Research using logbooks: what place for critical thinking?

Abstract

This article arises from the urgency of promoting the development of critical thinking in society and, specifically, in ​​research, as several guiding documents have referred to in recent years. One of the ways to enhance this type of thinking is through logbooks, instruments that are used in research methodology. For this reason, we sought to answer the question: To what extent is critical thinking reflected in an investigative logbook? Therefore, we outlined the following objectives: (i) identify logbooks of an investigative nature; (ii) analyze selected data according to the cognitive levels recommended in the Bloom et al. taxonomy (1956); and (iii) discuss how critical thinking is reflected in those logbooks. In this qualitative study, based on the interpretive paradigm, we analyzed the content of nine logbooks between the years of 2020 and 2021. The categories of analysis were developed from the levels of thought provided in the Bloom et al. taxonomy (1956), namely: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The results demonstrate that the logbooks illustrate a greater concentration of authors' thinking on lower order levels, specifically on “knowledge” and “understanding”. In this sense, we highlight the need to sustain the use of logbooks with expertise referentials that encourages the development of critical thinking to mitigate possible inconsistencies between the theoretical and praxeological aspects.