The Cognitive Process of Information Evaluation in Doctoral Students: A Collective Case Study

Abstract

Evaluation is a critical thinking process that people use in making judgments of quality, truthfulness, and accuracy. Despite its importance in everyday life, evaluation as a process is poorly understood. This collective case study seeks to describe the cognitive processes used by well-educated, motivated adults as they make critical judgments of information under naturalistic and conducive conditions. Five second-year doctoral students were followed through an information search process involving a topic of personal relevance. Findings revealed that participants use evaluation as part of a complex cognitive process, employing varied and numerous evaluative strategies. Evaluation occurs as a sequence beginning with a discrete initial event, progressing through three distinct deliberative phases, and ending with a decision in the form of a judgment. Initializations occur as complex reactions to informational stimuli. Textual characteristics recognized as problems vary widely across participants.