Creating, Using, and Sharing Information in Research Communities

Cassie Hemstrom & Kathy Anders

Volume 4

Chapter Description

This chapter extends John Swales’ theory of discourse communities into the sphere of information literacy, as it is conceptualized in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. We propose the concept of research communities, where discourse communities with the common goal of research use, share, and create information in particular ways. After opening with a personal narrative of how one of us found and joined a research community related to podcasting, the chapter identifies and offers examples of the features of research communities. Finally, the chapter concludes by showing how learning to analyze research communities can help students become more effective information users and creators.

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