Argument Assignment

11 Sep Argument Assignment

Introduction The first two steps in evidence-based practice are to identify knowledge gaps and formulate relevant questions. In this writing exercise, you will be doing just that, across three types of inductive reasoning. In addition, you will be applying evaluation techniques to determine how credible, authoritative, and reliable the arguments are.

Scenario Imagine your boss has asked you to evaluate four ideas that she is thinking of using to implement programs. You must evaluate whether these are good ideas that she can safely and immediately green-light or whether further evidence is needed. She is anxious to move forward, so she will be unhappy if you reject a good idea; however, if you approve a bad idea, she will be equally as unhappy. She has specifically directed you not to do any outside research. You must evaluate the ideas strictly on the brief passages available. She also wants to know what specific kind of reasoning is used in each passage

Instructions Using everything you have learned from the text, as well as any other information you have gathered from your searches, evaluate the following four arguments:

· Chapter 8 Exercise 8.9 Examples 7 and 10

Example 7: Among people who use multiple dietary supplements, fish oil/omega-3 supplements now top multivitamins in popularity. The conclusion is based on 6,012 responses collected in November from a sampling of subscribers to our free e-newsletter. Fish oil/omega-3 supplements were used by 74% of respondents, followed in popularity by multivitamins, which were used by 72%.—ConsumerLab.com

Example 10: For-profit hospices do not focus on the best interests of their patients. In one study assessing the impact of ownership status on care provided to patients, researchers found that patients receiving care from for-profit hospices received a narrower range of services than patients from non-profit hospices. The narrower range of services meant that patients with for-profit hospices were not receiving as much counseling services, medications, and personal care.—Carlson, Gallo, and Bradley, “Ownership Status and Patterns of Care in Hospice”

· Chapter 9 Exercise 9.9 Example 1

Example 1: The University of Hawaii at Manoa is a lot like the University of Colorado at Denver. They are both public, coeducational universities located in the capital city of their state, and they both have student populations of approximately 20,000 students. Since 64% of the students at the University of Hawaii are of Asian or Pacific Island descent, approximately the same number of students at the University of Colorado at Denver are of Asian or Pacific Island descent.

· Chapter 10 Exercise 10.9 Example 1

Example 1: Recently researchers compared 286 depressed workers with 193 others who were not depressed. Since only the depressed workers had such problems as fatigue, lack of motivation, and trouble managing their usual workload, researchers concluded that depression was the cause of their problems at work.—American Journal of Health Promotion

For each exercise, address the following:

· Identify the type of inductive argument and any features of the way the argument is constructed that you find relevant.

· Explain how convincing you think the argument is.

· Does it have sufficient evidence to allow you to suggest that she move forward with the idea or does the argument have knowledge gaps?

· What questions need to be answered to close these gaps?

· Does the argument contain any information that adds to its authority, credibility, or reliability?

You need to show your boss that you know what factors have to be considered in evaluating each type of argument and how well the argument meets the criteria.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

· Length: 100-150 words per exercise (not including title page or references page)

· 1-inch margins

· Double spaced

· 12-point Times New Roman font

· Title page

· References page

Grading This activity will be graded using the Argument Analysis (W6) Grading Rubric.

Course Outcomes (CO): 3, 5

Due Date: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday 

Rubric