LIBR 202-16
Information Retrieval
Spring 2008 Greensheet
Christinger Tomer
E-mail
Phone: 412-965-7123, 412-567-6485
Skype: ctomer56
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials |
LIBR 202 Resources Online Resource Supplemental Readings Inmagic Download |
Students must self-enroll in the Blackboard course. The access code will be provided via the MySJSU messaging system.
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. 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
Course Objectives
The objectives of LIBR 202 Information Retrieval are that students will learn to:
- 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; and
- Describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors
These additional SLIS Core Competencies are also supported by the course:
- 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;
- 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;
- Use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users; and
- Understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
Textbooks and Readings
- Peter Ingwersen. Information Retrieval Interaction. London: Taylor Graham Publishing, 2002. (Available as a PDF file.)
Christopher Manning, et al. Introduction to Information Retrieval. Cambridge University Press, 2008. (A preliminary version of the book is available for download: PDF for online viewing (with nice hyperlink features); and PDF for printing. Last update: November 17, 2007.)
Weekly reading assignments are indicated on Blackboard. Additional readings and course materials will be mounted in designated folders.
Go to SLIS eBookstore.
Course Requirements
Course Format
Blackboard will be the primary medium for course-related content delivery and communication. In addition, the course will make regular use of Elluminate and the Office Chat capability included among Blackboard 7.0's Communication Tools. (Other external resources that will be used during the course of the term include the Dialog Information System, Lexis-Nexis, and RefWorks.) Some materials will be delivered via a Web site maintained for the course at http://libr202.net.
Assignments
There are a total of eight (8) assignments that must be completed successfully. Three of the assignments entail the preparation of analytical essays, three of them require each student to search and provide the results under sets of specific conditions, one is an exercise in which what is called "information trapping," and the other assignment is an exercise in database construction. The essays will account cumulatively for 40 percent of the final grade, the searching assignments will account for 30 percent of the final grade, and the assignments concerned with database construction and information trapping will each account for 10 percent of the final grade. The balance of the grade will be determined by the level and quality of participation in the discussion boards. There are no examinations.
Each of the assignments must be submitted on the date specified, in the form specified, and in the place required, e.g., the Digital Dropbox on Tigris, etc. Exceptions require the explicit permission of the instructor; otherwise, late submissions will not be accepted.
The essays should be analytical, as opposed to descriptive, and should incorporate, whenever and wherever appropriate, published sources other than those required for the course and/or specified as relevant to the assignment in question. (No specific citation format is required; however, a standard format, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, etc., should be used.)
Participation in the weekly discussions via the Discussion Board on Tigris is required. Synchronous sessions entailing the use of Elluminate or Office Chat are optional.
Course Calendar
| January 23-27 | Introduction/Goals and Objectives of the Course |
| January 28-February 3 | The Context of Modern Information Retrieval (or How We Got Here) |
| February 4-February 24 | Basic Concepts of Information Retrieval |
| February 25-March 9 | Information Seeking Behavior |
| March 10-March 23 | Bibliographic Information Management/Information Trapping |
| March 24-April 6 | Web Search Engines |
| April 7-27 | Searching Proprietary Databases and Information Services (Dialog Lexis-Nexis, ProQuest) |
| April 28-May 4 | Multimedia Information Retrieval |
| May 5-11 | Issues of Measurement and Evaluation |
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/
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One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192-0029
Phone: 408-924-2490
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