WGU C168 Critical Thinking & Logic
Module 5: Examining the Evidence
Questions And Answers Already Passed
(latest updates 2024/2025)
Analogy - answers
... [Show More] Drawing a comparison between two things in order to show a
meaningful resemblance between them , implying that if two things are alike in one
respect , they will be alike in other respects.
Intuition - answers A hunch , " gut feeling , " or premonition
Personal observation - answers What we see first hand
Appeal to authority - answers Justifying a position by citing an expert or authority who
supports it
Case example - answers A detailed account of a person or event ; a striking or
dramatic anecdote
Testimonial - answers An account of someone else's personal experience
Survey / questionnaire - answers A research method or instrument for measuring
people's attitudes or beliefs
Research study - answers A systematic set of observations collected through scientific
methods .
Personal Experience - answers What we experience; what ourselves do or go through
Quantitative evidence - answers Quantifies an observation or phenomenon. It
expresses it as a number or empirical measure.
Qualitative evidence - answers Is concerned with determining causation; one thing
caused another thing
Certain general criteria determine the quality of evidence . The best or most
dependable evidence is : - answers •Believable
•Objective
•Sufficient
•Relevant
•From reputable sources
•Free of bias
•Independently verifiable •Logically sound
•internally consistent
Personal Experience - answers Can lead to hasty generalizations based on only one
or a couple of experiences ( i.e. too few to be a representative example ) .
Case Example - answers Personalizes an issue through colorful examples and
dramatic anecdotes but is suspect as evidence .
Case Example (Drawbacks) - answers • Limited reliability because it is untypical or
represents the exception to the norm .
•Can distract attention from other relevant evidence by appealing to emotions
Research Study - answers Can provide strong evidence because it yields empirical
data that may be independently verified . Relies on scientific methods to reduce errors
in observation and measurement .
Research Study (Drawbacks) - answers •The quality of studies varies greatly
•Researchers ' values , self - interest , and biases can skew the way they conduct
research and interpret findings
•Research findings often get distorted or oversimplified by people who speak or write
about them
Personal Observation - answers Is filtered through one's values , biases , and
expectations . This can lead two observers to see or perceive the same thing differently
.
Testimony - answers Varies in quality depending on the expertise behind it and any
biases it reflects .
Testimony (Drawbacks) - answers • People are selective about what they reveal and
don't reveal .
•It may come from someone who stands to profit from the testimonial ( a motive of
personal gain can result in a biased account )
•It often leaves out information that would modify the message if the information were
not omitted
Appeal to Authority - answers Can be valuable evidence when the authority has
relevant expertise is not biased , and has a reputation of dependability .
Appeal to Authority (Drawbacks) - answers •can be mistaken
•often has a bias or agenda .
•may lack the expertise to make an informed judgment on an issue
Survey / Questionnaire - answers Can , when well designed and properly conducted ,
yield responses that may be regarded as good evidence
Survey / Questionnaire (Drawbacks) - answers •responses don't necessarily reflect
respondents ' actual beliefs ( i.e. , people may give answers that don't represent their
true attitudes )
•Ambiguously worded survey questions are open to differing interpretations by survey
participants
•often include built - in biases
Analogy - answers Hinges its quality on two factors : •The degree to which the two
things being compared are similar and different
•The relevance of the similarities and differences .
Intuition - answers Has dependability beyond objective judgment because it is a
subjective , private experience . There is no reliable basis for deciding which of two
differing intuitive claims is more plausible .
As an unconscious process , intuition often ignores or dismisses relevant empirical
evidence .
Chronology - answers Is a science and can be used as strong evidence in determining
the correct order of a series of events . When there is no direct evidence , thinkers look
for a repeated sequence of events . If one event repe [Show Less]