LIBR 202-21
Information Retrieval
Fall 2009 Greensheet

Dr. Mary K. Bolin
E-mail
Phone: (402)472-4281
Office Location: 322B Love Library, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln NE 68588-4100
Office Hours: by appointment via email, chat, Elluminate

This course is taught online using Angel. The Angel access code for this course for will be sent to those enrolled in the class a few days before the start of the semester. The Angel site for the course will be open for self-enrollment at that time.

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 Prerequisites: Demonstrated computer literacy
Students must know how to download software, zip and unzip files, work with folders, and do elementary computer trouble shooting.

Course Objectives

• Students will be able to design, query, and evaluate a database information retrieval system, using an appropriate user model
• Students will be able to articulate fundamental concepts of information-seeking behavior and employ them in the design and evaluation of systems
• Students will be able to define a set of terms reflecting fundamental concepts of information retrieval and use them in discussions of their projects for the class.
• Students will understand metadata, both structure and representation, and be aware of dominant standards such as MARC, LC Classification, Dublin Core, and NISO 39-19.
• Students will understand principles of good interface design and be able to evaluate interfaces using those principles.

LIBR 202 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:

• Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems
• Understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge
• Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behavior

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 Blackboard, 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

Course Format
This course is online, taught primarily through Angel. There is assigned reading, from textbooks that are available online, and from other shorter online articles and texts. There will be weekly written or audio lectures, and office hours using Elluminate. Students can also contact me using e-mail, Angel discussion threads, Angel messaging, Facebook, or phone. I will try to answer questions within 24 hours.

New material will be posted on Angel every Tuesday afternoon by 5:00 Central Time. The class week will run Wednesday through Tuesday. Every week there will be one or more topics that we are studying. There will be a reading assignment for each topic. Each week, you will read the assigned material, and also choose an article from the supplementary reading. Each week, there will be a discussion thread to talk about the material we are covering. All students must participate in that discussion and refer to assigned and supplementary reading when applicable.

Exams
There are two exams, a midterm that covers material in the first half of the course, and a comprehensive final. Each will include essay questions that cover important information retrieval concepts. Both exams are "open-book" and "take-home."

Assignments

The course has three major assignments. The first two have both group and individual components, and the third is an individual assignment. Your reading and discussion should inform how you complete your assignments. The class will be divided into groups for doing the group assignments and for some discussion.

Your reading and discussion should inform how you complete your assignments. 

Late Assignments
Late assignments will only be accepted with prior notification.

Textbooks and Readings

Required Readings

• Marchionini, Gary (1995). Information seeking in electronic environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Available at: http://www.ils.unc.edu/~march/isee_book/web_page.html)
• Ingwersen, Peter (2002). Information Retrieval Interaction. London: Taylor Graham Publishing. (Available as a PDF file. Available at: http://vip.db.dk/pi/iri/index.htm)
• Manning, Christopher, et al. (2008). Introduction to Information Retrieval. Cambridge University Press. (Available at: http://www-csli.stanford.edu/~hinrich/information-retrieval-book.html)

"Supplemental Readings" on electronic reserve

Required Textbook:

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

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.

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