LIBR 202-14
Information Retrieval
Spring 2004

Joanne Twining, MLS, PhD
professor@intertwining.org

GREENSHEET

Students: See the Course Web Site at
http://intertwining.org/sjsu/LIBR202/

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 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.

Goals and Objectives:

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 completion 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 model 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 the selection, organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and utilization of information resources
  • The application of diverse technologies to information management.

• To foster research by:

• Requiring students to evaluate and utilize relevant research studies from a variety of disciplines in their coursework.

Texts and Readings

• Meadow, Charles T., Boyce, Bert R,. and Kraft, Donald H. (2000). Text Information Retrieval Systems. 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press. 
  
• Marchionini, Gary (1995). Information Seeking in Electronic Environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  
• "Supplemental Readings" on reserve in the library (15 required, more recommended); the bibliography and some electronic copies are available at http://witloof.sjsu.edu/courses/202/welcome202.html

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, contact me by e-mail.

Technology components: To be successful in this course, you need to be able to send and receive email and attachments, access the School’s website for course handouts and readings, download software from a web site and install it on your computer, use common web search engines, and learn a new database management system. You may be required to send and receive email attachments of a moderately large size (1MB - 8MB). If your current email service provider places restrictions on the size of attachments that you can send or receive, then you will need to obtain an email account without such restrictions. All students are eligible for free accounts on the SLIS email server (wahoo), and there are no attachment or storage restrictions for those accounts.

Assignments - See course website at http://intertwining.org/sjsu/LIBR202 

Grading