LIBR 202-04
LIBR 202-10 
Information Retrieval
Fall 2013 Greensheet

Dr. Kristen Radsliff Rebmann
E-mail
Office: San Jose, CA & Hayden, ID (same timezone as CA - pacific time)
Office Hours: By appointment.
Panopto Lectures: Lectures will be recorded using Panopto.  Transcripts will be available for all lectures.  See news section of our D2L course page for details and access to Panopto URLS.   
Collaborate Help Sessions (NOT MANDATORY): Tuesdays 11:00 am to 11:30 am or 7:00 pm -7:30 pm.  See news section of our D2L course page for details on times and access to Collaborate URLs.


Greensheet Links
Textbooks
SLOs 
Competencies 
Prerequisites
Resources
D2L
iSchool eBookstore
LIBR 202 Resources
Shared Resources
Supplemental Readings
WebData Pro Tutorials

This is an online-only class using D2L, Panopto, and Collaborate. Students will be automatically enrolled in the D2L class site on the first day of the semester.

The course begins via D2L on Wednesday August 21st. Collaborate sessions will begin on Tuesday, August 27th at 12:00 pm pst. I will send more information about the first session as we approach this date through D2L news and via email.

***Student attendance at the Collaborate Help Sessions is not mandatory.  Recordings will be available.***

Course Description

Principles of information retrieval and their application to information systems and services. Emphasizing models of user information seeking behavior, human information processing, and their relationship to retrieval models in information systems. Class activities will be carried out in D2L, video, and audio formats. Enrollment in the D2L class is mandatory.

Course Requirements

Complete LIBR 203: Online Social Networking: Technology and Tools
This is a mandatory 1 unit course that introduces students to the various e-learning tools used in the SLIS program, including Collaborate and Second Life. This course must be completed by all new SLIS students within the first 4 weeks of their first semester. If you have questions about this course, e-mail Debbie Faires or Dale David.

For more information, see http://ischool.sjsu.edu/classes/coursedesc.htm

Readings
Readings will be made available on the course site. There is no required textbook.

Assignments and Extra Credit
Students will complete a short introduction of themselves via discussion forum, 1 exercise, 3 projects, and 1 reflective essay.

ASSIGNMENT Weight
Introductions/Short Biography via Discussion Forum  5%
Exercise #1 - Experience Builder: Engaging Information Retrieval/Management Systems (Google Scholar, Library Literature, Refworks).  Student Learning Outcomes: 4, 7 10%
Project #1 - Describing a Collection of Objects; Defining a User Group.  Student Learning Outcomes: 2, 5 20%
Project #2 - Designing a Database. Student Learning Outcomes: 2, 3, 5, 7 25%
Project #3 - Evaluating an Information Retrieval/Management System (Refworks). Student Learning Outcomes: 4, 5, 6 20%
Reflective Essay. Student Learning Outcomes: 1, 5, 7 20%
*********************************************** ***************
TOTAL 100%

D2L and Collaborate Participation
***Please note: This course WILL NOT PLAY OUT VIA DISCUSSION FORUM but I will use the discussion forum in D2L to discuss course key concepts and issues beyond the scope of the course. Posting in the discussion forum is not mandatory.***  I also Prepare lectures in Panopto (with transcripts) and hold Collaborate help sessions.  Attendance at the Collaborate sessions is also not mandatory - recordings will be available. ***Part of participation in this course includes listening well to others and engaging with opposing viewpoints. You are expected to be respectful and thoughtful in responding to each other and in responding to the course materials.***

Help! How do I …?
I will create a discussion forum in D2L for general questions regarding due-dates, structure of assignments, and clarification of concepts. Please post your general questions here so that all students may benefit. Feel free to contact me via email at kristen.rebmann@sjsu.edu. Placing the words: LIBR 202 and your section number in the subject field will guarantee that your email will get to my high priority folder so that I can get back to you promptly (usually within 24 to 48 hours). Sometimes you might see me in BlackboardIM or GoogleChat - feel free to talk with me this way as well.

Course Calendar
A course calendar is available from the course site at the start of the semester.

SJSU 2013-2014 Academic Calendar
http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/docs/1314aycalendar.pdf

Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 202 has no prequisite requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Define metadata, both structure and representation, and identify standards such as the MARC record, LC Classification, Dublin Core, and NISO 39.19.
  2. Create a user model, articulate the information needs of the intended users, and design a database information retrieval system to meet those needs.
  3. Use Boolean logic to query the databases they create as class projects. with effective searches in both natural language and controlled vocabulary fields
  4. Evaluate a database information retrieval system, including its indexing, using standard measures such as recall and precision.
  5. Articulate fundamental concepts of information-seeking behavior and their application in the design and evaluation of systems.
  6. Explain basic principles of good interface design and be able to evaluate interfaces using those principles.
  7. Define terms reflecting fundamental concepts of information retrieval, apply them in analyses of their projects, and use them in class discussions.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 202 supports the following core competencies:

  1. E Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems.
  2. G Demonstrate understanding of basic principles and standards involved in organizing information, including classification, cataloging, metadata, or other systems.
  3. J Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors.

Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

97 to 100 A
94 to 96 A minus
91 to 93 B plus
88 to 90 B
85 to 87 B minus
82 to 84 C plus
79 to 81 C
76 to 78 C minus
73 to 75 D plus
70 to 72 D
67 to 69 D minus
Below 67 F

 

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

  • C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
  • B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
    For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  • A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

  • "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
    • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
    • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
  • "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

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