I try to absorb as much information as possible during the beginning stages.