LIBR 202-09
Information Retrieval
Spring 2008 Greensheet
Nancy MacKay
E-mail
Office hours: By e-mail
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
LIBR 202 Resources Online Resource Supplemental Readings Inmagic Download |
This is an online class using Blackboard. Students must self-enroll in the class between January 13 and January 23, 2008. Registered students will receive an access code by email via MySJSU.
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
Competency using Blackboard. Students must have completed the Blackboard online workshop, before the first day of class http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/blackboardintro.htm.
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 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
Textbooks and Readings
Purchase these by the beginning of class. If you order from the School’s amazon.com site, http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/books/index.php, the School receives a referral fee which we use for student scholarships and events.
- Morville, Peter (2005). Ambient findability. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
- Meadow, Charles T., Boyce, Bert R., and Kraft, Donald H. (2000) Text information retrieval systems, 3rd ed. San Diego: Academic Press.
Available online. Do not purchase.
- Marchionini, Gary (1995). Information seeking in electronic environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “Supplemental Readings” on electronic reserve
- Additional supplemental readings provided by instructor
Course Requirements
General Expectations
- Must have completed Blackboard online training and be comfortable using computers
- Must have access to a brick and mortar library
- Must be willing to work in a group setting and to take responsibility as group member
- Must be available to check Blackboard discussions at least every 48 hours, and during group assignments every 24 hours
- Clear and concise written communication is essential
Assignments
Coursework and grades will be divided fairly evenly among Blackboard participation, group and individual exercises, and two exams. Reading assignments will be light, with the expectation that students have time to reflect, evaluate, ask questions, and share ideas.
Incompletes
Incompletes will not be given.
Late Assignments
Late assignments are accepted only in rare cases, and with prior permission of the instructor.
Course Calendar
Note, the first 4 days of the semester will be an introduction to the class. From then on a week will run from Saturday noon to Saturday noon. Most assignments will be due on Saturday at noon. New materials for the next week will be posted before noon on the same day. Calendar is subject to minor changes as we work through course materials.
| WEEK | TOPIC |
| INTRO, January 23-26 (3 days) |
Introduction to the class |
| 1 January 26-February 2 |
Introduction to IR systems |
| 2 February 2-9 |
Introduction to Classification |
| 3 February 9-16 |
Introduction to Databases |
| 4 February 16-23 |
Introduction to Metadata |
| 5 February 23-Mar 1 |
Controlled Vocabulary |
| 6 March 1-8 |
Controlled Vocabulary cont. |
| 7 March 8-15 |
Controlled Vocabulary Review for midterm |
| 8 March 15-22 |
MIDTERM |
| 9 March 22-29 |
Introduction to Searching |
| 10 March 29-April 5 |
Searching, Cont. |
| 11 April 5-12 |
General Review of IR Systems |
| 12 April 12-19 |
Folksonomies |
| 13 April 19-26 |
Evaluating IR systems |
| 14 April 26-May 3 |
Information seeking behavior |
| 15 May 3-10 (10 days) |
Wrap-up and FINAL |
Grading
Grade will be fairly evenly divided between class participation, written exercises, and exams. Here is an approximate breakdown.
| TASK | POINTS |
| Participation | 25 |
| Exercise#1 | 15 |
| Exercise #2 | 15 |
| Exercise #3 | 15 |
| Midterm | 15 |
| Final | 15 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
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://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.
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/
One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
Contact the webmaster
