I’m building up quite a catalogue of index cards from all my reading. As I read a book or a journal article, I like to make notes on record cards and catalogue them. I find that I remember things much better if I write and mindmap etc rather than typing notes online. I always like to get a skeleton view of the book / article first and then read in more detail. The book blitz technique is good for this. There is a lot to think about whilst reading, so it’s essential to keep notes as you go along.
Reading critically involves thinking about the following issues:
We should recognise that we will have a reaction to a text based on our experience and preconceptions, which may have little to do with the merits of the arguments it contains. For example, an argument may make sense to us because it contains familiar ideas rather than because it is carefully constructed or valid.
The intended audience for a text is rarely explicit. It is revealed by the assumptions made about the knowledge of the audience, reflected in the form and content of the language that is used. For example the way jargon and professional slang is used.
We can distinguish between surface assumptions, about audience for example, and deeper assumptions that reflect an outlook on life or a view of the nature of knowledge. The former is relatively easy but assumptions arising from personal, professional, cultural and political factors may even be hidden from the authors themselves. If we share assumptions with the writers, they are especially hard to detect.
Care needs to be taken in identifying, asserting or claiming truths; these may be expressed imprecisely or need to be analysed. You may be prepared to accept some claims to truth [assertions] without evidence but for others you may consider you need evidence.
Evidence that can support or refute an assertion is not the same as two people saying the same thing. Corroboration has to be independent.
Experience can provide evidence, even when it is not distilled as ‘research’. Research studies themselves are produced from distilled and manipulated personal experience.
The evidence required to support an assertion depends on the generality of the claim that is made. For example. only one counter-example is enough to refute a claim to universal truth.
A search for contradiction in arguments can be an effective starting point for analysing them, as well as revealing the hidden assumptions and motives of the author.
You may also like to read:
How to Book Blitz
Functions of a Literature Review
Questions to ask when reviewing literature