Framework for Information Literacy (Wayne College)

Authority Is Constructed and Contextual:

Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

• define different types of authority, such as subject expertise (e.g., scholarship), societal position (e.g., public office or title), or special experience (e.g., participating in a historic event);
• use research tools and indicators of authority to determine the credibility of sources, understanding the elements that might temper this credibility;
• understand that many disciplines have acknowledged authorities in the sense of well-known scholars and publications that are widely considered “standard,” and yet, even in those situations, some scholars would challenge the authority of those sources;
• recognize that authoritative content may be packaged formally or informally and may include sources of all media types;
• acknowledge they are developing their own authoritative voices in a particular area and recognize the responsibilities this entails, including seeking accuracy and reliability, respecting intellectual property, and participating in communities of practice;
• understand the increasingly social nature of the information ecosystem where authorities actively connect with one another and sources develop over time.

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

• develop and maintain an open mind when encountering varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives;
• motivate themselves to find authoritative sources, recognizing that authority may be conferred or manifested in unexpected ways;
• develop awareness of the importance of assessing content with a skeptical stance and with a self-awareness of their own biases and worldview;
• question traditional notions of granting authority and recognize the value of diverse ideas and worldviews;
• are conscious that maintaining these attitudes and actions requires frequent self-evaluation.

• Distinguish between scholarly and popular sources in order to select appropriate sources for academic research
• Distinguish between different types of sources in order to select credible sources on their topics
• Identify attributes of authority recognized by disciplines, professions, and other communities of knowledge and practice
• Determine attributes of authoritative information for different needs, with the understanding that context plays a role in authority-based attributes
• Identify authoritative information sources based on information need
• Recognize appropriate resources for the discipline
• Recognize relevance of subject expertise as a kind of authority in order to gather appropriate articles for assignment
• Locate primary sources in order to include first-person perspectives in their research project
• Evaluate sources using a variety of criteria in order to cultivate a skeptical stance and a self-awareness of their own biases and world views
• Distinguish a news from an editorial article so they will understand that information is created for a purpose
• Express a desire to find better resources in order to improve the quality of their resources
• Explain why the authority of a source matters
• Evaluate databases results in order to select relevant and credible sources
• Evaluate an author's use of sources
• Evaluate a source using specific criteria in order to determine whether it meets their information need

Annotated Bibliography:

• Require a reflection of each source's authority

Coming soon!