Method Section for Mei-Lan

 In this pilot study, the sample was 10 elderly persons from the local Chinese community, contacted trough thirds persons. Thus, it is not enough for a statistical analysis because the size of the sample is too little and also it was not selected according to a random procedure. The interviews were developed according to the methodology of “semi-structured” interview, i.e. a conversation which begins with a list of questions but is doing their own way between the researcher and the interviewed. The interviews were developed in Mandarin, Taiwanese, or English, according to the most comfortable language of the interviewed. In the same target, all the interviews were realized in a one-to-one situation, face-to-face. These conversations last about one hour each. This methodology was reviewed and approved by the Review Board.

"An Inconvenient Truth" and the Five Elements of an Argument

The documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” is a good example of the structure of an argument. In first place, the film points out warrants, i.e. general principles which can make stronger the relationship between claims and reasons. For instance, a warrant developed is the analogy with a frog, which did not jump out of a pot when the water is warming. Other warrants are the quotes which are not related to global warming, but appear as irrefutable truths.

The main claim in the movie is “the world climate is changing, become warming”. For this claim, the main reason is the emissions of CO2, which are called greenhouse gases, for their effect in the atmosphere. As evidences, he shows a lot of pictures, videos and charts with statistics about temperatures, glaciers, floods, and drought.

Finally, as responses to objections and counterarguments, Gore presents a meta-study which illustrated different approaches to global warming between researchers and media. While the academia strongly supports his point of view, in the press almost a half of articles are skeptics and refers climate change like a possibility, not a fact.