Appendix: COVID-19 Assignment Description

Project 4: COVID-19 Perspectives Website

Modern society has always been marked by the uses (and abuses) of scientific knowledge, and questions about what to believe or how to act when scientific knowledge is still developing. In the COVID-19 Project, you will work with the class to create a Scalar website to help future scientists understand different perspectives on COVID-19.

Our website, as a whole, will aim to answer the following questions, 

• What are the multiple perspectives on this pandemic and why does this lead to confusion or conflict? 

• What lessons should future scientists take away from this case study?

Learning Goals: 

1. 1. Learn how to synthesize the literature on a particular subject.

   2. Learn how to cite, paraphrase, quote, and the ethics of representing others’ work.

   3. Understand the cultural conventions of writing for other scientists.

   4. See how cultural forces influence how science is viewed, made, and disseminated.

Website Guidelines - 

Think of the website as an ebook with an introduction, “chapters” on each perspective, and a conclusion. We will work together as a class to decide how to cover a wide range of relevant perspectives and create an overarching structure.

Each student will make a page on the Scalar website about one perspective on COVID-19. You can think of your Perspective Page as a “chapter” in the overall story of this pandemic, as told from a stakeholder’s perspective and accompanied by your analysis and notes. To create your page, you need to know how to use scalar and you need to develop materials to go on the page. For guidance on how to use scalar, see this guide. 

As for the content, you first need to identify and study a COVID-19 stakeholder perspective—that is, the point of view of a group who cares about, is affected by, or disseminates information about this issue. The perspective may be that of one significant person (such as a journalist, scientist, or public figure) or a meaningful collective (such as an organization, demographic, or community) with a shared stake in the pandemic. Your task is to find relevant sources in order to study and present their position. 

Your Perspective Page will have two major components:
 

1. Fact-checked Perspective Source:
   Embed a specific source of information that provides a perspective on COVID-19. The source needs to be approved by your professor, during the proposal process (see proposal details below). The source can take the form a PDF document, an embedded video, a website, or other media text.
   
   Using an appropriate commenting tool, highlight five (5) key claims made about COVID-19 in that source. For each of these claims, create a fact-checking note that identifies its original source.
    

2. Perspective Analysis Essay (650-750  words):
   Then, write an essay that interprets the embedded source and examines the perspective that it illustrates and its goals. To do this work, the essay must use one or more scholarly secondary sources (see below) to examine and contextualize the stakeholder’s position. In the flow of its narrative, the essay should draw upon its sources to address the following questions:

1. • 1. Whose perspective is conveyed in this source? What is their position in society?

     2. What is the viewpoint on this issue? Why does this issue matter to them? What did/could they gain and lose based on the outcome?

     3. What do they value?  What are their goals?

     4. Who is their intended audience? How do they reach them? (How has this source been disseminated?)

     5. What facts matter to them in this issue?

     6. What kinds of unique expertise, knowledge, or resources do they have that others need or lack? What kinds of knowledge do they need from others? 

     7. Who do they trust and distrust? 

     8. How do the factors above bring them into collaboration or conflict with others?

     9. Why is it important to include this perspective on our website?

Note: This is not a pro/con analysis. Nor is it an assessment of who is right or wrong. Your goal is to explain why there are different perspectives. The idea here is to give an interesting, well-supported account of this developing case that helps your audience understand the big picture. 

The homepage for the website will feature a collectively written introduction, providing relevant background in order to tell readers what they need to know about the purpose of the website. It should also help users orient to the website. We will also collectively write a conclusion essay that will draw upon our collective research to reflect on what we think future scientists should learn from understanding this event. We’ll draw on course ideas to put it into a broader perspective. 

Perspective Proposal + Annotated Bibliography 

Your perspective proposal is intended to get you ready to complete your project research by getting you to think about whose perspective you want to cover and which kinds of sources would be best to help you understand it.

You may propose a source of your own, or select from this list of sources. Note that each student must analyze a different source. (And, ideally, a different perspective!) Sources will be claimed first come, first served based on when the proposal is submitted. A database of source perspectives will be kept here.

The proposal should include each of the following elements. You will eventually enter these into a form for approval. The recommended approach is to copy this list into your own Google Doc, work on it throughout the week, and then copy/paste from your Google Doc into the form.

1. An overview of the perspective you want to explore and why you are interested in it. (One paragraph)

2. A list of three unique sources you think provide evidence of this perspective, including a main perspective source you will focus on and fact check. For each of the 3 proposed sources provide:

   • Full, correct citation information in APA format.

   • A short description that addresses: 

     • What kind of source is this and where did it come from (who authored it?)? 

     • How can you tell what perspective it shows?

     • What is the main argument or purpose of this source?

     • Summarize the key ideas and evidence.

     • Why do you think the selected source will provide good evidence of the perspective of interest?

3. A scholarly secondary source

   • Full, correct citation information in APA format.

   • A short description that addresses: 

     • What is the scholarly expertise of the author of this source? 

     • What methods do they use to provide information? (ethnography, history, interviews, philosophical analysis, media studies, etc.)

     • What is the thesis of this source?

     • Summarize the key ideas and evidence.

     • Why do you think the selected source will provide additional insight into the perspective you are studying?

Note that most of the material you develop in your proposal will end up on your perspective page on Scalar. The one paragraph overview feeds into your analytic essay. The multiple sources will help you to fact-check the main source. And the materials explaining and justifying your selection of sources will end up in your annotated bibliography.

Understanding the Kinds of Sources You Need for this Project:

1. Perspective Source

For your perspective page, you must find three sources that reveal how the perspective you have chosen views or is affected by COVID-19. You can find a combination of primary sources and journalistic secondary sources.

A primary source provides the perspective of a group in its own words, especially by its leaders and experts. For example,

1. 1. website/blog, social media group, or other materials created by an affected group; 

   2. a scientific report or peer-reviewed scientific article

   3. Talks, presentations, vlogs

   4. interviews with people affected, such as doctors, patients or officials; 

   5. a government announcement or think tank report; 

   6. a series of paid ads or memes; 

   7. a court case write-up

   8. a church email newsletter or other community communication

A journalistic secondary source provides the perspective of professional media makers. These sources often synthesize multiple sources—including the journalists’ own voice—to establish a particular version of events. Examples of journalistic secondary sources include: Particular news programs, local news stations, YouTube channels, or podcasts; some documentaries; a series of op-eds, editorials, or social media posts by specific journalists; or other media representation. 

2. Scholarly Secondary Source:

In order to put your source into a broader context, we are also requiring that you find and use a scholarly secondary source in your perspective analysis essay. This is a peer-reviewed academic text written from the perspective of a scholarly, HPS-y discipline, such as history, philosophy, communication, economics, anthropology, sociology, or other social science. 

Look for a source that provides an interesting concept or additional data for understanding your perspective source. For example: 1) a historical account of the perspective that puts it into context, 2) interviews, surveys, or ethnographic research on the stakeholders, including scientists, 3) a philosophical investigation of the perspective; or a 4) a study of media representations. Do not choose a source that only provides technical information on a scientific study written by and for scientists.