Promoting information literacy through media literacy

Abstract

Mass media messages have overwhelmed modern culture. Many of these messages are not created with the best interest of the recipient in mind (Potter, 2008). The Mass media does not operate as a public service. It's big business. Good daily decision making has become increasingly dependent on the ability to be "information literate" - to effectively evaluate the accuracy, currency, and completeness of media messages. But these critical information literacy skills are surprisingly lacking today (Asher & Duke, 2012). One recent study suggests that information literacy skills can be effectively developed through training in media literacy (Van De Vord, 2010). This thesis has replicated this study in an effort to validate the correlation between information literacy and media literacy. Aside from the Van De Vord study, the communications theory of Media Ecology, as proposed by McLuhan, and developed by Postman is foundational to this work. Also referenced are McCombs and Shaw's agenda setting and Noelle-Neumann's spiral of silence theories. Additionally, the work of Potter in media literacy; of McChesney in media economics; and of Duke & Asher in information literacy are also foundational. Quantitative research for this thesis was conducted using an internet-based survey. The gathered empirical data was used in a statistical correlation analysis between information literacy and media literacy. The test results validated that the two variables were weakly correlated in a positive direction with evidence of statistically significant probability. The weakness of the correlation and the limitations inherent in the testing methods suggest that additional study is needed - perhaps utilizing alternate testing methods. Further comparison between the differing methods that are traditionally used in teaching the two different literacies is also suggested