Table 5.
Analysis of Students’ Justifications for their Evaluations of Provided Evidence
| Quality of justification | Mother’s blog | Newspaper website | Company website | Research center’s website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 3: Elaborated, relevant justification (3 points) |
"Author justifies her claim with observations done after the birthday parties without knowing about the exact events and other potential factors that may have affected her daughter's behavior" (Student 222) | "He has used both expert statement and research knowledge. He has acquainted himself with the issue by asking an expert to tell him about the topic and by finding research knowledge that supports his claim. However, the place of the study is not told which decreases its credibility" (Student 3ZR) | "The results of the questionnaire are favorable to the company. If the results would not have been favorable, the article would probably not have been published. One needs to keep in mind that participants were users of the products, and thus, biased" (Student 222) | "She has told a little bit about the studies. She has also told what are the exact studies in question so that one can go to check them" (Student 2CA) |
|
Level 2: Relevant justification (2 points) |
"One cannot be sure if the sugar has caused hyperactivity. One could assume that having fun with friends would get anyone excited" (Student 1ZV) | "The person interviewed was a doctor who is an expert" (Student 1HL) | "Evidence is weak, only some people's personal experiences" (Student 1C1) | "Because there is more than one research source" (Student 198) |
|
Level 1: Tangential or vague justification (1 point) |
"She does not have any research-based knowledge" (Student 2TK) | "He has a credible source. There could be additional sources" (Student 15 M) | "He does not use proper research" (Student 1W1) | "She is a professional who has several types of knowledge, justifications, and perspectives" (Student 3J3) |
| Level 0: Inadequate justification (0 points) |
"She witnessed the situation with her own eyes" (Student 2X8) |
"He did a study about the issue" (Student 3LW) | "Surveys make it plau sible" (Student 2WB) | "She explains ideas clearly" (Student 2QJ) |