Introduction
Understanding information requires effort at any level of study, and within any discipline. Your role is not passive; for example, good note-taking skills make all the difference in the ultimate value of any material to you. Nor is your role confined to the time spent in the lecture or reading an article, although both these activities are essential. However, the process of learning is greatly helped by you knowing what you want. As in Chapter 3, the rule is ‘define and stick to your purpose’.
A critical approach: subjectivity and interpretation
A critical approach initially recognizes that all information is presented in an edited form. No matter what the medium – text, broadcast or web based – contents and presentation are chosen by authors, editors, producers, website designers and others. Such selectivity is partly in response to the constraints of the medium, and the understanding that any material must be ‘written’ for its recipient.
Two obvious examples of frame of reference influencing information are politics and newspapers. You are aware of the values and beliefs through which that speaker or journalist operates so you listen/read in a questioning light. But politicians and newspapers hold stated positions (officially or not). Most authors and contributors of internet material are first and foremost professionals in their field. They operate, like you, through a complex system of values, beliefs, ethical concerns and cultural influences, which are not easy to detect or define. Combined with the air of authority that the media (especially print) seem to bestow, they can lull you into a false sense of acceptance.
How do you know who to believe?
Approaching material critically understands that to say, ‘A is right, B is wrong’ is often naïve. A critical approach asks, ‘What made A reach that conclusion when B decided this?’ B may have differently researched, differently experienced and differently interpreted the subject from A.
You must weigh these factors, considering how they might affect the information given. You must question the author/editor/producer and bring their possible frame of reference to the fore – if you can. In Chapter 6 and Chapter 8, deciding which material might be of use involves examining the author’s credentials. This is similar, but in greater depth.
Your questions won’t all have answers
This is important. You might not be able to find out everything you’d like to know about a piece of research or an editor’s influences. You won’t even know if you have uncovered everything. In some cases you will have to argue that there is no hard ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. But the questioning is the critical and important act and shows that you can think beyond texts and lectures.
Nor will you always know who to believe. You must appraise the evidence, both stated and implicit, and either decide for yourself or present a well-researched and clear argument as to why you cannot decide.
Question … Concentrate … Understand
• Being a critical and active learner involves questioning:
• Who is giving you your information?
• What is their purpose and agenda?
• What are their sources and methods of research?
• Our individual frame of reference influences our work. Objectivity is only an attempt to be disinterested; it is never possible to be utterly neutral. Remember, you too work within a frame of reference.
• You won’t always be able to provide answers to questions you raise, but raising them demonstrates that you have thought around the subject.
Question … Concentrate … UnderstandReading: being practical, realistic and prepared
This section looks at how reading skills vary depending on the material and your need, at how to be selective and at how to ensure you focus on your information need while reading.
Different skills for different material
You already have sophisticated reading skills and apply them every day to the various types of material you encounter. Table 5.1 lists some examples, their possible purpose and the level of reading skill you would require for each.
Consider Table 5.1 for 5–10 minutes. Note in your reflective diary:
Consider Table 5.1 for 5–10 minutes. Note in your reflective diary:• What types of reading you have done this week?
• How you went about this, i.e. how did your approach differ in each case?
| TYPE OF MATERIAL | PURPOSE | READING SKILL |
|---|---|---|
| Article on inequalities in health | Understanding and knowledge of issues, relevant theories and views | Slow reading and re-reading, noting own ideas, linking to other reading, questioning the material |
| Library opening hours | Factual information | Note/memorize for future reference |
| Technical instructions | Accurate completion of task | Step-by-step reference |
| Anatomy textbook and diagrams | Informed, factual understanding | Slow and concentrated, re-reading, making notes |
| Encyclopaedia | Specific definition/information | Specific search under heading |
| Travel guide | General information | Use of index/contents to locate relevant information |
From Table 5.1 and the notes, you can see how, perhaps unconsciously, you employ a range of reading skills. However, you might not be using them as well as you could. For instance, how selective are you in your reading? Do you try and read as much as possible or give close attention to carefully chosen material? Do you understand the content? If not, what do you do about it? Reflect on this for 5 minutes.
The active reader
Look again at Table 5.1. Most of the tasks require active reading involvement. However, the two whose purpose is understanding – that is, the article and the textbook – require several readings, notes/diagrams and an intelligent personal response. Within that, you would consciously have to apply different levels of reading skills:
■ Skimming/scanning the material for the gist. You can quickly decide what parts you need to concentrate on; that is, which sections contain the information you need. Use the layout of the material – contents page, headings, index, tables/charts – to help you.
■ In-depth reading/re-reading of the denser material. Be prepared to spend time on this and use reference books; for example, a dictionary for unfamiliar words. Have pen and paper to hand for your notes.
■ Inferring as you read, i.e. reading between the lines with awareness of the context. You already do this when you read anything: no written material is without context and the same statement in different contexts can have different intent (see box below). Inference and context are related to subjectivity and interpretation.
■ Paraphrasing important or difficult points and ideas in your notes. This means you record your understanding of, and response to, the material. It forces you to engage with the material, which is far more effective than simply highlighting passages of text: not only do you achieve better understanding of, and concentration on, the material, you are also honing your writing skills. The notes you make now may provide ideas for your essay.
How context can change intent
• Statement: ‘I blame the parents’
• Context 1: Letter to local paper complaining about vandalism
• Context 2: Slogan on T-shirt sold at a Gay Pride event
In Context 1, we have a straightforward reference to a perceived decline in family values and its effect on society.
In Context 2, the statement becomes ironic.
Preparation and purpose
Remember: define and stick to your purpose. Active readers do this by identifyingwhat they need from their material. Writing these needs down as a series ofquestions clarifies and keeps them visible so you don’t digress. If you are clearabout the answers you need, you are less likely to waste time on irrelevantmaterial. If you do have less relevant but interesting ideas, note them down forexploration later, but stick to the task in hand.
The activity below (which should take 10–12 minutes) asks you to read an extract, first without and then with identified information needs; that is, questions. You may then reflect on the effectiveness of your reading in each case.
The passage below is from Teratologies: a cultural study of cancer by Jackie Stacey and, as the book’s title suggests, begins to place a medical condition in a cultural context. Read it through as you would any text for study.
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The passage below is from Teratologies: a cultural study of cancer by Jackie Stacey and, as the book’s title suggests, begins to place a medical condition in a cultural context. Read it through as you would any text for study.
