LIBR 202-15
Information Retrieval
Spring 2013 Greensheet

Dr. Leanne Strum
E-mail
Phone: (757) 352-4172
Office location: Online
Office hours: Email or Telephone (Office hours: 9-4 M-F (EST))

Spring Session: January 23 - May 13, 2013

This course has a D2L site. You will be enrolled into the site automatically on the first day of the semester. 

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.

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 D2L, Elluminate 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

Elluminate Meetings
Optional Elluminate sessions will be scheduled for this class. Date and time to be announced. These will be primarily question and answer sessions. Sessions will be recorded and made available afterward.

You are required to complete an orientation session with Debbie Faires prior to participating in the first Elluminate session. For a list of training times and other helpful information, see the SLIS Student Guide to Elluminate at http://ischool.sjsu.edu/software/elluminate/students/index.htm

Technology Components
Successful students must be able to:

• Send and receive email and attachments including zipped files
• Access the School’s website (D2L) for course lectures, handouts and readings
• Download software from a web site and install it on a computer
• Use common web search engines and library article databases
• Learn a new database management system

Graded Assignments

All assignments must be submitted by midnight. Grades will be reduced for any late work, each day late, by twenty percent (20%). Please contact me prior to a deadline in the case of illness or emergency.

• A1: Class Discussion Board (DB01-DB05)-- SLO#5, SLO#6, SLO#7 -- Assessment: Students will participate in class discussions that address current information retrieval issues.
• A2: Descriptive Metadata Database -- SLO#2, SLO#3, SLO#5, SLO#6 -- Assessment: The purpose of this assignment is to design a database using surrogates to represent objects in a collection. Students will design a database for a collection of objects by identifying the attributes of the objects, deciding which of those attributes should be included in the database, what values should be allowed, and what rules will be needed to ensure consistency and accuracy in indexing.
• A3: System Evaluation -- SLO#4, SLO#5, SLO#6 -- Assessment: Students are to conduct an evaluative review of an information retrieval system (library system, database, or web search engine) of their choice and submit a written report.
• A4: Essay on the Use of Metadata in Information Retrieval -- SLO#1 -- Assessment: Students will understand metadata, both structure and representation, and be aware of dominant models such as the MARC2 record, LC Classification, Dublin Core, and NISO 39.19. Students will be asked to synthesize the major elements of LIBR202 and present an essay on the use of metadata in information retrieval, supported and informed by the course material. A standard paper, up to six (6) pages is acceptable, but students are encouraged to consider producing and presenting this final work in an alternative format (e.g. website, wiki, blog, podcast, video, etc.).

Writing Requirement
If an instructor finds that a student's writing ability is unacceptable the instructor will require the student to sign up for online writing tutoring. The student will ask the tutor to confirm with the instructor that the student is attending sessions.

top

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:

top

Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Morville, P. (2005). Ambient findability: What we find changes who we become. O'Reilly Media. Available through Amazon: 0596007655.

• Weinberger, D. (2008). Everything is miscellaneous: the power of the new digital disorder. Holt Paperbacks. Available through Amazon: 0805088113.

• Wright, A. (2007). GLUT: Mastering information through the ages. Joseph Henry Press. Available through Amazon: 0309102383.

Recommended Textbooks:

• Rowley, J. & Harley, R. (2008). Organizing knowledge: An introduction to managing access to information (4th ed.). Ashgate. Available through Amazon: 0754644316

top

Grading Scale

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

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.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.

More accessibility resources.