19 Conducting Inquiry进行调查

2018-05-21  本文已影响0人  每日进步慢生活慢享受

19 Conducting Inquiry进行调查

这一部分讲解的是如何对问题进行检索研究,这一块的内容其实是每一个人都应该具备的基本能力,但是好像我们教育里并没有安排这样的课程。其实无论任何专业,无论是否是为了专业研究,知道去哪里查找信息,知道如何证明自己的推论,这是一项基本功。

读完这部分我问了我几个问题,我从来没有这么系统性的研究一个问题吧

我知道在我们国家有哪些可供查询的百科全书么?【百度不算】

我知道哪里有可供查询的期刊杂志类的么?【在图书馆里你能找到么】

对一个问题你能精确的或者尽可能全面的列出其涉猎的行业分类么?

答案都是no

好可悲啊

那我们得到的知识都是从哪里来的呢?根据什么来判断其权威性和可信性呢?


Inquiry is seeking answers to questions, investigating, gathering evidence to help us draw conclusions. It enables us to get beyond our first impressions, feelings, preconceived notions, and personal preferences.

调查是寻求问题的答案,调查,收集证据来帮助我们得出结论。它使我们能够超越我们的第一印象,感受,先入为主的观念和个人喜好。

There are two basic kinds of inquiry – inquiry into facts and inquiry into opinions. Opinions, remember, can be informed or uninformed. Except in cases where the purpose of our inquiry demands that both varieties of opinion be gathered, we should be more interested in informed opinion.

有两种基本的调查方式 - 调查事实和调查意见。记住,意见可以被告知或不知情。除了我们调查的目的要求收集各种意见的情况外,我们应该对知情意见更感兴趣。

Often we will need to inquire into both facts and opinions. How much inquiry into each is needed will, of course, vary from situation to situation. If the specific issue were"Which U.S. income group is most inequitably treated by the present federal tax laws?" we would have to examine the tax laws to determine what they specify (fact) and consult the tax experts for their interpretations of the more complicated aspects of the laws (informed opinion). But to determine the degree of inequity we would have to know the amount of income necessary to provide living essentials (food, shelter, and clothing). So we would also have to examine cost of living statistics (fact) and consult economists about more subtle factors affecting the various income groups (informed opinion).

我们经常需要查询事实和意见。当然,每种情况下需要对每种情况进行多少调查。如果具体问题是“现行联邦税法对哪一个美国收入组别最不公平”?我们必须检查税法以确定他们指定的 事实 (事实),并咨询税务专家对法律更复杂的方面( 知情意见 )的解释。但为了确定不公平的程度,我们必须知道提供生活必需品(食物,住所和衣服)所需的收入。因此,我们还必须检查生活费用统计( 事实 ),并咨询经济学家关于影响各种收入群体的更微妙因素( 知情意见 )。

SOME INQUIRY RESULT SIN CONCLUSIVE

一些调查结果不可信

Because the state of human knowledge is imperfect, not every question is answerable when it is asked. Some issues remain unsolved for years, even centuries. Before we traveled into outer space, no one knew exactly what the effects of weightlessness on the human body would be. Many respected doctors argued that the rapid acceleration at blast-off would increase an astronaut's heartbeat to a fatal level. (There was strong medical evidence to support this view.) Others believed that weightlessness would cause vital organs to malfunction and a trophy. Both dire predictions proved mistaken, but any inquiry into the issue undertaken before the first successful launch would necessarily have been incomplete.

由于人类知识的状态并不完美,因此在问及时并不是每个问题都可以回答。多年来甚至几个世纪以来,一些问题仍未解决。在我们进入外太空之前,没有人确切知道失重对人体的影响是什么。许多受人尊敬的医生认为,发射的迅速加速会使宇航员的心跳增加到致命的水平。(有强烈的医学证据支持这种观点。)其他人则认为失重会导致重要器官发生功能障碍和萎缩。这两个可怕的预测都被证明是错误的,但在第一次成功发射之前对这个问题的任何调查都是不完整的。

Which mountain in the Sinai desert did Moses really climb? The Bible gives it a name (actually two names), but scholars differ on where it is located. Strong claims are advanced for three different mountains in three countries. No conclusive answer has been reached despite over 3,000 years of inquiry.

