GREENSHEET
Course Description
This course covers the basics of business information. An understanding of the creation, regulation, and dissemination of business information lays the groundwork for effectively and ethically accessing and using business information.
Every day in every library in this country students and investors search for business information. Business owners and investors are most likely to search for information at public libraries, while students in business and management programs search for information at academic libraries. Even in special libraries (especially corporate libraries) anyone who formulates business strategy needs business information.
Students will learn how to access company and industry data efficiently by understanding the regulatory processes that govern its dissemination. Students will practice research in the basic business databases to hone their research skills.
Course Goals and Objectives
After successfully completing this course, students will be able to
- locate company data
- locate comparative data
- explain discrepancies in data from different resources
- locate information needed for writing marketing plans
- demonstrate knowledge of business reference tools, their functions and their limitations
- take ethical considerations into account when providing business reference service
- teach business students the basics of business research
School Goals and Objectives:
This course supports the goals and objectives of the California State University, San José's School of Library and Information Science by teaching students the important principles and current practice of business information dissemination, research, technologies and utilization.
Course Requirements
Course Meetings
This course includes two in-person mandatory meetings at the California State University, Fullerton campus:
- September 10, 2005 Room PLS68, 9:00am - 5:00pm
- December 3, 2005 Room PLS68, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Online Format
The rest of the course is online. “Attendance” in the online portion of the course must be demonstrated by the students through their response to discussion questions, participation in general discussion and through their handing in quizzes on time. If a student does not meet the minimum requirements for participation, that student’s grade will be lowered.
Imagine this as a class that meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. On Mondays you do research and reading, on Wednesdays you discuss some aspect of what you’ve read, a related topic, or an upcoming assignment. Saturdays you respond to another student’s comments, hand in assignments and take quizzes.
Last time I taught this class I heard horrible stories of the real-life difficulties some students face (such as trying to figure out how to send in an assignment while waiting with a son who’d broken his leg in the cast room at Kaiser). There were people who asked for extensions frequently who probably should not have received them, and others who never asked for extensions but made deadlines at absolutely any cost. The disparity was unfair.
So…I’ll give a two day “grace period”, no questions asked, on all deadlines. I’m telling that to everyone right now. For example: anything due Monday is late after midnight on Wednesday, anything due Wednesday is late after midnight on Friday, and anything due Saturday is late after midnight on Monday. After the grace periods I will subtract points unless you and I have come to some understanding before that grace period ends.
Course Structure
The basic structure will be:
- Monday
Readings and worksheets and “To do” (un-graded assignments to prepare for discussion).
- Wednesday
Discussion. Responses to discussion questions due (threaded discussion list on Blackboard). See “what makes a good discussion question response?”
- Saturday
Discussion continued. Respond to one other student’s post. Hand in assignments that will be graded and take quizzes.
Assignments and Grading
Listed below are the course assignments, along with their respective due dates and point values:
| Graded Assignment / Quiz or Exam (Assignments that are not turned in are not listed.) |
Due Date |
Possible points |
| Participation |
Weekly |
14.5 (0.5 for your 1 st response to each discussion question and 0.5 for your 1 st response to a classmate’s post on each discussion question.) The fraction is due to the fact that there is no response expected to Discussion question 1: Introduce Yourself. |
| Assignment 1: Verbal report on company responses to information requests |
9/10/05 |
5 |
| Assignment 2 :Bibliographic instruction presentation. |
9/10/05 |
10 (up to 5 assigned by the instructor to everyone in the group, up[ to 5 assigned by each group member to every other group member to indicate each person’s contribution to the group) |
| Quiz on Business Database Basics |
9/10/05 |
1 |
| Quiz on Basic Business Reference Strategy |
9/24/05 |
1 |
| Assignment 3: Create a handout for a bibliographic instruction session for a management class. |
10/1/05 |
10 |
| