Possible Sources and Followup for Pointing Out An Error Assignment:

(1) Some General Comments

Some of the fallacies we've discussed are:

correlation/causation

selection and sampling bias

sunk cost

conflating median and mean

You might also look at some of the fallacies discussed in Corbett's book--e.g., equivocation, red herring, straw man. Some criticisms won't fit perfectly into a specific category. Some of the other examples I suggested in class were pointing out if an author has an unacknowledged bias that clearly affects their judgment in making an argument (e.g., someone from a flight attendant's union making an argument about airlines), or dealing with statistics that are misleading (e.g., what does unemployment mean).

In all of these cases, an important part of your task is to be reasonable in your judgments. Is the article doing something problematic? If so, you should say so. But if someone simply observes a correlation that seems plausible, and plausibly is in fact a causation, you might not have much to say.

As I said in class, the paper only has to be a page, and I'll reduce the weight in the overall grade to 10%.

(2) Potential Sources

Here are some URLs that might be helpful (i.e., you could use these for your assignment), including a few that list other examples. Not all of these will necessarily work well; it's your job to evaluate whether you think there's a substantial criticism to be made.

I'd encourage you to look also at what you read in your extramural reading, to see if you think there are any weaknesses in the arguments you saw. Also, definitely look for certain hot-button topics where you see people using shaky reasoning.

If you find an article online criticizing another article or study, you can use that to find the original article. Then, for your paper, focus on the problematic article. In your sources, acknowledge the source article and the extent to which you relied on it. I'd encourage you not to rely too much on the criticizing article, since I want you to do that yourself.

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/100/correlation_or_causation.htm (a bunch of examples)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3086013.stm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427193244.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/14/us-violence-children-idUSTRE65D5VW20100614

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/12/_52_percent_of_people_don_t_trust_obama_anymore.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/arts/does-democracy-avert-famine.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/08/espn_poll_only_2_states_vote_f.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/041897_mmr_vaccines_autism_court_ruling.html

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/what-a-messy-desk-says-about-you/?_r=0

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/11/06/chelyabinsk_asteroid_impact_small_rocks_may_hit_us_more_often_than_thought.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/041897_mmr_vaccines_autism_court_ruling.html

http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2013/10/race-faith-and-dutch-festivities