西奈沙漠中的哪座山摩西真的爬过了?圣经给它一个名字(实际上是两个名字),但是学者在它的位置上有所不同。在三个国家的三座不同的山上,强烈的要求得到推进。尽管进行了3 000多年的调查,但尚未得出确凿的答案。

Some questions are even more resistant to inquiry – for example, the question "Are there intelligent life forms in our solar system or other systems?" Our sun is one of billion of stars. The farthest ones we have discovered are believed to be nine billion light years away. (In miles, that's 54 followed by 21 zeroes.)It's conceivable that any inquiry into this question made in the next million years will be inconclusive. Perhaps the answer will never be known.

有些问题甚至更难以查询 - 例如,“我们的太阳系或其他系统中是否有智能生命形式?”这个问题。我们的太阳是十亿颗恒星之一。我们发现的最远的被认为距离90亿光年远。(以英里为单位,54以及21零)。可以想象,在未来的几百万年里对这个问题的任何调查都是不确定的。也许答案永远不会被人知道。

However resistant to solution a question may be, though, inquiry is still useful. Even if it yields no more than the untestable opinions of experts, those opinions are more valuable than the casual speculations of the uninformed. So we shouldn't be intimidated by difficult issues. We should merely be realistic about how complete and final our answers are likely to be.

尽管如此,对解决方案的抵制仍然是一个问题,但查询仍然有用。即使它产生的不过 是专家的不可检测的 意见,这些意见也比不知情的人的偶然猜测更有价值。所以我们不应该被困难的问题吓倒。对于我们的答案可能会有多完整和最终结果,我们应该是现实的。

WHERE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION

去哪里找信息

Whenever possible, we should consult our own experience and observation. Even if what has happened to us or we have seen happen to others pertains only indirectly to the issue or touches just one aspect of it, it should not be overlooked. Our observation of how people use stereotypes or face-saving maneuvers in everyday situations may help us evaluate a political candidate's speech or a party's platform. Our experience with conformity in ourselves and our friends can provide us with an insight into the effects of TV programming on the public.Being alert to the relevance of our experience to the issue we are investigating not only can give us valuable ideas; it can also suggest important questions. Thus it can provide our inquiry with better direction.

只要有可能,我们应该咨询我们自己的经验和观察。即使发生在我们身上或我们看到发生在他人身上的事情仅仅是间接地涉及到这个问题,或者只涉及其中的一个方面,也不应该被忽视。我们观察人们在日常情况下如何使用刻板印象或爱面子行为可能有助于我们评估政治候选人的言论或政党的平台。我们对自己和朋友的整合体验可以让我们深入了解电视节目对公众的影响。注意我们的经验与我们正在调查的问题的相关性不仅可以给我们提供宝贵的想法;它也可以提出重要的问题。因此它可以为我们提供更好的方向。

Of course, our own experience and observation will seldom be adequate by itself, especially on complex and controversial matters. We will need to consult other sources. What follows is a brief guide to what to look for and where to find it.

当然,我们自己的经验和观察本身很少是足够的,特别是在复杂和有争议的问题上。我们需要咨询其他来源。接下来是一个简要的指南,指导您寻找什么以及在哪里找到它。

Background

背景信息

on the Issue.Think of several general headings under which the issue might be classified. For example, if the issue concerned criminal investigation, the headings might be "crime,""criminology," "police," and one or more specific kinds of crime, such as "burglary." Then look up those headings in the index volume of a good general encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Americana or Encyclopedia Britannica. (Americana has a separate index volume.Britannica is divided into two sets of books:the macropaediaset, which contains detailed articles on a limited number of subjects, and the micropaediaset, which contains brief articles and cross-references on a large number of subjects.) The articles you will find there are written by authorities in the various fields. At the end of each article is a list of books and other articles you can consult for a fuller or more specialized treatment of the issue.

