LIBR 202-13
Information Retrieval
Spring 2006 Greensheet
Mikel Breitenstein
E-mail
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Textbooks and Resources | Course Requirements | Calendar
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Course Description
This course is a survey of the principles of information retrieval and their application to information systems and services. The course emphasizes models of user information seeking behavior and human information processing, and their relationships to retrieval models in information systems. It explores the fundamental processes of description, classification, information structures, database models, and retrieval intermediation as those processes are reflected in information systems of all types, including libraries. In addition, the course explores various information systems to illustrate principles.
Student Learning Objectives
The goal of the course is to introduce the student to
- basic concepts of information systems
- user information seeking processes
- those user characteristics that affect information seeking and use
At the end of the course the student should be able to
- describe appropriate models of information seeking processes and factors influencing them
- describe the salient characteristics of an information system, using the models introduced and developed in the course
- describe how the characteristics of information systems and users interact in the effective use of information
This course supports the following SLIS objectives:
- to teach students the major theories , important principles, and current practice in information management, including selection, organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and utilization of information resources
- to foster research by requiring students to evaluate and use relevant research studies
Textbooks and Resources
Required Texts
The required books for this course are:
- Chowdhury, G. G. 2004. 2nd ed. Introduction to modern information retrieval. New York : Neal-Schuman. Web site:www.neal-schuman.com Paperback or hardbound are fine.
- American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Please purchase this book – you cannot rely on online sources for full documentation of the rules, which you must use and master during your MLS degree. This book is available at most large bookstores.
- Supplemental Reading List for LIBR 202 at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/202/welcome202.html.
Recommended Texts and Resources
The following are not required texts but will be used by the instructor in lecture and assignment preparation. Purchase of or access to these texts is suggested. These have been used in the past as textbooks, and contain a lot of useful explanations that might clarify a topic for you.
- Chu, Heting. 2003. Information representation and retrieval in the digital age. Medford, NJ: Information Today.
- Allen, Bryce. 1996. Information tasks. San Diego: Academic Press.
- Korfhage, Robert R. 1997. Information storage and retrieval. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
- Marchionini, Gary. 1995. Information seeking in electronic environments. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
- Meadow, Charles T., Bert R. Boyce, and Donald H. Craft. 2000. Text information retrieval systems. 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press.
Course Requirements
Complete the New Student Technology Course
This is a mandatory short, self-paced online course on Blackboard that must be completed by all new SLIS students before orientation. The access code for this course will be sent to new students via MySJSU by June 27. If you have questions about this course, e-mail Debbie Faires or Dale David.
For more information, see http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/blackboardintro.htm
Course Meetings
There are two required in-person meetings at Fullerton:
- January 29, 2006, 10 AM - 4 PM
- April 16, 9:30 AM -12:30 PM
Web-based Instruction
This course will be operated mostly through Blackboard software, supplemented by e-mail and telephone communications as needed. Students will need Blackboard access from January 25-May 16. This is a structured weekly course, not self-paced.
Students must have continual computer access for the duration of the course. Microsoft Word 2000 or later must be used for all submitted assignments.
E-mail Requirements
You will be required to send and receive files that may be as large as 8MB. If your current e-mail provider places smaller restrictions on your file sending and receiving capacity, you should obtain a free and unrestricted e-mail account from SLIS.
Expectations
Students will do assigned readings, respond to posted exercises and comments, and will complete major projects individually and in teams. The use of DBTextworks software will be required, and instructions will be supplied later. No advance knowledge is required other than basic computer skills required for the program. Adaptive software to accommodate MAC may be required.
Grading
Grading is based on adherence to the assignment instructions, content, and quality of presentation (including grammar, punctuation,and layout). Grades on assignments may range from A+ to C, and F. A grade of A is given for work that exceeds the basic expectations in terms of quality and content. A B grade is given for completion of basic requirements and meets the standards for acceptable work in the course. A C grade indicates that some parts of the work were not acceptable. An F indicates missing or very deficient work.
Late Assignments
Late work is not accepted. However, all students have the option of turning in one assignment (except the final group project) up to 48 hours late, without penalty or explanation. See explanation in Blackboard in Course Rules.
Evaluation
Your course grade will be based on the following assignments:
| 5 Mini-reading/writing assignments | 20% |
| Mid-Term | 20% |
| Assignment 1 | 20% |
| Assignment 2 (team project) | 20% |
| Class participation (class participation includes specific ungraded postings, chats, and team work; quality, not quantity, is to be emphasized) |
20% |
Academic Integrity
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University’s Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest and thorough in documenting in all your academic course work. Faculty are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability,
please e-mail me as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires
that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center
(DRC) to establish record of their disability.
No matter where students reside, they should contact the SJSU DRC to register. The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
Course Calendar
The Course Calendar is subject to reasonable modification – see Blackboard site for more details and supplementary materials
The course "week" will run from Monday-Monday. Most assignments will be given on a Monday and will be due at the end of the following Monday.
Module 1. The Document System.
Weeks 1-4, January 29-February 19
- Text Readings:
Chapters 1-3 in Chowdhury text- Chapter 1. Basic concepts of information retrieval systems
- Chapter 2. Database technology
- Chapter 3. Bibliographic formats
- Assignments:
- Ungraded 1 Practice in Booleans and Venns
- Graded 1 Assignment in Booleans and Venns
Module 2. The Indexing System
Weeks 5-6, February 26 – March 5
- Text Readings:
Chapters 4-5- Chapter 4. Cataloging and metadata
- Chapter 5. Subject analysis and representation
- Assignments:
- Midterm
- Ungraded 2 – post index terms
- Graded 2 – indexing an article
Module 3. The Vocabulary System
Weeks 7-9, March 12 – April 2 (includes Spring Break)
- Text Readings:
Chapters 6-7, 20-21- Chapter 6 . Automatic Indexing and File Organization
- Chapter 7. Vocabulary Control
- Chapter 20. Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval
- Chapter 21. Natural Language Processing Systems
- Assignments:
- Ungraded 3 --abstract of yourself
- Ungraded 4--abstract of a reading for 202 restricted reading
- Graded 3 -- abstract and summary of an article we have read
- Graded 4 -- word comparisons
- Graded 5 – writing instructions and documentation
- Assignment 1 -- creating a database of objects
Module 4. The Searching System
Weeks 10-11, April 9 – April 16
- Text Reading:
Chapter 9
- Chapter 9 . Searching and Retrieval
- Assignments:
- Assignment 2 (team project) --a database and indexing project
Module 5. The User-Interface System
Weeks 12-13, April 23 – April 30
- Text Readings:
Chapters 10—14- Chapter 10. Users of information retrieval
- Chapter 11. User-centered models of information retrieval
- Chapter 12. User interfaces
- Chapter 13. Evaluation of information retrieval systems
- Chapter 14. Evaluation experiments
- Assignments:
- Group consultation 1 with instructor about team plans
Module 6. The Matching System
Weeks 14-15, May 2 – May 14
- Text Reading:
Chapters 15-19- Chapter 15. Online and CD-ROM information retrieval
- Chapter 16. Multimedia information retrieval
- Chapter 17. Hypertext and markup languages
- Chapter 18. Web information retrieval
- Chapter 19. Intelligent information retrieval
- Assignment:
- Group consultation 2
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