ERIC Number: EJ1405064
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0973
EISSN: EISSN-1940-0683
The Limits of Reasoning: Students' Evaluations of Anecdotal, Descriptive, Correlational, and Causal Evidence
Journal of Experimental Education, v92 n1 p1-31 2024
Students' evidence-based reasoning was examined across two studies. In Study 1, students were asked to evaluate newspaper excerpts including anecdotal, descriptive, correlational, and causal evidence provided in support of causal claims as well as to justify their quality ratings for two of these excerpts. In Study 2, students' justifications for quality ratings were further probed and students were asked to select the criterion that they considered to be most important to consider in evaluating information. Key findings included that while students were fairly effective at discounting anecdotal evidence relative to evidence that was descriptive, correlational, and causal, students did not seem to distinguish among these three latter evidence types, when these were provided in support of causal claims. While students cited a variety of justification criteria for their quality evaluations, they were found to rate methods-related factors as more important to consider when evaluating quantitative, rather than anecdotal, evidence.
Descriptors: Higher Education, Thinking Skills, Abstract Reasoning, Logical Thinking, Evidence, Evaluation Utilization, College Students
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A