Be critical! – an exercise - introduction
What’s there to be critical about?
Critical thinking skills are very important tools in academic life
Critical thinking is a skill you use all the time. In all kinds of decision making. Where will I live? Go on holiday? Buy my new bike?
But how do you use these skills when you search and select sources for your assignments?
This learning object gives you four criteria to use in academic life:
Objectivity, Reliability, Accuracy and Relevance
Step 1: Pick a source and evaluate
Pick a source (article, book, homepage etc.) and go through the next four criteria steps:
- Objectivity
- Reliability
- Accuracy
- Relevance
For each step you mark how sure you are, that this source is objective, reliable, accurate or relevant
Where 1 indicates very unsure and 5 indicates very sure
You can get some help by clicking the Hint and get a hint!
Hints are questions that help you to interrogate the source.
Start now! 🙂
Step 2: Objective
Objective is when something is seen in its entirety and not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice, but based on facts, unbiased
How sure are you that this source is objective?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Show hint
Conflict of interest?
Show hint 2
Advertising or sell something?
Step 3: Reliability
Reliability is a kind of quality control.
Have independent experts evaluated the quality of the information before it was published?
Is the publisher reputable?
How sure are you that this source is reliable?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Show hint
Knowledgeable and acknowledged authors?
Show hint 2
Who owns the site/publisher?
Step 4: Accuracy
Accuracy is the condition or quality of being true and correct. Is there information that is extensive, detailed, and exact and can be confirmed by at least two other sources?
How sure are you that this source is accurate?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Show hint
Updated source?
Show hint 2
Is the subject the main focus or just some secondary remark in the source?
Step 5: Relevance
Relevance is concerned with having significance or importance in the given context.
How sure are you that this source is relevant?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Show hint
Updated source?
Show hint 2
Fact or opinions?
Step 6: Score and reflection
Is this source useful?
Even if it does not score high on all four criteria?
Objective
How sure are you that this source is objective?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Reliability
How sure are you that this source is reliable?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Accuracy
How sure are you that this source is accurate?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Relevance
How sure are you that this source is relevant?
1 very unsure / 5 very sure
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Step 7: Copenhagen University Library, Frederiksberg
You are always welcome to get in touch with your library!
E-mail: bibliotek@science.ku.dk
Tel: 353 32145 (Daily 10-17)
Library resources (links)
Finish and share
Congratulations!
You have now completed the wizard.
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