LIBR 202-14
Information Retrieval
Fall 2007 Greensheet
Dr. Chris Hagar
E-mail
Phone: +44 191 2268658
Office hours: By e-mail and by telephone appointment
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements Course Schedule |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
LIBR 202 Resources Online Resource Supplemental Readings Inmagic Download |
Students must self-enroll for the course in Blackboard using the following URL: http://tigris.sjsu.edu/ between August 20th-22nd. You will be required to use a password access code. The access code will be sent to you through my.sjsu.
This Blackboard self-enrollment process is in addition to the normal course registration.
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
Course Objectives
Student Learning Outcomes
- 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 models such as the MARC record, 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
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- Use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation, and organization of specific items or collections of information
- demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/competencies.htm
Textbooks and Readings
Please order the two textbooks from any online bookstore or directly from the publishers in time to have them by at least the second week of class.
- Meadow, Charles T., Boyce, Bert R., and Kraft, Donald H. & Barry, Carol. (2007) Text Information Retrieval Systems, 3rd ed. San Diego: Academic Press.
- Marchionini, Gary (1995). Information Seeking in Electronic Environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Out of print but available online).
- “Supplemental Readings” on electronic reserve
Course Requirements
Complete the New Student Technology Workshop
This is a mandatory short, self-paced online workshop on Blackboard that must be completed by all new SLIS students before the first day of classes. The access code for this course will be sent to new students via MySJSU. 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
Class Materials Access
Scheduled by student (Asynchronous)
The class week runs from Monday to Sunday midnight.
Materials for each week’s class will be available on a Monday, except for the first week when introductory materials will be available on Thursday 23rd August. You will find course information about assignments, announcements etc. on Blackboard.
Elluminate Meetings
There are three optional synchronous Elluminate sessions scheduled for this class:
- Sunday 2nd September 12.00-1.00 PM (PDT)
- Sunday 9th September 12.00-1.00 PM (PDT)
- Saturday 6th October 12.00-1.00 PM (PDT)
These will be primarily for question and answer sessions - these sessions will be recorded and will be made available after these times.
Students will need to have a microphone attached to their computer to participate. It is recommended that you log in at least 10 minutes before class to check the audio. 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://slisweb.sjsu.edu/software/elluminate/students/index.htm
Skills
The assignments are designed to provide the students to acquire and demonstrate the following skills:
- Create a user model, and based on the needs identified, design descriptive and subject metadata for a collection.
- Create a controlled vocabulary that adheres to a set of standards such as NISO Z39.19
- Search the database.
- Set performance criteria and, based on searches, evaluate the database.
- Evaluate one or more information retrieval interfaces
- Describe fundamental concepts of information seeking behavior
- Use information retrieval concepts in discussions
| ASSIGNMENT | POINTS |
| IR system design exercises | Required but not graded (pre-1,2,7) |
| Blackboard participation & postings | 10 |
| Assignment 1: Descriptive metadata | 30 (1,pre-2,7) |
| Assignment 2: Vocabulary design & evaluation | 30 (1,2,3,4,7) |
| Midterm | 15 (1,2,7) |
| Final | 15 (1,4,5,6,7) |
| Total | 100 |
Late Assignments
All work must be submitted by the posted due date (on Blackboard). Late assignments are only accepted in exceptional circumstances and if a prior arrangement is made with Dr Hagar. Points will be deducted for late submissions if no prior arrangement is made.
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses:
| 97-100 | A |
| 94-96 | A- |
| 91-93 | B+ |
| 88-90 | B |
| 85-87 | B- |
| 82-84 | C+ |
| 79-81 | C |
| 76-78 | C- |
| 73-75 | D+ |
| 70-72 | D |
| 67-69 | D- |
| 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;
- 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 Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0.
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 in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm.
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 Schedule
| Week | Date | Topic | Readings | Assignments | Elluminate sessions |
| 1 | 23/8- | Introduction. Course overview Information retrieval (IR) systems – initial concepts |
View Lecture | Sunday 26th Aug. 12.00-1.00 (PCT) |
|
| 2 | 8/27- | Aggregation as a goal of IR systems File structure Attributes DB/TextWorks |
View Lecture Meadow 1-3 Marchioni 1-3 |
Install DBTextWorksAssignment 1: Form teams | |
| 3 | 9/3- | Architecture of IR systems DBMS Taxonomy |
View Lecture Meadow 5, 6, 10 Begin Supplemental Readings |
Autobiography Category Exercise Due Sunday 9th Sept. 10.00 pm (PCT) |
Sunday 9th Sept. 12.00-1.00 (PCT) |
| 4 | 9/10- | User models Representation of Information: Description |
View Lecture Meadow 4 | ||
| 5 | 9/17- | Representation of Information: Subject metadata: 1. Controlled vocabularies | View Lecture Meadow 9 | Part A of Assignment 1 must be completed by Sunday 23rd Sept. 10.00 pm (PCT) | |
| 6 | 9/24- | 1. Controlled vocabularies (cont.) 2.Classification taxonomies |
View Lecture Use weeks 6,7 and 8 to complete the 15 articles from the Supplemental Readings | ||
| 7 | 10/1- | 2. Classification taxonomies (cont.) | View Lecture Use weeks 6,7 and 8 to complete the 15 articles from the Supplemental Readings | Saturday 6th Oct. 12.00-1.00 (PCT) |
|
| 8 | 10/8- | 2. Classification taxonomies (cont.) 3. Natural language |
View Lecture Use weeks 6,7 and 8 to complete the 15 articles from the Supplemental Readings | Midterm Exam Due Sunday 14th Oct. 10.00 pm (PCT) |
|
| 9 | 10/15- | Interface design and research | View Lecture Meadow 14, 15 | Classification exercise. Due Sunday 21st Oct. 10.00 pm (PCT) | |
| 10 | 10/22- | Searching and querying systems | View Lecture Marchioni 5 & 6 Meadow 7 & 8, 11-13 |
Vocabulary design exercise Due Sunday 28th Oct. 10.00 pm (PCT) |
|
| 11 | 10/29- | Assignment 2 consultation week | Send in progress vocabs to CH for feed-back Due Sunday 4th Nov. 10.00 pm (PCT) |
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| 12 | 11/5- | Evaluating IR systems | View Lecture Meadow 16 | ||
| 13 | 11/12- | Information seeking behavior | View Lecture Marchioni 4 | ||
| 14 | 11/19- | Review | Assignment 2 Due Friday 23rd Nov. 10.00 pm (PCT) | ||
| 15 | 11/26- | Final exam distributed Monday 26th Nov. Final exam Due Sunday 2nd Dec. 10.00 pm (PCT) |
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| 16 | 12/3- | Wrap-up |
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