Approaching Critical Thinking Through Generalized Empirical Method

The recent explosion of “fake news” highlights the need for academic libraries to provide access to reliable information resources and for librarians to instruct students in using them effectively. Providing reliable resources with minimal barriers to access involves cooperation among librarians, publishers, and vendors; however, I suggest that there is tension between our mutual desires to satisfy student demands for instant and perfect results and to encourage them to become persistent and critical information seekers. Many tools exist to assist students in gaining background information and limiting search results, but ultimately none replace the need to develop and explore questions and to evaluate information sources. In this paper, I reflect on the difficulties of persuading students to persist in using library resources and the use of Bernard Lonergan’s generalized empirical method as a framework for critical thinking and information literacy.

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Aesthetic Subjectivity and Generalized Empirical Method

The Thomist A Speculative Quarterly Review ◽

10.1353/tho.1979.0032 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 257-278

Author(s):

Robert H. Doran

Keyword(s):

Empirical Method ◽

Generalized Empirical Method

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Personal Differences in the Application of Generalized Empirical Method

The Lonergan Review ◽

10.5840/lonerganreview2016713 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 49-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Grallo ◽

Keyword(s):

Empirical Method ◽

Generalized Empirical Method

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Quantification of Silica Uptake by Alveolar Macrophages - An Emperical Scanning Electron Microprobe Method

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100054297 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 332-333

Author(s):

V. V. Damiano ◽

R. P. Daniele ◽

H. T. Tucker ◽

J. H. Dauber

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Alveolar Macrophages ◽

Bulk Sample ◽

Silica Particles ◽

Empirical Method ◽

Phagocytic Cells ◽

Calibration Standards ◽

X Ray ◽

Accurate Quantitative Analysis ◽

Scanning Electron

An important example of intracellular particles is encountered in silicosis where alveolar macrophages ingest inspired silica particles. The quantitation of the silica uptake by these cells may be a potentially useful method for monitoring silica exposure. Accurate quantitative analysis of ingested silica by phagocytic cells is difficult because the particles are frequently small, irregularly shaped and cannot be visualized within the cells. Semiquantitative methods which make use of particles of known size, shape and composition as calibration standards may be the most direct and simplest approach to undertake. The present paper describes an empirical method in which glass microspheres were used as a model to show how the ratio of the silicon Kα peak X-ray intensity from the microspheres to that of a bulk sample of the same composition correlated to the mass of the microsphere contained within the cell. Irregular shaped silica particles were also analyzed and a calibration curve was generated from these data.

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