A Call for Research on Contingent Trust to Support Data and Information Literacy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable: Informal Learning Practices in the Learning Sciences

Abstract

This conceptual paper challenges prevalent approaches in educational research to information trustworthiness as an inherent, stable quality of information sources. Drawing on findings from COVID-19 information behavior studies revealing flexible trust determinations based on contextual features, we propose reconceptualizing trust as contingent—varying by context, information needs, stakes, and the source's role within an information aggregate. We argue that current information literacy instruction, which emphasizes fixed evaluation criteria like the CRAAP test, is insufficient for contemporary information ecologies. We advocate for augmenting recent dynamic approaches, such as lateral reading, with contingent trust frameworks that prepare learners for complex and volatile information environments and promote awareness of power structures that influence information visibility and knowledge sanctioning.

Authors

• Iris Tabak, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Ilana Dubovi, Tel Aviv University

• Josh L. Radinsky, University of Illinois at Chicago