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Information Literacy and the Scottish
Independence Referendum (2014): An
Autoethnographic Exploration of Political
Decision-making
Bill Johnston and
Sheila Webber
October 2015
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Focal points/Outline
• Linking this research to our model of the information
literate person
• Basic facts of the referendum
• Autoethnography as a research approach
• myReferendum experiences
• Aspects of information literacy
• Conclusions
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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Information Literate Person
• The study is part of
the ongoing
development of this
model
• Used model to
trigger reflections on
context, experience
and behaviour
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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Scottish Independence Referendum
18 September 2014
The question
• Should Scotland be an
independent nation?
• Note Scotland has its own
Parliament in Edinburgh with a
range of powers devolved from
the UK Government &
Westminster Parliament
Options
• Yes = Yes
• No = “Better Together”(No)
• More Devolution of powers?
This option was proposed by
the Scottish National Party
(SNP) but rejected by the UK
Government and did not
appear on the ballot.
The vote – 85% turn out; 55 No 45 Yes.
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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“an approach to research and writing that seeks to
describe and systematically analyze (graphy) personal
experience (auto) in order to understand cultural
experience (ethno)”
Ellis et al. (2011: 273)
A qualitative research approach:
Autoethnography
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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In this case
• Drawing on individual experience of engaging with
information as part of the democratic process
• From these individual reflections and experience,
gain insight into the nature of information literacy
and information behaviour in this process
• Research evidence: Memos, mindmaps, dialogues/
interview, diagrams, documents
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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How to write autoethnography is a key issue,
and finding the approach and voice that works
for you is important
This presentation is part of that work in
progress.
Our roles in Bill’s autoethnography: insider;
informed outsider; facilitator; co-investigators;
developing mutual perspective on
autoethnography
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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myDemocracy:
Principle and Practice
“… the poorest he that is in England has a life to live, as the greatest he; and therefore truly, Sir, I think it’s clear, that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government; …”
Colonel Rainborough, London, October 1647.
The Putney Debates.
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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My Frame for Engaging with the
Referendum Campaign: A YES voter
• Independence referendum best deployed to
endorse popular will
• Needs a competent government to carry through.
• Risks to my (pension ) income?
• Challenging neoliberal Britain (again)
• 60/40 for yes needed
• If YES – negotiations become the key focus.
• If NO – politics goes on
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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myReferendum
A day like no other – voting day in Glasgow
Preceded by:
• Radical Independence Campaign & YES
• “Better Together” & NO
• Mass media & “Project Fear”
• Many meetings and discussions
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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Political Information
Political Campaign
Open availability Restricted access
“Noise” Leaflets, canvassing.
WingsOverScotland website
Wee Blue Book
Mass media commentary
Meetings: hustings, informal mtgs
Campaign groups
Social media
e.g. Scottish Govt.
“White paper” (2013)
e.g. Scottish Govt. briefing
papers anticipating “yes”;
internal company reports
Decision
Persuasive
arguments
Yes
No
Bill Johnston and Sheila
Webber, 2015
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Aspects of Information Literacy
• Not just about “finding the right information”: also
about encountering, browsing, debating & reflecting
• Blended information behaviour (Webber, 2013) – face
to face, print, digital, thus -
– Interactions between sources e.g. Twitter at meetings;
Twitter trends to mass media; Website to print
• My Frame for Engaging acted as a lens and filter
• Simplified generalisations about “overload” or “lack of
skills” or “information scarcity” distort the complexity
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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Conclusions
• Political decisions are very complex and need a well developed concept of information literacy, which acknowledges the complexity.
• Media and Information Literacy concepts needed for political decision making analysis.
• Autoethnography is a potentially useful approach to developing ( media ) and information literacy research.
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015
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Sheila Webber
Twitter & SL: Sheila Yoshikawa
http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/
Orcid ID 0000-0002-2280-9519
Bill Johnston
Honorary Research Fellow
University of Strathclyde
All photos by Sheila Webber
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Questions
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References
• Ellis, C., Adams, T.E. and Bochner, A.P. (2011). Autoethnography: an overview. Historical Social Research, 36 (4), 273-290
• Robertson, G. (2007). The Putney Debates. London: Verso.
• Webber, S. (2013) "Blended information behaviour in Second Life." Journal of information science, 39(1), 85–100.
• Webber, S. and Johnston, B. (2013) Transforming IL for HE in the 21st century: a Lifelong Learning approach. in Hepworth, M. and Walton, G. (Eds.) Developing people's information capabilities fostering information literacy in educational, workplace and community contexts. Emerald. pp.15-30.
Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber, 2015