Course Specific Research Support for PHL 195: Home

The purpose of this page is to link curriculum requirements for developmentally- and discipline-specific development of research skills to appropriate library instruction and support outcomes

Critical Thinking: Science and the Occult course outcomes related to research skills:

Other indicators of required research or information seeking:

From the Addendum to the Course Description:

Many students beginning college today have little formal training in the sciences and, thus, know little of what scientists do or of the criteria by which scientific observations and explanations are assessed.  As a  result, few students know how to evaluate the kind of scientific  information they daily read about and hear.  For example, few are capable of assessing the information provided in newspapers and magazines about the discovery of a causal connection between some form of cancer and some previously unsuspected chemical agent.


This lack of familiarity with science is all the more unfortunate since students are confronted with a seemingly endless list of bogus scientific claims - claims which purport to be the result of serious scientific investigation but which are nothing more than a clever combination of fiction and fact couched in scientific sounding jargon.  Many students do not possess the skills necessary to notice that there is a difference between genuine and bogus scientific claims.


The purpose of this course is to teach the student what scientific method is and how genuine scientific research (e.g., that of the psychologist or the astronomer) differs from pseudo-scientific charlatanism (e.g., the observations and explanations of the psychic or the astrologer).

From the Outcome and Assessment Strategies:

" It will involve lectures, discussions, tests and papers"

Bridging competencies to support research and information seeking at this level:

  • Identify quotes and paraphrases from original sources
  • Develop a topic statement
  • Articulate search terms for a topic
  • Recognize different types of sources and their place in the information cycle

Corresponding research and information seeking outcomes for PHL 195

1. Select media reports of scientific studies to assess

2. Apply components of the scientific method to evaluate information sources

3. Evaluate the use (or misuse) of statistical data and concepts

4. Identify claims of truth and locate collaborating sources

Librarian Instructional Objectives:

1. Locate media reports of scientific studies, and use indicators to locate original study

2. Identify indicators of the use of the scientific method in information sources

3. Locate and evaluate sources of statistical data

4. Identify the purpose of information sources and the authority of the information providers

Placement of courses on an Information Literacy Continuum

Courses Instructional Stages Student's Developmental Stage

 

 
Connecting to 
College

1. I know where the library is located and about some of the services provided.

 

 

 
Information Seeking

2. I can identify a topic, and identify useful information sources to read about it.

 

 
Information
Literacy Skills

3. I can develop a topic statement, locate and use library sources, and begin  informational research.

 

PHL 195
PHL 197
PHL 298

 

 
Academic or Career/
Technical Related

4. I evaluate the sources I have found for relevancy to my field, and I know who some of the experts are.
PHL 212 
Inquiry and Exploration for
Research

5. I can identify pro- and con-positions on a topic. I can identify the perspectives of various experts in a field.
  
Discipline- or Area
of Study Specific

6. I can support my position on an issue with evidence. I can accurately summarize the scholarly or professional conversation.

 
 

Librarian Liaison to the Philosophy SAC (Subject Area Committee)

Contact: Roberta Richards,  Librarian at the Southeast campus

For information about this page:

To update Course outcomes, contact: Pam Kessinger