JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - Naspaa

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Information Literacy in Public Affairs CurriculumUsing Information for a Specific PurposeGuidelines on information literacy (2003) further state that, after training,a graduate student, “expertly organizes content in support of the student’sproduct or performance; produces new knowledge in the discipline or developsnew strategies as a practitioner; and considers the value of further research usingalternative methods or strategies” (pp.11-12). The ACRL’s fourth standard saysthat an “information literate student, individually or as a member of a group,uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose” (ALA, 2000, p.13). This standard is supported through performance indicators that say studentsshould do the following:1. Compare new knowledge with prior knowledge to determineadded value, contradictions, or other unique characteristics ofthe information; and validate understanding and interpretationthrough discourse with other individuals, subject-area expertsand/or practitioners.2. Revise the development process for the product or theperformance, and communicate the product or performanceeffectively (ALA 2000, p. 13).The Ethics and Public Decision Making curriculum calls for students todevelop proposals, papers in draft, oral presentations of papers, and a finalwritten paper. In the online version of this course, the draft was posted toa discussion board. After drafts of papers are reviewed by students and theprofessor, and comments and suggestions are received, the student revises thepaper and submits a final version. In the classroom setting, students meet ingroups to discuss drafts and give an oral presentation to the entire class. Thesecond half of the course is built around learning the skills needed to write a finalpaper, draft it, receive feedback, and redraft a final version.In a Capstone course, also taught by the professor of the Ethics course,students similarly learn how to conduct independent, empirical projects by usingsecondary data found through libraries and other resources, such as the InteruniversityConsortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/). They also use information resources that are similar to thosedescribed for the ethics and program evaluation courses. Critical skills learnedin this course include how to integrate an empirical study with existing research,and how to communicate findings in a Capstone paper.Public policy decisions often are made in situations with conflictingethical and moral issues, according to Garcia-Zamor (2001). The assignedcourse readings, and related classroom or Web-based discussions, offer variedopportunities for considering issues, conflicts and possible resolutions of pastdilemmas, as well as what students choose to research and to resolve. This is296 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Information Literacy in Public Affairs Curriculumaccomplished through classroom discussions and by circulating drafts of papersvia Blackboard. Then, the authors are questioned about the papers and proposedresolutions. Rabinowitz (2002) found that helping students determine how toask the right questions is required in order to develop transferable knowledgeand become successful lifelong learners in any chosen profession. Prior torevising and submitting the final project paper, students had the opportunity toconsider peer questions and the professor’s written comments. More importantly,students, and the professor, had opportunities to learn from each other.The dilemmas selected by students, and their corresponding viewpoints,are as varied as the demands placed on public employees. They also reflect astudent community at one of the most diverse colleges in the United States(U.S. News & World Report, as cited in Baruch College Campus News, 2010). AsPickus and Dostert (2002) wrote, “An understanding of ethics as collaborativejudgment recognizes that, in the absence of a privileged standpoint from which adetermination of absolute truth could be made, our ethical judgments will haveto be carried out in community with others” (p.16).Understanding Issues Affecting the Use of InformationThe Middle States guidelines on information literacy (2003) continue bysaying that (after training) a graduate student “understands issues of intellectualproperty; copyright, the fair use of copyrighted material, human subject research,and other emerging or reemerging ethical issues” (pp.11-12). The ACRL’s fifthstandard states that an “information literate student understands many of theeconomic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of information and accessand uses information ethically and legally” (ALA, 2000, p.14). This standard issupported by a performance indicator that requires students to follow the laws,regulations, institutional policies and etiquette related to the access and use ofinformation resources (ALA, 2000, p.14).To eliminate uncertainties on how sources should be cited, A Pocket StyleManual (Hacker, 2004) is a required text. The professor’s discussion of citations,while openly related to plagiarism, focuses on demonstrating that students performwork in the form of conducting library research, which makes the focus morepositive than negative. Students also are encouraged to seek help from librarians— in person at the reference desk, through e-mail, or via chat reference services. Ifwriting help is needed, they can use the English Department’s Writing Center. Inrequested workshops, librarians also can discuss plagiarism and how to avoid it.But the issues surrounding access to and use of information are broad, andrange from basic literacy, to policy decisions on censorship, privacy, the securityof public records, and intellectual property issues. All of these subjects are thesubject of class discussions and of some research papers. Throughout the Ethicsand Public Decision Making course, students are exposed to new and testedideas and theories that come from revered thinkers, as well as new experts andJournal of Public Affairs Education 297
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