Opinions+and+research

We learned all year how hard it is to think, learn, change opinions, etc. etc. and yet since it is pretty much in my job description to do so, I'm going to ask you to try something out. Check out: [|the oatmeal] which we looked at in class.

Determine an opinion that you hold to be true, not just something vague, but something deeply held by you. Yes, this is challenging...

Use google scholar to find well respected sources and peer reviewed journals (at least 4) that **refute** your strongly held position. This is hard on a personal level. I'm doing research on how ineffective homework is. I've been assigning homework for 18 years and have put enormous thought into hundreds of projects, papers, and various assessments. I'm putting all of that on the line and finding out what, if any of it, is worthwhile.

Step 1. Select your honestly truly, deeply, held personal opinion. Explain when you developed it as best you understand that process. This opinion is central to your existence. It is part of how you define yourself and your world-view. It took some time to find and isolate, so this will take some time to determine and might be too personal to share. That is understandable, but if it applies to this belief then I suggest examining a different one.

Step 2. Find data to challenge your passionately held opinion. Clearly and succinctly synthesize this data, how it was gathered, how it was analyzed, etc. Cite in APA format. APA citation generation machine Some things won't be data based, discuss flaws in data as well.

Step 3. How did you find this process of reading and learning about information contradictory to your strongly held beliefs? What surprised you about this process? Explain why it was easy or challenging for you to confront a strongly held belief.

You can post your write-up here, e-mail, or hand it in. Whatever works for you.

Thanks again for spending a year in psychology. It has been a pleasure!