README This dataset supports an upcoming publication in International Journal of Information Ethics by Eleanor Mattern and Chelsea Gunn. This data includes a content analysis of topics covered in iSchool curriculum that was conducted in spring 2017. Methodology As of May 2017, 84 schools form the iSchool consortium membership.[i] Within the consortium, there are four categories of membership: Tier 1, 2, 3, and Associate level. Level of membership is determined by the amount of research funding received and the strength of doctoral education. For this paper, we chose to look at Tier 1 Members of the iSchool consortium, a group that is also referred to as the iCaucus. We drew this purposive sampling strategy from Matt Burton’s study of assigned readings in iSchool core courses.[ii] 27 schools, or roughly a third of the iSchool consortium membership, form our sample. Four schools were necessarily removed from the sample, due to a language barrier or our inability to locate course descriptions.[iii] Schools within the iCaucus have marked differences in programmatic offerings. While the schools involved in the formation of the consortium offered LIS programs,[iv] not all schools in the 2017 iCaucus do (and those that do generally offer additional programs of study). Represented in the iCaucus sample are undergraduate and graduate programs in LIS, Computer Science, Informatics, Information Management, Information Security, Human-Computer Interaction, Museum Studies, and Communication. Because this paper aims to gain a comprehensive view at what iSchools are teaching, we looked at course descriptions for both undergraduate and graduate curriculum across this wide range of programs. There is an opportunity to build on this study through a more-depth comparison of how ethics are represented across a typology of iSchools. Our two-person research team conducted a content analysis of all course descriptions that were available on the iCaucus members’ websites. Our approach to coding was both inductive and deductive; we developed a pre-defined series of codes based on definitions of “information ethics” present in the literature. Where course descriptions highlighted other topics as ethical in nature, we assessed adding these themes to our coding instrument as well. For example, “hactivism,” or the involvement of citizens to enact social change through technologies, was not among our original codes. We observed this theme in course descriptions and added it to our coding instrument. All codes were defined in our coding instrument to facilitate both coders’ consistent uses of the terms and assigned a number for use in coding. Table 1 illustrates the ethical themes, corresponding coding number, and definitions that guided our analysis. Code Topic Definition 1 Theory and Philosophy Theoretical and philosophical frameworks for understanding ethical issues in society and information studies 2 Professional Codes of Ethics Professional codes of ethics such as the Society of American Archivists Code of Ethics, the American Library Association Code of Ethics, and the IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and other Information Workers ; ethics of professional practice 3 Open and Universal Access Information as a human right; Principles around unrestricted access to information and equitable access to information. 4 Societal Control of Information Governmental censorship, limits on intellectual freedom, and secrecy and limitations on information access 5 Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusivity Sensitivity to information needs, rights, and representation of diverse groups; indigenous materials; gender identity, diversity 6 Privacy Issues around the protection of privacy and personal information and interference with privacy through surveillance 7 Children and Youth Specific needs, rights, and issues related to protecting and empowering children and youth 8 Research ethics Ethical practices in research, including transparency and academic honesty; ethical use of information 9 IP Ownership of information, ethical dimensions of IP law 10 Cybercrime and malicious behavior Malfeasance and improper behaviors online and counteractions to these behaviors 11 Leadership and Management Ethics Skills and concepts related to ethical management in organizations, diversity in hiring 12 Ethical dimensions of organization Ethical dimensions of classification and how we organize and describe information 13 Computing for good “the use of computing as a platform for improving the human condition;”[1] values in design 14 Digital Divide Gaps in access to technologies within underserved communities 15 Hacktivism Involvement of citizens to enact change through technologies 16 Commerce ethics Fair trade and ethical regulation of e-commerce 17 Ethical issues in healthcare Considerations concerning ethics in health/medical informatics 18 Journalistic ethics Ethical practices in the field of journalism, reporting, and media 19 Ethics of collecting Ethical issues associated with collections development and archival appraisal Table 1: Coding Scheme We employed intercoder reliability as a validation strategy in this study. Both researchers looked at all iCaucus member websites, selecting relevant course descriptions to code (based on allusion to “ethics” specifically or an ethical theme/topic included in the coding instrument) and performing a content analysis of these descriptions. This method is not without its limitations and challenges. We relied on course descriptions, rather than syllabi, based on ease of access. They course descriptions provide us with a high level look at information ethics across iSchool curriculum, but an incomplete picture of what occurs in the classroom. Moreover, there were instances in which we needed to parse whether a topic, such as privacy, was being explored for its ethical dimensions. In this example, where course descriptions suggested that privacy were introduced in the context of building secure systems, we did not record this instance in our coding instrument. ________________ [i] “iSchools Welcome Three New Members,” February 8, 2017, http://ischools.org/news/ischools-welcome-three-new-members/ [ii] Matt Burton, “Looking for the Core: Preliminary Explorations of iCaucus Syllabi,” iConference 2016 Proceedings (2016). http://doi.org/10.9776/16225 [iii] University of North Texas: College of Information (USA), University of Tampere: School of Information Sciences (Finland), Wuhan University: School of Information Management (China), and Humboldt University of Berlin: Berlin School of Library and Information Science (Germany). [iv] Ronald L. Larsen, “iSchools,” in Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition, eds. Marcia J. Bates and Mary Niles Maack (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2010), 3018-3023. [v] C4G at Georgia Tech College of Computing, https://computingforgood.wordpress.com/ ________________ [1] C4G at Georgia Tech College of Computing, https://computingforgood.wordpress.com/