Critical and Creative Thinking

The role of Critical Thinking in Research

There is no doubt that critical thinking has a key role to play in research. Assessing and creating knowledge requires informed judgment and evaluative skills, both of which comprise critical thinking. Indeed, feedback from research degree candidates nationally confirms that many see the enhancement of critical thinking ability as one of the key outcomes of the research degree experience.

However, the centrality of critical thinking to research does not guarantee that we fully understand both what it is or what it has to offer the researcher. Like any subject of academic inquiry, both these issues are contested and contestable. Since we, as researchers, necessarily engage in critical practices, however, we are ideally situated to examine the question ourselves. This is what you will be encouraged to do here.

Creative Thinking

There are many definitions of creative thinking available in libraries and on the internet, however, the value of such definitions are questionable in the pursuit of increasing your own capacity to exercise creative thinking.

In order to achieve this aim of helping you to mobilise creative thinking within your own research practice, this section of the module will try to identify modes of behaviour that reveal creative thinking in action. We will also encourage you to reflect on your own modes of creative thinking so that you may be better able to nurture it in the process of research. Therefore, the primary resource for completion of this component of the module will be your considered and reflective thinking about your own research practice.

Critical and Creative Thinking is one of a suite of online modules offered by the e-Grad School providing support for postgraduate students' research activity. 

Presented by Dr Inger Mewburn. Dr. Mewburn holds a number of degrees in Architecture from RMIT University and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. During her time in architectural practice, Inger worked at a number of design intensive firms and produced digital art work, which has appeared in many magazines and exhibitions. Inger taught design practice and theory at various universities from 1997 and has specialised in teaching research methods and practice since 2005. Currently she holds a position as a Research Fellow in the new School of Graduate Research (SGR) at RMIT University, co-ordinating HDR support services and publishing in the area of doctoral education, with a special interest in the social life of research candidates.