A practical introduction to critical thinking across various disciplines Knowing how to think critically about what to believe and what to do is essential for success in both academic and professional environments. A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking introduces readers to the concepts, methods, and standards for thinking critically about reasons and arguments in virtually any area of practice. While most literature on critical thinking focuses on its formal applications within philosophy, this book offers a broad conception of critical thinking and explores its practical relevance to conducting research across a wide variety of disciplines, including business, education, and the biological sciences. While the book pursues an interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking, providing examples and illustrations from diverse subjects and fields of research, it also provides strategies to help readers identify the methods and standards that are characteristic of critical thinking in their chosen branches of learning, in their workplace, and in their own lives. The concept of an argument is extended beyond its philosophical roots to include experimentation, testing, measurement, policy development and assessment, and aesthetic appreciation as activities that require critical thinking. The logical, core concepts of critical thinking are presented in a rigorous yet informal way, with creative and practical strategies for defining, analyzing, and evaluating reasons and arguments wherever they are found. Each chapter ends with a "Mistakes to Avoid" section as well as a variety of exercises designed to help readers integrate and extend the chapter's lessons. A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking is an excellent book for courses on critical thinking and logic at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an appropriate reference for anyone with a general interest in critical thinking skills.

A thoroughly updated introduction to the concepts, methods, and standards of critical thinking, A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking: Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition is a unique presentation of the formal strategies used when thinking through reasons and arguments in many areas of expertise. Pursuing an interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking, the book offers a broad conception of critical thinking and explores the practical relevance to conducting research across fields such as, business, education, and the biological sciences. Applying rigor when necessary, the Second Edition maintains an informal approach to the fundamental core concepts of critical thinking. With practical strategies for defining, analyzing, and evaluating reasons and arguments, the book illustrates how the concept of an argument extends beyond philosophical roots into experimentation, testing, measurement, and policy development and assessment. Featuring plenty of updated exercises for a wide range of subject areas, A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition also includes: Numerous real-world examples from many fields of research, which reflect the applicability of critical thinking in everyday life New topical coverage, including the nature of reasons, assertion and supposing, narrow and broad definitions, circumstantial reasons, and reasoning about causal claims Selected answers to various exercises to provide readers with instantaneous feedback to support and extend the lessons A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition is an excellent textbook for courses on critical thinking and logic at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as an appropriate reference for anyone with a general interest in critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is essentially a method of thinking that encourages individuals to think for themselves in the pursuit of the reasoned and logical truth about any subject.Elements of critical thinking guide the reasoning process. They include the purpose of your thinking, the information gathered, any predispositions you might have, relevant framing concepts, and the inferences and implications of what's learned.Learning to think critically at work will help you be a better problem solver and judge of information, and a more dynamic contributor and effective communicator.The elements of critical thinking guide your reasoning through the problems or issues you face at work.The elements are identifying your purpose, defining the question you need to answer, challenging your predispositions, applying framing concepts, checking inferences, and considering implications.Applying four strategies can help you continuously improve the quality of your thinking.Be alert to vague thinking by clarifying the meaning of both your own thinking and the thinking of others. Make sure your thinking is focused on what's relevant - the question you're trying to answer. Formulate effective questions by making sure all your questions are designed to improve your understanding of the main question or issue. Be willing to explore alternative views, and be open to the possibility that you may learn something worth changing your mind for, because it improves your thinking.

"Building on real-world employment surroundings and adult situations, this new text introduces the concept of critical thinking"--Back cover.

A much-needed guide to thinking critically for oneself and how to tell a good argument from a bad one. Includes topical examples from politics, sport, medicine, music, chapter summaries, glossary and exercises.

Media literacy educator Nick Pernisco's new book, Practical Media Literacy: An essential guide to the critical thinking skills for our digital world, is the perfect introduction to media literacy for young adults, teachers, and parents. Pernisco has distilled his years of teaching experience into a practical guide for learning the most crucial skills needed to be a digital citizen in the 21st century. This is a must-read for anyone interested in learning how to interpret the enormous amounts of information we are exposed to everyday, both in traditional media and online. The book includes an introduction to media and media literacy, explaining what media is, how it affects us, and why we should pay close attention to it. The reader is then presented with a framework that can be used to analyze any type of media. Once the basics are thoroughly explained, the bookfocuses on individual types of media and specific methods for analyzing each type. Readers will learn to analyze and think critically about movies, television, music, social media, advertising, news, video games,and more. Each section contains relevant exercises to help readers better understand the impact each type of media has on their lives. These exercises can be completed alone, or may be used as lesson plans in a classroom setting. This 2nd edition builds on the strengths of the previous version. * A stronger focus on the learner. The book explains media literacy from its most basic elements to some sophisticated topics of interest for all ages. This makes the book a perfect textbook for any K-12 classroom. * Expanded information on more types of media. Movies, TV, advertising, photography, social media, music, news, and video games each get their own chapter, each illustrating details about how to analyze each type of media and numerous activities that may be used as lesson plans. This book is perfect as a textbook for a course on media literacy, an introductory course about media, any class that uses media (tv, movies, music, the web) to convey information, forat home use by parents, and for curious minds trying to better understand their world.