As the text points out, causal reasoning is used in clinical studies. As a professional in the health field, you will undoubtedly be referring to cause/effect studies for the rest of your professional life. In this discussion, you are asked to expand and deepen your understanding of clinical studies.

In 1999, a study on the causes of myopia appeared in the prestigious journal Nature (Quinn). The study received wide-spread publicity in leading newspapers, such as the New York Times, and on television outlets, such as CBS and CNN. Within a year, another article in Nature followed up the 1999 study (Zadnik et al., 2000). The studies had dramatically different findings.

Initial Post Instructions
Using what you have learned from the text, as well as any other sources you may find useful (including the website in the Required Resources), analyze and evaluate the methodology of both studies and how methodology affected the differences in how the studies were reported.

Reportage of both studies can be found with an Internet search using all of the following terms: <Philadelphia myopia night lights>.

The medical profession has a muddled and contradictory association with its approach toward the tobacco industry. While the profession now firmly opposes to smoking and vigorously publicizes the serious, even fatal, health hazards associated with smoking, this was not always so. Advertisements for tobacco products, including cigarettes “… became a ready source of income for numerous medical organizations and journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), as well as many branches and bulletins of local medical associations” (Wolinsky & Brune, 1994). Physicians and reference to doctors and smoking were once common in tobacco industry advertisements. The story of physicians and promotion of smoking can be found in “The Doctors’ Choice Is America’s Choice” (Gardner & Brandt, 2006).

The role of physicians in the current opioid crisis is now under scrutiny on television (Farmer, 2019) by trade publications (King, 2018), peer-reviewed journals (deShazo, et al, 2018), and by physicians themselves (Hirsch, 2019).

Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, research the history of the association of doctors with tobacco companies and tobacco advertising. Read about the association of doctors with the opioid crisis. Then, address the following:

In what way are the two situations comparable?
In what way are they different?
Apply the concept of moral equivalence. Is the conduct of doctors in relation to smoking and the tobacco industry morally equivalent to the conduct of doctors in the opioid crisis? Explain your position and be very specific.

You have arrived at the third part of the Course Project. By this week, you should have collected the sources that you need to support, with relevant evidence, the position you have taken on the issue you chose, and the three aspects of the issue you will write about. This week you will submit a thesis statement and an annotated bibliography of at least five sources that you will use in your paper.

A thesis statement stating your opinion/conclusion on the issue, the supporting points you will offer and at least one relevant opposing view you will address.
An annotated bibliography with evaluation of at least five (5) sources you intend to use in your final paper to support your claim.
These are sources that provide evidence to support that your claim should be accepted by the reader.
Scholarly sources are preferred and should be used where available; due to the nature of some of the topics, authoritative articles in very high quality substantive journals may also be acceptable.
Use the Source Evaluation Worksheet to determine the following:

If your source is current
If it is not current, explain why you think it is acceptable.
If your source is credible, reliable, and authoritative
How well your source supports your thesis
If the annotation does not make this obvious, explain to your instructor how you will use it.
If your support is popular
If it is, explain to your instructor why you think it is acceptable.
Prepare a citation, annotation, and evaluation for each source.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

Length: 100-150 words per source for Part 1; 50-80 words per source for Part 2 (not including title page or references page)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page

Consider one of the following current social issues or one of your choice:

Opioid crisis
Legalization of recreational or medical marijuana
Vaping
Immigration
Elimination of the electoral college
Gun control
For the initial post, address the following:

State your position on one of these issues are you for, against, or neutral? Explain why. Avoid vagueness or ambiguity in your response. Make your position very clear.
Examine how you have formed that opinion.
How well do you think you know the facts?
Do you know and understand statistical information that applies to the issue?
Do you think you have formed your opinion using only System-1 thinking, or have you applied System-2?
What part have heuristics, cognitive bias, and dominance structuring played in how you have formed your opinions?
The initial post is not about how “correct” your position is; it is about how you arrived at your position on the issue. This discussion requires application of metacognition thinking about how you think.

briefly answer each of the following prompts. For all instances where you are required to provide a definition, do not copy definitions from the text. Use your own words.

Self-Regulation
The textbook mentions the skill of self-regulation. How do you define this term? You may want to review Chapter 2 (to review critical thinking skills) before your write out your definition.
Sytem-1 and System-2
Define System-1 and System-2 thinking in your own words.
Give an example from your personal or work life where you would use each of them, explaining why each is appropriate to the situation in which you use it.
Heuristics
Define “heuristic” in your own words.
Give an example of a heuristic might be used in your personal or professional life and briefly show how it could have a positive or negative effect.
Do not use examples found in the text.
Dominance Structuring
Explain the term “dominance structuring” in your own words.
Is dominance structuring a positive or negative attribute of critical thinking? Explain.
Use examples if that is helpful to your explanation.
Cognitive Bias
Briefly examine what part you think mastery of facts and understanding of data have in avoiding cognitive bias in System-1 thinking.