Consuming information with a critical eye is a fundamental skill for chemistry students. While many undergraduate students are aware of the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation through informal channels (such as social media), fewer students are aware of how deceptive information spreads in the academic and professional world (such as predatory journals, conflicts of interest, and native advertising). In this lesson, students worked collaboratively in groups to assess the authority and trustworthiness of what was presented as a review article. However, the learning object was actually an advertisement masquerading as a scholarly source intended to sway the opinions of medical clinicians. This lesson was implemented during a library instruction session with both upper- and lower-division undergraduate students in chemistry courses. The design of the activity, student learning objectives, and relevant information literacy “red flags” of the learning object will be presented.

Identifying a fake journal article as a library lesson with undergraduate chemistry students

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.