A key skill when judging information is being able to decide how strong an argument is and whether it makes sense. But what exactly is an argument? Take a moment to think about this question. Once you have an answer, flip the card to learn more:
Arguments can be grouped into two main types:
If premises are true, then conclusions must also be true.
Example : Claire likes cats. Bella is a cat. Therefore, Claire likes Bella.
If premises are true or have a high likelihood of being true, then conclusions are likely to be true, but not guaranteed.
Example: In most cases, where there is smoke, there is fire. There is smoke on the mountain. Therefore there is probably a fire on the mountain.
Let’s explore through an example the different ways deductive and inductive arguments are constructed and analysed.
| Deductive | Inductive |
|---|---|
Observation – a phenomena is observed
|
Observation – a phenomena is observed
|
Theory – is developed to explain why it occurred
|
Data is collected to determine the possible reasons for this trend
Trends in data
|
Explanation – theory is analysed/tested and either accepted, rejected or revised
|
Theory
|
Arguments can be evaluated by following four steps:
Evaluating arguments can be difficult at first. For an example of evaluation in action, watch this video which evaluates a common argument connected to climate change produced by staff at the University of Queensland (and if you’re interested you can read their full paper examining this issue).