Box Plot Assignment

Box Plot Assignment

"Neutrality and Media Literacy at the Reference Desk: A Case Study" was a study performed by Juris Dileko and Kalina Grewal. The study was performed using a case study approach to make comparisons between original and reprint articles from two newspapers. This is an observational study in which the executors are not directly involved in manipulating any variables. The study wishes to explore the consequences of not having media literate librarians with the ability to provide opinion in referencing services. The essential goal of this study is to decipher how imperative it may be for librarians to be educated on how to read and filter information that is being presented to the patrons.

The procedure used in this study involved the observation of two newspapers over a given time period. Articles printed in the New York Times were contrasted with articles that were reprinted in the Globe. Using word counts and reviewing context, the study provides statistical information regarding the bias used when reprinting news articles in different "spheres of influence". Five different categories were observed in determining what categories of news related material were being subjected to textual cuts. The frequency of articles in each category was contrasted with the pre and post word counts.

The comparison between The New York Times and Globe articles provides intriguing statistical evidence to support the alternative hypothesis that it may be necessary for librarians to take more of an objective role in guiding patrons in their research efforts. This is suggested in the statistical evidence showing the variance between articles from the NYT edited into the Globe. The results suggest that the Globe is more of a business oriented newspaper because topics such as the arts, personality, lifestyle, race and gender were significantly cut and altered when republished in the Globe. It is also suggested that due to the Globe's limited amount of article space, cuts had to be made as well. These factors provide altered information in which the reader could misconstrue what the original point or circumstances of the article were.

Based on this study of two current periodicals, it is suggested that librarians should be more educated on how to supply information to patrons. They may want to continue to keep biases out of the mix, but it may be the librarians