关于问题的背景。 想想问题可能被分类的几个一般标题。例如,如果问题涉及刑事调查,标题可能是“犯罪”,“犯罪学”,“警察”以及一种或多种特定类型的犯罪,例如“盗窃”。然后在 一本好的通用百科全书的索引卷 中 查找这些标题,例如美国百科全书或不列颠百科全书。 (美国有一个单独的索引量Britannica 分为两套书:其中包含有限数量的主题的详细文章, micropaediaset,其中包含有关大量主题的简短文章和交叉参考。)您将在那里找到由各个领域的权威机构撰写的文章。在每篇文章的结尾处列出了一些书籍和其他文章,您可以参考这些书籍以获得更全面或更专业的问题处理。

In addition to the general encyclopedias, there are numerous special ones: encyclopedias of art,business, history, literature, philosophy, music, science, education, social science, and many more. Most of these contain not only discussions of the history of the field but also titles of other books and articles you may find helpful.(Remember that background reading, though a helpful start toward analyzing an issue, is never an acceptable substitute for analysis. You instructor will expect more from you than background

information.)

除了一般的百科全书,还有许多特殊的百科全书:艺术,商业,历史,文学,哲学,音乐,科学,教育,社会科学等等的百科全书。其中大部分内容不仅包含对该领域历史的讨论,还包含可能对您有帮助的其他书籍和文章的标题。 (请记住,背景阅读虽然是分析问题的一个有用的开端,但它永远不是分析的可接受替代品,您的指导老师对您的期望会超过背景信息。)

Facts and statistics.  Almanacs are treasuries of information,published yearly, on a myriad of subjects. There are a number of good ones.World Almanac is available from 1868.Information Please Almanac, The New York Times Encyclopedic Almanac, and Reader's Digest Almanac are more recent publications.Because any almanac is arranged very compactly for efficient use, it is important to study the index before using it.

事实和统计。 年鉴是每年出版的关于众多主题的资讯库。有很多好的。 世界历书 可从1868年获取。 信息请查阅年鉴,纽约时报百科全书 和 读者文摘年鉴 是最近的出版物。由于任何年历排列得非常紧凑以便高效使用,因此在使用之前研究索引非常重要。

Information about people. A number of biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias are available. Two of the most helpful ones are Current Biography: Who's News and Why and Webster's Biographical Dictionary.

关于人的信息 。一些传记字典和百科全书可用。其中两个最有用的是当代传记: 谁的新闻和为什么 和 韦伯斯特的传记字典。

Articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals. The most basic index to articles is the Reader's Guide to Periodical

Literature. It lists articles form over one hundred magazines by subject and by author. As with an encyclopedia, you should begin by thinking of the various headings under which the issue might be classified. Then select the volume for the appropriate years (more current years are listed in unbound pamphlet form), and look up those headings. The entries will list the title and author of the article and the name and issue of the magazine it appeared in.

报纸,杂志和期刊上的文章 。文章的最基本索引是 期刊文献读者指南 。它按主题和作者列出超过一百本杂志的文章。与百科全书一样,您应该首先考虑问题可能被分类的各个标题。然后选择相应年份的卷(更多当前年份以未绑定的小册子形式列出),然后查找这些标题。这些条目将列出文章的标题和作者以及它出现在杂志中的名称和问题。

Two other important indexes are the Social Science Index and the Humanities Index.(Before 1965 these indexes appeared together under the title international Index.) they are similar to Reader's Guide but cover scholarly and professional magazines and journals. Other helpful indexes include the New York Times Index, which covers events reported in that newspaper; the Essay and General Literature Index;the General Science Index; the Education Index; and United States Government Publications: Monthly Catalog.

其他两个重要指标是 社会科学指数 和 人文指数 。 (在1965年以前,这些指标以 国际指数 的名称一起出现),它们与读者指南类似,但涵盖了学术和专业杂志和期刊。其他有用的指标包括 纽约时报指数 ,该 指数涵盖该报报道的事件;该论文和一般文学指数; 在 普通科学指标 ;在 教育指数 ;和 美国政府刊物:每月目录。

After you locate the article and read it, be sure to check the reader response in the letters-to-the-editor section of subsequent issues. Most newspapers and magazines have a "letters" section, and it will often provide reaction by informed readers supporting or challenging the ideas in the article. In weekly magazines, responses usually appear two issues after the article; in fortnightlies and monthlies, one issue later.

