Information Studies

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Browsing Information Studies by Author "Dube, L."

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    Teaching and learning of Information ethics in Library and Information Science Departments/Schools in South Africa
    (University of Zululand, 2009) Ndwandwe, Sipho Cyril; Ocholla, D.N.; Dube, L.
    This study investigated the nature and level of information ethics education in Library and Information Science Departments in South Africa. The study was carried out using both qualitative and quantitative methods through a survey and content analysis. All 12 LIS Departments in South Africa were targeted. Within these departments, the departments’ Heads, lecturers teaching the module, and the course outlines/study guides of information ethics modules formed the target population. Data was collected via questionnaires that were emailed to the Heads of the various LIS Departments, who were also requested to forward a separate set of questionnaires to the lecturers teaching information ethics modules. Departments that offered information ethics modules were also requested to forward the study materials of their modules (i.e. their study guides) for content analysis. Of the twelve LIS Departments, responses were received from only seven. These were departments from the Universities of Zululand, Pretoria, Cape Town, South Africa, KwaZulu Natal, the Western Cape, and the Durban University of Technology. Study guides for content analyses were received from the three LIS Departments that offered information ethics as a full stand-alone module. These were the LIS Departments at the Universities of Zululand, Pretoria and South Africa. The results of the study indicate that in most LIS Departments, information ethics was taught in the content of other modules and not as a stand-alone module. In the LIS Departments that offered a stand-alone information ethics module, the module was only first offered in 2nd year, the rationale being that at this level, students are senior enough to appreciate information ethics. It was also found that the stand-alone information ethics modules were only offered by LIS Departments. Furthermore, only one lecturer from the University of South Africa had a background in both Library and Information Science and Philosophy; the rest of the lecturers in the LIS Departments had backgrounds only in Library and Information Science. The study also found that in terms of the units covered in information ethics modules, there was quite a bit of diversity, with each LIS Department offering its own version of information ethics. However, issues of intellectual property, copyright and privacy were covered across the board. The study acknowledges the ethical dilemmas facing information professionals and recommends that information ethics be made a major component of LIS education and training, in which case it would be offered as a full standalone module.
University of Zululand