LIBR 202-30
Information Retrieval
Fall 2008 Greensheet
Virginia Tucker
E-mail
Office Hours: Please contact via e-mail; telephone appointments can be arranged
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS eBookstore |
LIBR 202 Resources Online Resource Supplemental Readings Inmagic Download |
The Greensheet is a course syllabus which may be revised before or during the semester.
Last updated 10-August-2008.
This class is conducted completely online via Blackboard. The first official day of instruction is Monday, August 25. Students must enroll at the Blackboard site between Sunday, August 24 and Wednesday, August 27. You will need an access code, which will be sent to all registered students via MySJSU shortly before August 24. Late enrollments are not accepted!
Course Description
This course covers principles of information retrieval and their application to information systems and services. Emphasis is on models of user information seeking behavior, human information processing, and their relationship to retrieval models in information systems.
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 the fundamental concepts of information retrieval and information-seeking behavior, and employ them in the design and evaluation of systems;
- Students will understand the problems inherent in the representation of information in a retrieval system, and be aware of the dominant models used in information retrieval, such as MARC, AACR2, LC Classification, LCSH, and Dublin Core;
- 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 behaviors.
These additional SLIS Core Competencies are also supported by this section:
- 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;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Texts
- Meadow, C. T. et al. (2007). Text Information Retrieval Systems. 3rd ed. Academic Press. [Note: not the 2nd edition]
- Morville, P. (2005). Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become. O’Reilly.
Both textbooks may be ordered through the SLIS eBookstore, part of the Amazon Affiliates program. The SLIS Scholarship fund receives a referral fee on all items you purchase via the SLIS e-Bookstore page.
Additional readings will be made available on Blackboard.
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://slisweb.sjsu.edu/classes/coursedesc.htm
General Requirements
- Have the minimal home or work computing environment as described at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ecommunication/homecomputing.htm
- Check the Blackboard site three to four times a week for announcements and discussion board postings.
- Refer to the course calendar and submit assignments by the due date. Students will submit completed assignments via Blackboard. Late assignments will receive reduced credit except in cases of family emergency or serious illness.
- Label assignments clearly: include your full name, course number, instructor name, and assignment name on the first page. For the file name, use the assignment name and your last name, e.g., assignment1_seuss.doc Assignments not labeled appropriately may receive reduced credit.
Assignments
Graded assignments for this course are:
| Exercise 1: Attribute Elicitation | 70 points |
| Assignment 1: Description and Database Design | 200 points |
| Midterm | 150 points |
| Exercise 2: Classification | 130 points |
| Assignment 2: Subject Analysis and Evaluation | 250 points |
| Final | 150 points |
| Discussion Board Participation | 50 points |
| Total | 1,000 points |
Course Calendar
A course calendar is available from the Blackboard site at the start of the semester.
Grading Scale
The total number of points received for the assignments and tests (see above) will be converted to a letter grade using the standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale:
| 97-100 | 970-1000 points | A |
| 94-96 | 940-969 points | A- |
| 91-93 | 910-939 points | B+ |
| 88-90 | 880-909 points | B |
| 85-87 | 850-879 points | B- |
| 82-84 | 820-849 points | C+ |
| 79-81 | 790-819 points | C |
| 76-78 | 760-789 points | C- |
| 73-75 | 730-759 points | D+ |
| 70-72 | 700-729 points | D |
| 67-69 | 670-699 points | D- |
| Below 67 | (fewer than 670) | 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
