Critical thinking is the application of objective reasoning to analyze situations about the world, with the aim of reaching a verified conclusion (Snyder & Snyder, 2008). It is a crucial psychological discipline that decreases chances of thinking or acting with false principles, by enabling thorough analysis and evaluation of situations before reacting. This kind of thinking is the motivation for the scientific method in research. Critical thinking skills do not strictly apply to scientific operations and making strong arguments, they are also significant in day-to-day activities, be it in politics, education, relationships and any other aspect of daily human life (Dunn et al., 2015). These skills give people deeper understanding of their surroundings, a more in-depth insight into what they can do about them. Critical thinking demands thinking ‘out of the box,’ it requires the willingness to use one’s mind without preconceived opinions. A critical thinker is one who can:
i. Identify links between concepts.
ii. Recognize lack of consistencies, and faults in reasoning.
iii. Acknowledge the significance of opinions.
iv. Build and evaluate arguments.
The Scientific method is like an extensive formalization of critical thinking; it refers to the process and steps were taken by someone, not necessarily a scientist, to resolve obstacles or acquire new knowledge. Methodical observation, formulation, and experimenting are some of the attributes that characterize this model of research. The process applies to most research, and usually, takes place in four steps: making observations, proposing a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and the final step, analyzing data and coming up with a conclusion (Giorgi, 1997).
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i. Making observations
It is the first step to understanding the situation; it helps determine how one goes about their research. This part requires excellent critical thinking skills as observing requires more than only looking, it demands the attention of all the other senses. Smelling things, hearing sounds feeling with the skin, all those makeup observations. The step usually ends with the questions, “What is that? Why does that happen? How did they do that?” etc. it is from here that the researcher makes the hypothesis.
ii. Proposing a hypothesis
Hypothesis refers to a potential solution to a problem, which might not be necessarily true; it is an attempt by a researcher to make sense of things before any testing or experiments. A good hypothesis is that which has room for prediction, which must be easily measurable, they should not include units like 5.986 cm. One of the most crucial qualities of an efficient hypothesis is consistency; a researcher should not change a hypothesis or prediction even if the outcome of their research shows they were mistaken. A wrong prediction is an indication that there were more possibilities that you had not considered before, it is not equivalent to failure.
iii. Testing the hypothesis
In this step of the scientific method where the researcher tests their hypothesis to prove whether it is true or not; it is a part of high significance to the model as it is the determinant of the accuracy of the scientist. A successful experiment must be fair, transparent and without prejudice. An independent person must be able to reproduce similar results of the test accurately.
iv. Data analysis and conclusion
Equipped with the results of an experiment, an analyst can prove the accuracy of the hypothesis - or not. At this stage, a researcher either rejects or accepts a hypothesis, as for the proof of the hypothesis, more than one experiment is the necessary determinant. If the hypothesis gets rejected, one can always reconstruct a new hypothesis and predictions, it the hypothesis is accepted, new tests are carried out to confirm the results. For a critical thinker, the scientific method is an ongoing system that doesn’t stop at analyzing data and making conclusions.
The Scientific method doesn’t always entail scientific experiments and laboratory tests, for the common man, it involves any steps that begin at taking notice of a potential complication, and ends at determining whether or not it is an issue.
A workplace scenario
A scenario where the scientific method is applicable is a case of a workplace. A fresh graduate who passed with distinction gets her new workplace to fill in one of the executive positions. As the manager introduces her around the office, she notices most people are not welcoming. Time goes by, and no one still talks to her first, or at all, unless she ignites the conversation, her new colleagues change direction when they spot her, and all conversations end when she walks into a building. She explains these observations with a theory that her workmates have formed a society amongst themselves where they do not let people in so easy. Based on this theory, she develops a hypothesis that her colleagues give strangers just as hard time as they give her. She conducts an experiment to verify her hypothesis, she invites a few friends over to the workplace to see the kind of reception they get. If they get the cold shoulders, her hypothesis is correct, if contrary to her hypothesis, her friends easily fit in, she confirms that the hitch with her colleagues is something personal.
Critical thinking is a crucial quality for a leader. A leader will always face opposition, healthy or not; there will always will be a category of people who are against your leadership in the society. A few times they will have reasons against your ways, other times it will simply be an informed ideology. To be an effective leader, one should never stop asking questions to oneself, and to others if necessary. In real life, people often come up with explanations that they will consider to be right since it is the most sensible comment; jumping to conclusion without a verified base is the recipe to a failed leadership. In the above illustration, the fresh-graduate executive had the choice of simply embracing the cold shoulders, but she went an extra mile and adopted the scientific method to solve her predicaments. She used her senses to observe that everything was not right with her colleagues, she made up a hypothesis and tested it and reached a well-guided conclusion. She might not have got a precise answer, but at least she crossed off one factor from her list, perhaps it was sheer jealousy. With such high skills for critical thinking, a leader can make substantial assumptions which are necessary for decision making, among other leadership roles.
Critical thinking and the scientific method are both complementary and similar. They are complementary in that, critical thinking without the urge for research, an outlet for all the thoughts is among the things that get geniuses locked in asylums. Also, the urge for the scientific method of research by a non-critical thinker rarely results in anything substantial. Under the aspect of similarity, both concepts aim at reaching a verified conclusion about a particular issue. Testing and coming up with a valid evidence fuels critical thinking which results in deeper understanding.Most, if not all scientists apply critical thinking in coming up with, and proving their theories. Critical thinking skills are rare but necessary for right thinking.
References
Dunn, D. S., Franco, A. H., Butler, H. A., & Halpern, D. F. (2015). Teaching Critical Thinking to Promote Learning. The Oxford Handbook of Undergraduate Psychology Education. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199933815.013.007
Snyder, L. G., & Snyder, M. J. (2008). Teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills. The Journal of Research in Business Education , 50 (2), 90.
Giorgi, A. (1997). The Theory, Practice, and Evaluation of the Phenomenological Method as a Qualitative Research Procedure. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology,28 (2), 235-260. doi:10.1163/156916297x00103
