Assessment criteria of the quality of arguments by Brazilian and Colombian university students

Abstract

The evaluation of intellectual argumentation processes is analyzed as a complex endeavor involving the validity and structure of arguments, the communication setting and the personal characteristics of the argumentator. Thus, the objective was set to assess the criteria employed by Brazilian and Colombian university students to evaluate the argumentation quality of their classmates. A qualitative methodology was applied to the study of five Brazilian and five Colombian psychology students, selected by intentional sampling. The corpus data were obtained in a classroom environment designed to develop argumentative competencies (identification, production, and evaluation) and academic knowledge. The focus of analysis relates to online evaluations carried out during situations of critical debate. The findings show similarities and differences across the studied countries and individuals regarding the criteria employed to evaluate argument (dialectical, structural) and argumentation (pragmatic and reflexive) quality. Intra and inter-personal transformations serve as evidence in the use of these criteria.