If there were a list of things I absolutely required all my students to understand before leaving my class, the relationship between mass media, politics, and science would be close to the top of the list. But there are a lot of moving parts in these relationships, so the terrain is difficult to traverse.  As one might expect of a difficult topic, there is much to read and a lot to unpack.   This pathfinder discusses how politics and our mass media system complicate the dissemination of important scientific information. 

Initially developed in early 2018, this three-session workshop series created by instruction librarians is facilitated through the Office of Faculty Excellence at East Carolina University. Participants include classroom faculty and instructors from a wide range of disciplines and fields. Session 1 focuses on information literacy as a broad concept, asks attendees to brainstorm and develop a shared definition of information literacy, and provides a general overview of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. Session 2 includes deeper discussion of the Framework and disciplinary culture, with participants reflecting on their own experiences moving from novice to expert in their fields inspired by Miller's Thinking Through Information Literacy In Your Discipline Worksheet. Session 3 is an applied working session in which attendees work through a backward design-based worksheet to design a learning scenario informed by a specific Frame or Frames.

This workshop delivers an action-oriented introduction to personal data privacy designed for new college students. The session is designed to reveal the systems in place to collect and analyze online behavioral data, and to unveil the real-world consequences of online profiling in contexts like sentiment shaping, consumer preferences, employment, healthcare, personal finance, and law enforcement. In lieu of a prescriptive approach, students analyze case studies to observe how online behaviors impact real-world opportunities and reflect on the benefits and risks of technology use to develop purposeful online behaviors and habits that align with their individual values. Developing knowledge practices regarding privacy and the commodification of personal information and embodying the core library values of privacy and intellectual freedom, the workshop promotes a proactive rather than reactive approach and presents a spectrum of privacy preferences across a range of contexts in order to respect students’ autonomy and agency in personal technology use.

This resource discusses alt right propaganda, gives examples, and posts links to further readings.

A visual guide that explains where to find energy and sustainability information.

A visual research guide that is designed to help students with a small business research project.

A visual research guide that is designed to help students with a legal issue research project.

This handout informs students about the life cycle of information, directing them where to look based on when the even under research happened.  Additionally, a sample research plan is presented.

Graphic research handout that will help student understand how to find statistics. Print this handout into bookmark size: when printing PDF, choose page sizing & handling Multiple, page per sheet (Custom 2 by 1), page order  (horizontal reversed), print on both sides of the paper (flip on short edge), orientation (landscape).

Graphic research handout that will help student understand economic information landscape. Print this handout into bookmark size: when printing PDF, choose page sizing & handling Multiple, page per sheet (Custom 2 by 1), page order  (horizontal reversed), print on both sides of the paper (flip on short edge), orientation (landscape).