Library Instruction & Information Literacy @ St. Thomas: Framework 5: Scholarship as Conversation

Communities of scholars, researchers, and professionals engage in ongoing discourse that is open to new contributions and diverse viewpoints. Learners who understand this concept will recognize that ideas are formulated, debated, and weighed against one another over extended periods of time and may not have established answers; they recognize that existing power and authority structures further influence which individuals have a voice in scholarly conversations.

Learning Outcomes:

Students can:

• Identify the contribution a particular article, book, or scholarly piece makes to disciplinary knowledge
• Summarize the changes in a particular scholarly topic over time
• Seek out the larger scholarly context for a particular piece of information
• Contribute to the scholarly conversation at an appropriate level through original research
• Identify the barriers to entering scholarly conversations in various venues

Students will:

• Recognize that a scholarly work may not represent the only or even the majority perspective on an issue
• Value the work of others by respecting intellectual property and providing credit
• Value new forms of scholarship that provide avenues for a wide variety of individuals to participate
• View themselves as contributors to scholarship rather than consumers

(Adapted from MacPhaidin Library/Stonehill college)

• Give students in professional or career-focused programs assignments that examine how practice and/or procedures evolve over time. Ask them to consider how the profession shares information.
   
• Give students a two-part assignment: one having them trace the development of scholarship on a particular topic using the traditional “information cycle” model with the “invisible college” and print publication outlets; then have them expand/refine that model by tracing changes based on social media forums or online communities.
   
• Assign an entire class to conduct an investigation of a particular topic from its treatment in the popular media, and then trace its origin in conversations among scholars and researchers.
   
• Have students select a seminal work on a topic, and then identify sources that preceded and continued the conversation, analyzing the impact of the seminal work on the field. 
   
• Select a topic on which students have some knowledge or experience. Identify a venue (blog, discussion forum, other social media site) in which a scholarly  conversation is taking place. Ask students to:
  • Identify key players and their perspectives.
  • Compare a related scholarly article by one of the players to the online conversation.
  • Consider how to involve themselves in the conversation.

(Adapted from Emory Libraries & Info Technology)