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Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Psychology

Created by the ACRL/EBSS Psychology Committee, 2022

Overview

Librarians using the information literacy framework in discipline-specific settings should keep in mind how each frame relates to national standards for students and professionals. In each box below, connections are made between the "Information Has Value" frame and the discipline of psychology as it relates to education and professional practice.

Also included are selected principles and standards from documents of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) that have close connections to the "Information Has Value" frame. Note: These principles and standards may not exclusively apply to the value frame.

Psychology Education

The following statements broadly connect the "Information Has Value" frame to psychology education.

Psychology students learn that information is a commodity. This includes:

  • Information is not free, rather it is bought and sold in the form of books, journal subscriptions, conferences, courses, trainings, workshops, etc.
  • Students are creators and consumers of information and need to understand that information is intellectual property and that involves copyright laws that must be observed. 
  • There is value in making information openly available. 
  • The ethical and economic issues associated with commodifying and de-commodifying information.
  • Information privacy as it relates to their own and client matters (i.e. participants in research, clinical/counseling patients). 

Connections to APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major

 

 

The skills in this domain involve the development of scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective research methods. Students completing foundation-level courses should learn basic skills and concepts in interpreting behavior, studying research, and applying research design principles to drawing conclusions about psychological phenomena; students completing a baccalaureate degree should focus on theory use as well as designing and executing research plans.

2.1 Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena

2.2 Demonstrate psychology Information literacy

2.3 Engage in innovative and integrative thinking and problem solving

2.4 Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research

2.5 Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry

2.5A-Recognize the systemic influences of sociocultural, theoretical, and personal biases on the research enterprise and evaluate the effectiveness with which researchers address those influences in psychological research.

 

The skills in this domain involve the development of ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in a landscape that involves increasing diversity.

3.1 Apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice

3.1A-Evaluate psychological research from the standpoint of adherence to the APA Ethics Code in psychological research involving human or human research subjects

3.2 Build and enhance personal relationships

3.3 Adopt values that build community at local, national, and global levels

3.3A-Exhibit respect for members of diverse groups with sensitivity to issues of power, privilege, and discrimination

 

Students should demonstrate competence in writing and in oral and interpersonal communication skills.

 

4.1 Demonstrate effective writing for different purposes

4.1d-Write using APA style

4.2 Exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes

Psychology Profession

The following statements broadly connect the "Information Has Value" frame to the professional practice of psychology.

In the professional practice of psychology, "Information Has Value" is exemplified in several ways.

  • Access to information depends in part on publishing practices. Knowledge is commodified by keeping it behind paywalls and this has consequences for slowing scientific advancement. Psychologists must carefully consider who profits from information dissemination and control.
  • Psychologists respect intellectual property by avoiding plagiarism, using good citation practices, and comprehending and valuing copyright law.
  • Psychologists understand and respect information privacy issues (i.e. Institutional Review Board [IRB], experimental participants, and clients).
  • Historically, certain viewpoints and perspectives have been privileged while others have been marginalized. Psychologists must seek diverse positions on issues.

Connections to Professional Standards and Guidelines

 

 

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Principle C: Integrity

  • "Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology. In these activities psychologists do not steal, cheat or engage in fraud, subterfuge, or intentional misrepresentation of fact. Psychologists strive to keep their promises and to avoid unwise or unclear commitments...."

Principle E: Respect for People's Rights and Dignity

  • "Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Psychologists are aware that special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making...."

 

 

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Responsibility of the Individual Psychologist

Principle I: Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples

  • "...psychologists strive to develop and maintain constructive and collaborative relationships that reflect the fundamental principle of respect for dignity. Respect for the dignity of persons is the most fundamental and universally found ethical principle across disciplines, and includes the concepts of equal inherent worth, non-discrimination, moral rights, and distributive, social, and natural justice...."

Principle II: Responsible Caring

  • "...psychologists demonstrate an active concern for the well-being and best interests of the individuals and groups (e.g., couples, families, groups, communities, peoples) with whom they relate in their role as psychologists. This concern includes both those directly involved and those indirectly involved in their activities...."

Principle III: Integrity in Relationships

  • "The relationships formed by psychologists in the course of their work, regardless of the communication modality used, and regardless of whether they are with identifiable individuals or groups or with the public at large, embody explicit and implicit mutual expectations of integrity that are vital to the advancement of scientific knowledge and to the maintenance of public confidence in the discipline of psychology. These expectations involve a commitment to truthfulness, and include: accuracy and honesty; straightforwardness and openness; maximization of objectivity and minimization of bias; and avoidance of conflicts of interest...."

 

Examples of Learning Objectives and Activities

1. Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify instances of plagiarism.

  • Activity: After a presentation on plagiarism, students are placed into small groups. Each group is given examples of written work. Groups are asked to identify which written work is plagiarized and why.

2. Learning Objective: Students will learn good attribution and citation practices.

  • Activity: Have students research a psychology issue and write a short summary of what they learned using paraphrasing, quotes, and in-text citations of the works they found. Direct students to format references in APA style either manually using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or using citation management software.

3. Learning Objective: Students will grasp the basics of copyright law including both the protections it offers to the creator and the user.

  • Activity: After teaching a brief introduction to copyright and fair use, instruct students to respond to case studies involving a hypthetical student who wants to use images from the Internet in a presentation and another who wants to append a psychological test to their paper.

4. Learning Objective: Students will understand that information is a commodity often protected by paywalls and that this has consequences for them in terms of their own research.

  • Activity: Request that students conduct Google searches for several psychology articles and ask them to describe what the implications are of running into paywalls, especially for researchers who do not have access to subscription research via the library.

5. Learning Objective: Students will understand the importance of information privacy and confidentiality.

  • Activity: Have students research themselves using the Internet (i.e. Google) and have them discuss the implications of what they found.