Analysis

The separation of the parts of a subject for individual study, in order to find out their nature, function, and meaning. Exercising the ability to break down learned material into its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood.Analysis is a stage in art criticism, following the description of an artwork, and preceding its interpretation and judgment, in which one focuses on the relationships between the elements of art and principles of design in hopes of gaining an understanding of the work's design qualities, or how well the work is ordered, or put together. This understanding enables one to determine if a work has an overall sense of unity.Analysis represents the fourth level of learning outcomes in the cognitive domain ? the level of understanding just beyond comprehension and application because they require an understanding of both the content and the structural form of the material. Analysis may include the identification of the parts, analysis of the relationships between parts, and recognition of the organizational principles involved. Objectives of lessons which will increase a student's ability to analyze knowledge can be stated with such behavioral terms as: analyze, appraise, audit, break down, characterize, check, classify, compare, conclude (draw conclusions) contrast, debate, deduce, determine, diagram, differentiate, discriminate, dissect, distinguish, examine, experiment, generalize, graph, illustrate, inspect, infer, inventory, map, point out, outline (no format given), question, reason, refute, relate to, research, screen, scrutinize, search, section, select, separate, sift, simplify, solve, study, subdivide, survey, syllogize, test, and uncover. The next higher thinking skill is synthesis.Quote: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle (384-322 BCE), Greek philosopher. Also see bias, Bloom's Taxonomy, definition, and infrared reflectography (IR) and reflectogram.