LIBR 244-01
Online Searching
Spring 2015 Greensheet
Tobie Garrick
E-mail
Office location: Canberra, Australia
Office Hours: Primarily via BbIM (Collaborate or Skype also available), 7pm PST Wednesdays. Appointments at other times available upon request.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks SLOs Competencies Prerequisites |
Resources Canvas Login and Tutorials iSchool eBookstore |
Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 22nd, 12:01am PST unless you are taking an intensive or a one unit or two unit class that starts on a different day. In that case the class will open at 12:01am PST on the first day that the class meets.
You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.
Course Description
The course covers techniques of online searching, understanding database structures, hands-on search experience on commercial search services and client education. Emphasis is on the ProQuest Dialog system, with coverage of LexisNexis and Web of Science. The skills and knowledge acquired in this course are transferrable to a wide range of databases and other online search tools, across all sectors of the library and information management profession.
Topics will include:
- Search techniques and strategies including concept analysis, search syntax, pearl building and citation chaining
- Database indexing
- Relatioship between database structures and effective search techniques
- Choosing your search tool
- Database analysis
- General online searching
- Web-scale discovery
Students are encouraged to actively participate and work to create a learning community with their course peers. In addition to weekly readings from professional literature, this course will feature brief weekly recorded lectures and demos, vendor-run demos of commercial databases and activities that will provide experience in searching and engage you in thinking about and working with the course materials. The majority of the course will be delivered asynchronously.
Course Requirements
General Requirements
- Sign up for the ProQuest Graduate Education Program in the first week of class (details will be available in Canvas). Access is free to enrolled MLIS students and mandatory for completing the coursework
- Attend or watch recordings of vendor training sessions on the use of ProQuest Dialog and LexisNexis
- Check the course site daily and actively engage in discussions and forums
Assignments and Grading
| Assignment | Description | SLOs | Percent of Final Grade |
| Exercises | Exercises require searches of commercial databases. Search strategy, search results and demonstration of process used in searching will determine grade | 1,2,3.5.6.7.8 | 30% |
| Quizzes | These will provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate and solidify understanding of concepts covered throughout the course | 2,3,4,8 | 20% |
| Presentations | Students will give 2 brief (3-5 mins) presentations on a key concept of the course. These can be pre-recorded using a variety of different software and formats |
1,2,5,6,7 | 20% |
| Final Project | Students will choose from three options: 1) an essay on a topic related to online searching; 2) a client project; 3) a training packet for a specified user group on search techniques and concepts | 1,4,6,7,8 | 20% |
| Online Discussions | Students will post 2-3 posts per discussion topic (at least one original post and one response to a peer). Posts should contribute to the learning outcomes of the class as a whole. | 1,4,5,8 | 10% |
Late Assignments
Late assignments will not be accepted, unless there are legitimate, mitigating circumstances that have been communicated to the instructor prior to the due date. All assignments are due Fridays at 11:59 PT.
Course Calendar
A course calendar will be provided in the Canvas site
Communication with the Lecturer
Of course, I am available via email and through the course site. I endeavor to respond within 24 hours. Because I am overseas, synchronous communication will be via BbIM, Collaborate or Skype rather than by phone and may need to be scheduled in advance.
Textbook Availability
Bell, S. (2012). Librarian's guide to online searching. (3rd ed.) and Hock, R. (2013). The extreme searcher's internet handbook: A guide for the serious searcher (4th ed.) are available as eBooks through SJSU's King Library. Some portions of Mann, T. (2005). Oxford guide to library research (3rd ed.) will be available electronicaly via the course site.
Additional Readings
Readings, system documentation from search service vendors, and other supporting materials will be available on the course site.
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.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a broad understanding of the design of major fee-based online databases and how to search them effectively.
- Describe database content, search language, and syntax.
- Apply effective search strategies and techniques, with a focus on concept analysis and pearl building.
- Identify the value and role of fee-based database aggregators in obtaining precision results quickly and efficiently.
- Understand how knowledge of database aggregator systems increases the quality of Internet research.
- Use quality Internet search tools and techniques.
- Demonstrate skills and knowledge applicable to assisting and training end users.
- Develop confidence in their ability to learn to search other databases or online systems similar to those covered in the course.
Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)
LIBR 244 supports the following core competencies:
- E Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems.
- H Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies.
Textbooks
Required Textbooks:
- Bell, S. S. (2012). Librarian's guide to online searching (3rd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1610690354
- Hock, R. (2013). The extreme searcher's internet handbook: A guide for the serious searcher (4th ed.). Information Today. Available through Amazon: 1937290026
- Mann, T. (2005). Oxford Guide to Library Research (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Available through Amazon: 0195189981.
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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