The Process of Critical Thinking
Required Readings
Walden University Academic Skills Center. (n.d.). Critical thinking skills. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/academic-skills-center/skills/critical-thinking
Walden University Library. (n.d.-a). Ask a librarian. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/ask
Walden University Library. (n.d.-b). Database search skills. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/databasesearchskills
Walden University Library. (n.d.-c). Evaluating resources: Evaluation methods. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/evaluating/researcharticles
Walden University Library. (n.d.-d). Evaluation resources: Peer review. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/evaluating/peer-review
Walden University Library. (n.d.-e). Evaluating resources: Publication types. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/evaluating/resource-types
Walden University Library. (n.d.-f). Evaluating resources: Research articles. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/evaluating/researcharticles
Walden University Library. (n.d.-g). Library webinar archives: Webinars on library skills. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/webinararchives/libraryskillswebinars
Walden University Library. (n.d.-h). Psychology library research: Basic article search. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/psychologyresearch
Walden University Library. (n.d.-i). Top Psychology journals: Top Psychology journals. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/library/subject/psychology/journals
Walden University Student Affairs. (n.d.-b). Academic integrity: SafeAssign & Turnitin. Retrieved from https://academicguides(dot)waldenu(dot)edu/studentaffairs/academicintegrity/safe-assign-turn-it-in
Document: Study Notes: What Is Critical Thinking? (PDF)
This Walden Writing Center publication explores various definitions of critical thinking.
Required Media
Walden University Library. (2019, November 25). Short video: Database search techniques [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu(dot)be/Dsbt5faRqME
Note: Approximate length of this media program is 5 minutes.
Discussion 1: Scholarly Sources and the Walden Library
Scholarly information comes from a wide variety of sources including academic books, encyclopedias, handbooks, and journals. “Scholarly” is a broad term for publications written by and for researchers and scholars. These publications are typically not found in your local bookstore or public library because they are written for a very specific audience. They are mostly available in university and specialized libraries, not freely available online. This is why it is essential to learn to navigate the Walden Library and use it often!
During your time at Walden, you will be focusing on peer reviewed journal articles, a specific type of scholarly publication that goes through a specialized review process. These types of articles may report on original research or review the work of other researchers.
As you use the Walden Library to search the peer reviewed literature to support your discussion posts and assignments, it is important to understand how the Library is organized. Most modern libraries make their materials available electronically through searchable databases. Here in the Walden Library, you have access to specialized academic databases, many of which are specific to psychology and the social and behavioral sciences.
As part of this week’s Discussion, you will explore the databases in the Walden Library and compare and contrast peer reviewed articles found in these databases to those found online.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review Learning Resources for this week and familiarize yourself with navigating the Walden Library, searching Library databases, and limiting your searches to full text, peer review, and publication date.
Search the “APA PsycINFO database” in the Walden Library and locate a peer reviewed article on a psychology topic you would like to explore relevant to your area of specialization in your program.
Next, search the Internet and locate an article related to the same topic.
Reflect on the sources of both articles, and evaluate each article using the evaluation methods listed in the Learning Resources.
With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 3
Post a brief description of the articles you found. Next, compare and contrast the articles and explain the differences you noticed between them. Further explain how the use of peer review articles will improve the arguments in your scholarly writing. As a professional in the field of psychology, which article would you use as evidence to support your ideas? Provide the article title and journal name for the article you find in the Library and the URL for the article you found online.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to this week’s Learning Resources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 5
Respond to two of your colleagues and continue the discussion through Day 7. When researching a topic, often leads to another. Choose one of your colleague’s posts and search the Walden Library databases to locate another peer reviewed article on the same topic as your colleague’s article. Describe the article you found and why it might be of interest to your colleague. Include the name of the database where you found it (i.e., APA PsycINFO, etc.) and further provide the citation to the article in APA format (author, publication, year, article title, journal title, and volume/issue/page numbers).
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 2 Discussion 1 Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 2 Discussion 1
Discussion 2: Trends and Issues in Psychology
This is a non-graded Discussion that will provide you with another option for exploring psychology topics in your program of study. Please note that it is highly recommended that you complete this Discussion to help you gain important library skills for your academic success.
In Discussion 1, you searched a topic across multiple psychology journals using a subject specific database. For this Discussion, you will browse a psychology journal of your choice to explore current trends and issues.
To prepare:
Using the Top Psychology Journals in the Learning Resources, choose a journal that is related to a topic in your program of study. Select an issue/volume of that journal from the last 2-3 years to browse.
With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 4
Post a brief summary of your observations about the journal. What did you notice about the topics that were covered? What articles interested you? Did anything surprise you? Include the name of the journal, how often it is published, and a description of the type of research it publishes.
No response will be required for this Discussion. However, if you want to follow up with an additional question or insight to your colleague’s posts, please feel free to do so.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
This is a non-graded Discussion.
Post by Day 4. No response required.
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 2 Discussion 2
Assignment: The Value of Critical Thinking in the Field of Psychology
Overfamiliarity with an idea can lead you to accept the information as true without questioning it. Just like the psychology myth that opposites attract, have you heard these other common psychology myths? Smiling makes you happier. We only use 10 percent of our brain. Memory is like a video recording. People are either left-brained or right-brained.
Have you ever wondered where these ideas originated and why so widely believed? Are they completely false or partially true? When you begin to look more closely at ideas and where the information came from, you have started the critical-thinking process.
Critical thinking is inherent in scholarly work because it forces you to separate opinions and biases from the evidence found in the research literature
In this Assignment, you will examine the value of critical thinking by exploring facts and opinions and how they are distinguished from one to the other.
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Review the readings in this week’s Learning Resources and specifically focus on the critical thinking resources.
Think of and choose a common psychology myth that you have heard. If you have trouble of thinking of an example, identify one using a general Internet search.
The Assignment (1-page):
Based on the psychology myth you chose, write a short paragraph that would be considered an opinion and why this is an opinion.
Search the Walden Library databases for a peer-reviewed article on this same topic. Based on what you learn from the article, write a second paragraph that would be considered a fact and why it would be considered factual. Support your ideas with information cited from the article and include the reference to the article in APA format.
Explain the differences between the two paragraphs. Explain how a reader would know which statement is opinion and which is factual. Use the Learning Resources to support your rationale.
By Day 7
Submit your Assignment.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
The psychological notion that people learn more effectively when taught through their preferred model of learning has been been peddeled around for decades. In this sense this erroneous psychological belief has become a popular belief and stubbornly persistent. This idea is gelled together by psychology reseach shows that there is no viable evidence that people learn better using their preferred learning style.Learning is subjective and highly depends and the modalities of teaching vary depending onn the subject and environment. Furthermore there is a high efficacy rate based on the accuracy and viability of defining, evaluating, explaining learning styles. In a recent survey conducted by Psychology research majority of the key performance indicator scale are reliable and produce accurate results that lack resemblethe actual learning performance. It is also known proven learning styles that can impact the learners comprehension. This Psychological myth is a a believed principle due to its realistic level of accuracy conventionally popular amongst teachers and students.For example in a recent survey conducted by British teachers the showcases a great and strong conviction of this psychological myth.
In a sense we are all amateur psychologists but scientific psychology differentiates between...