找到文章并阅读后,请务必在随后的问题的编辑字母部分中查看读者的回复。大多数报纸和杂志都有一个“信箱”部分,它通常会提供知情读者的支持或挑战文章中观点的反应。在每周杂志中,回复通常在文章后面出现两个问题;在每两周和每月一次,稍后一个问题。

Books.In addition to the list of books provided in encyclopedias and those you find mentioned in the articles you read, you can consult your library's card or computer catalog, the key to the books available on its shelves. (One valuable source of information is college textbooks in fields related to the issue you are investigating.) Occasionally, if your library is small or if the issue you are investigating is obscure, the library holdings may be limited. In such cases, as in any situation where you are having difficulty finding information or using the reference books, ask your librarian for help.(Remember that librarians are professionals trained to solve the kinds of research problems you may experience.)

图书。 除了在百科全书中提供的书籍列表以及您阅读过的文章中提到的书籍,您还可以查阅图书馆的卡片或计算机目录,这是书架上可用书籍的关键。 (一个有价值的信息来源是与你正在调查的问题有关的领域的大学教科书。)偶尔,如果你的图书馆很小,或者你正在调查的问题很模糊,那么图书馆馆藏可能是有限的。在这种情况下,如果您在查找信息或使用参考书时遇到困难,请向图书管理员寻求帮助。 (请记住,图书馆员是受过专业训练的专业人员,可以解决您可能遇到的各种研究问题。)

All of this may suggest long, monotonous, time-and-energy-consuming research like that required for a doctoral dissertation. But that is a misconception. With a little practice, it is possible to use all the references mentioned, quickly and efficiently. Even books needn't be waded through page by page to find something useful. In a few seconds you can turn to the index (usually at the end) and look for the several headings your issue might be found under, then turn to the appropriate pages and read just those pages. If the book has no index, you can turn to the table of contents, read the chapter tittles and decide which chapters seem most relevant, and then scan them.

所有这些都可能表明,博士论文需要长时间,单调,耗时和耗时的研究。但这是一种误解。通过一些练习,可以快速有效地使用所有提及的参考资料。即使是书本也不一定要通过一页接一页地找到有用的东西。几秒钟后,您可以转向索引(通常在最后),并查找可能在您的问题下找到的几个标题,然后转到相应的页面并阅读这些页面。如果图书没有索引,则可以转到目录,阅读章节标题并确定哪些章节看起来最相关,然后浏览它们。

HOW MUCH INQUIRY IS ENOUGH?

多少调查是足够的

It would seem easy enough to decide when the inquiry is complete. More often than not, it is not easy at all. One insight can make a great difference. A single fact can upset a mountain of evidence. For example, in the late 1960s and early 1970s most social psychologists would probably have agreed that crowded living conditions are harmful to human beings. Numerous experiments seemed to have settle the matter. Then anthropologist Patricia Draper studied a southwest African treble of hunter-gatherers, the !Kung bushmen. Though their land offers ample space to spread out their settlements and huts, they crowd their dwelling together and often sit in tight groups, literally brushing against one another.Yet they have none of the medical conditions (such as high blood pressure)usually associated with crowding. This one fact has caused reexamination of ascientific truism.

查询完成的时间似乎很容易。往往不是,它根本不容易。一个见解可以产生很大的不同。一个事实可能会打乱一大堆证据。例如,在20世纪60年代末和70年代初,大多数社会心理学家可能会认为拥挤的生活条件对人类是有害的。许多实验似乎已经解决了这个问题。然后人类学家派翠西亚·德雷珀(Patricia Draper)研究了非洲西南部的三个狩猎采集者!尽管他们的土地提供了很多空间来散布他们的定居点和小屋,但他们将他们的住所挤在一起,并经常坐在紧密的小组中,从字面上彼此擦肩而过。然而他们没有任何通常与拥挤有关的医疗状况(例如高血压)。这一事实已经引起了对科学真理论的重新审视。

How much inquiry is enough? There is no easy answer. It depends entirely on the issue. In some cases, a brief inquiry is enough? There is no easy answer. It depends entirely on the issue. In some cases, a brief inquiry will be more than adequate. In others, an exhaustive inquiry will be incomplete. However, though no absolute statement may be made about the amount of inquiry required, you can be reasonably sure your inquiries are complete when you have made a thorough and careful effort to learn the relevant facts and to consult informed opinion in all fields of study that have a direct bearing on the specific issue you are analyzing. The number of fields to be researched will, of course, vary with the nature of the issue. Here, for example, is a list of the fields that have a direct bearing on three specific issues we identified in the previous chapter.

