Paradigm Shift, Expansion, and Inclusion: Visual Literacy Research for the Field of Information
Yan Ma
University of Rhode Island, USA
Abstract
In addition to the continuing call for the inclusion of visual literacy into the curriculum for library and information science education, a paradigm expansion in research to develop and lead an interdisciplinary research advancement is a pressing task. The proposed paradigm shift in research results from the shift in the nature of information from text-based to visual information. Such a paradigm shift requires expanding research methodologies and theoretical frameworks. At the same time, paradigm inclusion is needed to invite and embrace interdisciplinary research and diverse research methodologies and theoretical frameworks to study visual information. This paradigm shift, expansion, and inclusion empathize with the social construction of knowledge/meaning in the studies of visual information by communities of users/viewers/readers.
Keywords: visual literacy, paradigm shift, information research, social construction of knowledge, ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards, Framework of Visual Literacy for High Education