Communications in Information Literacy - Issue 2 - The Stories We Tell: Engaging with Authority in Critical Health Pedagogy

Oct 15, 2026

The article explains the design of a scaffolded public health project that combines narrative inquiry with an empirical health literature review. It highlights how critical information literacy supports students in interrogating authority, connecting constructivist knowledge production with social forces such as power and privilege. The authors describe the project’s five parts, student learning outcomes, and pedagogical value, offering practical guidance for librarians working with undergraduate public health learners.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Innovative Practices

The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

Authority and Epistemology in Critical Health Research

Scaffolded Project Design and Collaboration

Literature Review

Health Sciences Pedagogy

Communications in Information Literacy | Volume 16 Issue 2 | Article 4 | | --- | --- | | 12-15-2022
The Stories We Tell: Engaging with Authority in Critical Health Pedagogy
Rosalinda Hernandez Linares-Gray
Fort Lewis College, [rhlinaresgray@fortlewis.edu](rhlinaresgray@fortlewis.edu)
Sara Newman Carroll
Eastern Connecticut State University
Emily K. Smith Fort Lewis College
Follow this and additional works at: [https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit](https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit)
Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Information Literacy Commons
Let us know how access to this document benefits you. | | Recommended Citation Linares-Gray, R. H., Newman Carroll, S., & Smith, E. K. (2022) . The Stories We Tell: Engaging with Authority in Critical Health Pedagogy. Communications in Information Literacy, 16 (2), 151–166 . [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)[10.15760/comminfolit.2022.16.2.4](10.15760/comminfolit.2022.16.2.4) This open access Innovative Practice is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4 .0) . All documents in PDXScholar should meet accessibility standards. If we can make this document more accessible to you, contact our team. The Stories We Tell: Engaging with Authority in Critical Health Pedagogy Rosalinda Hernandez Linares-Gray, Fort Lewis College Sara Newman Carroll, Eastern Connecticut State University Emily K. Smith, Fort Lewis College Abstract This Innovative Practices piece details the design of a scaffolded project in a public health course that paired a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review assignment to highlight both the positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research in public health. The authors discuss and reflect on the five parts that constitute the project, student learning outcomes, and the benefits of engaging with critical information literacy in an undergraduate public health course. The goal of this article is to provide practical applications of critical information literacy to librarians in the health sciences who work with undergraduate students. Keywords: critical health pedagogy, knowledge production, science information literacy Innovative Practices edited by Andrea Baer, Carolyn Gamtso, and Merinda McLure Linares-Gray, R. H., Newman Carroll, S., & Smith, E. K. (2022) . The stories we tell: Engaging with authority in critical health pedagogy. Communications in Information Literacy, 16(2), 151–166. The Stories We Tell: Engaging with Authority in Critical Health Pedagogy The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education introduced new opportunities through the frame “Authority is Constructed and Contextual” for librarians to help students interrogate knowledge production on various registers and through distinct and overlapping disciplinary lenses (Association of College and Research Libraries [ACRL], 2015). Beyond the ACRL frames, for the past 15 years, as noted by Tewell (2015), many teaching librarians have galvanized around critical information literacy practices that “take into consideration the social, political, economic, and corporate systems that have power and influence over information production, dissemination, access, and consumption”(Gregory & Higgins, 2013, p. ix) . In the context of scientific knowledge in an age of misinformation and disinformation, undergraduate health sciences librarians have found the Authority frame helpful with science communication evaluation. The Authority frame focuses on the social forces, or, as the Framework states, the “influence[s] recognized or exerted within a community” at play when determining credibility and authority (ACRL, 2015). The underlying epistemological view of the Authority frame is a constructivist approach to knowledge production, where knowledge is interconn

FAQs

What project components does the article describe?

The project pairs a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review. Together, they support engagement with both positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research.

How does the article use the information literacy concept of authority?

It centers the frame “Authority is Constructed and Contextual,” focusing on how social forces within communities influence credibility and authority. The article links this constructivist view to power and privilege in knowledge production.

Who is the practical audience for the guidance offered in the article?

The article aims to provide practical applications of critical information literacy for librarians in the health sciences who work with undergraduate students.

Oct 15, 2026

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