多少查询就够了?没有简单的答案。这完全取决于这个问题。在某些情况下,简短的询问就足够了?没有简单的答案。这完全取决于这个问题。在某些情况下,简短的调查将是绰绰有余的。在其他情况下,详尽的调查将不完整。然而,虽然没有绝对的声明可以提出所需的调查数量,但您可以合理确信您的调查已经完成,因为您在仔细研究相关事实并咨询所有研究领域的意见后,对你正在分析的具体问题有直接影响。当然,研究领域的数量将随着问题的性质而变化。在这里,例如,是与我们在前一章中确定的三个具体问题有直接关系的领域清单。

Specific Issue:

具体问题

At what point, if any during a pregnancy does the fetus become a human being?

在什么时候,如果怀孕期间胎儿是否成为人类? 

Fields with Direct Bearing:  Biology, Law, Ethics, Metaphysic, Psychology

直接影响领域: 生物学,法律,伦理学,形而上学,心理学

Specific Issue:

具体问题:

Exactly what effect does a punch have on the human body, particularly the brain? What is the cumulative effect of the punches received during ten or fifteen rounds of boxing? During a career?

一拳对人体特别是大脑有什么影响?在十轮或十五轮拳击中获得的拳击的累积效应是什么?在职业生涯中?

Fields with Direct Bearing:  Anatomy and Physiology, Medicine, Psychology

直接承担的领域: 解剖学和生理学,医学,心理学

Specific Issue:

具体问题:

Is it reasonable or fair to hold people responsible for their actions before they are old enough to understand their moral and legal quality? At what age does a person reach such understanding?

在他们年龄足以了解他们的道德和法律质量之前,让他们对自己的行为负责是否合理或公平?一个人到了什么年龄才能达到这样的理解? 

Fields with Direct Bearing:  Education, Psychology, Medicine, Ethics, Law

直接影响领域: 教育,心理学,医学,伦理学,法学

A special problem frequently arises with an inquiry into opinion. When we have found one or two respected thinkers who agree with what we believe or want to believe, we are inclined to feel satisfied. "Case closed," we're tempted to say;"this is the answer." Precisely at that moment we need to be especially cautious. If the issue is controversial, we should remind ourselves that a controversial issue, by definition, is one on which informed, careful thinkers may disagree, on which there is something reasonable to say for bothsides.

对意见进行调查时经常会遇到一个特殊问题。当我们发现一两位尊敬的思想家同意我们相信或想要相信的东西时,我们倾向于感到满意。“案子结束了,”我们很想说; “这是答案。” 就在那一刻,我们需要特别谨慎。如果这个问题存在争议,我们应该提醒自己,根据定义,一个有争议的问题就是知情的,谨慎的思想家可能会不同意,对此双方都有合理的说法。

It's worth remembering, too, that no evidence is perfect, and even the best is seldom beyond questioning. Appearances can deceive, some facts can remain undiscovered, and otherwise enlightened opinions can be limited in perspective.

值得记住的是,没有证据是完美的,即使是最好的证据也很少被质疑。出现可以欺骗,一些事实可能保持未被发现,否则开明的观点可能会受到限制。

APPLICATIONS

应用

Chose one of the specific issues you clarified in application 1 or 2 of Chapter 18. conduct your inquiry into this issue in the manner explained in this chapter. Take careful notes. (The applications in the next chapter will build on this one.)

选择你在第18章的应用1或2中阐明的具体问题之一。按照本章所述的方式对这个问题进行调查。仔细记录。(下一章中的应用程序将以此为基础。)

Choose one of the specific issues presented in Chapter 18 in the discussion of abortion, boxing, or juvenile crime. Conduct your inquiry into this issue in the manner explained in this chapter. Take careful notes. (The applications in the next chapter will build on this one.)

在讨论堕胎,拳击或青少年犯罪时,选择第18章中提出的具体问题之一。按照本章所述的方式对此问题进行调查。仔细记录。(下一章中的应用将以此为基础。)


这个系列是对超越感觉:批判性思考指南 07版做的翻译练习,如果觉得有帮助可以点链接购买第九版中文,英文原版在这里Beyond Feelings:A Guide to Critical Thinking (英语)

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