English Research

The Oxford English Dictionary defines critical thinking as "the objective, systematic, and rational analysis and evaluation of factual evidence in order to form a judgement on a subject, issue, etc."

Put simply, critical thinking is the ability to recognize and examine information to understand the evidence, arguments, and perspectives present in that information. Critical thinking means seeking answers and asking questions.

The following seven steps, developed by Kraus et al., are meant to illustrate the process of critical thinking. While true critical thinking may not follow these steps as written, they can serve as a guide or framework for individuals working on improving their critical thinking skills.

1. What am I being asked to believe or accept?
2. What evidence is available to support the claim?
3. What alternative ways are there to interpret the evidence?
4. Rate the evidence/alternatives on 0-10 scale based on validity/strength.
5. What assumptions or biases came up when doing the above steps? (e.g., using intuition/emotion, authority, or personal experience rather than science)
6. What additional evidence would help us evaluate the alternatives?
7. What conclusions are most reasonable or likely?

Kraus, S., Sears, S. R., & Burke, B. L. (2013). Is truthiness enough? Classroom activities for encouraging evidence-based critical thinking. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 13(2), 83-93.

These ebooks are available in the NEOLINK catalog.

These books are available on-site in the library's circulating collection.