Cartography of Critical Information Literacy: study of the literature indexed in Scopus and WoS Databases

Abstract

Objective: Identify the behavior of research over time, as well as the main thematic approaches of studies on critical information literacy, published in Portuguese and English and indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Critical information literacy is a current of information literacy studies that are based on the principles of critical theory. According to this approach, it is necessary to understand the social, political, and ideological factors involved in the production, distribution, and use of information. As other approaches have been predominant, it can be questioned how the critical approach has been appropriated in the literature of the area.

Method: The realization followed the systematic mapping protocol in the literature. A survey was carried out in two multidisciplinary international databases (Scopus and Web of Science), restricting itself to articles and short papers in Portuguese and English published until 2021. The corpus of analysis covered 89 items.

Result: Six thematic categories were identified, and the one that brings together the largest number of works is the theoretical foundations of critical information literacy which are focused on the interdisciplinary relationships of learning theories, followed by the set of works that address a cultural perspective of competence criticism of information and those who point to it as an instrument for social justice.

Conclusions: Evidence of the multifaceted character of critical competence in information contributes to the construction of a solid theoretical framework on this topic.