In recent years, we have seen an increase in dis-, mis- and mal-information which can be detrimental to people’s literacy and can impact on government intended interventions, as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overall aim of this thesis is to generate knowledge on the roles of information and SM in people’s information literacy and propose ways of mitigating negative effects through socio-technical solutions. In so doing, the thesis should contribute towards solutions and computer-mediated practices to reduce the spread of mis-, dis- and mal-information.
Students are expected to engage a practice-centred approach to understand current practices concerning the phenomenon of interest, the contexts where they unfold and how technologies have been appropriated in these contexts. The use of a mixed methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods is foreseen.
Related literature
Eysenbach, G. (2020). How to Fight an Infodemic: The Four Pillars of Infodemic Management. Journal of Medical Internet Research 22, 6.
Fisher, K. E., Landry, C. F. & Naumer, C.. (2007). Social Spaces, Casual Interactions, Meaningful Exchanges: “Information Ground” Characteristics Based on the College Student Experience. Information Research 12, 2.
McClure Haughey, M., Muralikumar, M. D., Wood, C. A. & Starbird, K. (2020). On the Misinformation Beat: Understanding the Work of Investigative Journalists Reporting on Problematic Information Online. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 4, CSCW2.
Reuter, C., Hartwig, K., Kirchner, J. & Schlegel, N. (2019). Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of People’s Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation.