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Submitted by Liz Bellamy on June 11th, 2020
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Short Description: 

When writing a research paper, it can be easy to overlook the human side of scholarship – how being cited in a study (or not) can have real, material consequences, and how social structures can systematically exclude certain people from scholarship. This activity and lesson explores these ideas and gives students strategies for making their literature reviews more inclusive.

All told, this lesson takes about 50 minutes to an hour -- 20-30 minutes for the readings and pre-workshop activity, and 30 minutes of discussion. 

AttachmentSize
Inclusive citations outline and lesson plan.docxdisplayed 1304 times20.47 KB
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Students will be able to articular some of the material consequences of citation practices in scholarly and research fields.
  • Students will be able to identify baseline strategies for practicing inclusive citation in their fields of study.
  • Students will be able to consider alternative sources of authority in their fields of study.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This flipped-classroom workshop was first implemented in an extracurricular summer undergraduate workshop series. It was one of many topics offered in the series, and meant to complement topics such as "Finding Full-Text Articles" and "Writing a Literature Review." The workshop has been held virtually over Blackboard and Zoom, though it can certainly be adapted to an in-person setting. 

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

Readings:

1: Maha Bali, Inclusive Citation: How Diverse Are Your References?

2: Rachel Pells, Understanding the Extent of Gender Gap in Citation 

Activity:

1. After finishing the readings, complete the following activity analyzing the citation practices of a research paper of your  choice. Choose either:

  1. your own literature review up to this point, or
  2. a scholarly article you’re considering for your literature review.

Your task is to briefly analyze the gender dynamics of your chosen research paper's works cited page (up to 20 sources, max). Based on what you can infer of the genders of the authors cited, what do you notice? Is there a balance or imbalance of gender among the authors cited? 

2. Respond to this discussion board post with what you noticed during your analysis and what any gender gap or lack thereof says to you about whose voices are valued in your field. 

Instructor's note: In order to remain manageable, this activity asked students to make assumptions about gender based on superficial characteristics and sort those genders largely into a binary. Some brief classroom time was spent unpacking how, in reality, gender is a complex spectrum. 

Suggested Citation: 
Bellamy, Liz . "Whose Shoulders Are You Standing On? Inclusive Citation Practices in Literature Reviews." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2020. https://projectcora.org/assignment/whose-shoulders-are-you-standing-inclusive-citation-practices-literature-reviews.
Submitted by Jacob Berg on November 4th, 2016
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Short Description: 

There is a large body of research on corporate ownership and control of traditional media, such as print, television, and radio. Comparatively, research about corporate control of what we see online is underdeveloped, yet search engines are often the first place students uncritically look for research as opposed to the library website, catalogs, and discovery services. Dr. Safiya Noble shows that Google image searches for black women often perpetuate and reinforce dominant narratives involving racism and misogyny. As Google is often seen as neutral, such search results are presented as “natural,” the way things are, when in fact they are the products of capitalism, hegemonic patriarchy, and white supremacy. Interrogating results such as these is one goal of this lesson plan, along with getting students to think critically about, to problematize, the everyday tools used in the research process and to explore links between capitalism and racism, misogyny, and homophobia.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
vol2_chapter 11.pdfdisplayed 1838 times295.04 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Articulate clearly how algorithms such as PageRank influence information-seeking behavior and search results. Explain Google’s data security and privacy issues. Create searches that show critical thinking and awareness of how Google works.

Individual or Group:

Suggested Citation: 
Berg, Jacob. "Googling Google: Search Engines as Market Actors ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2016. https://projectcora.org/assignment/googling-google-search-engines-market-actors.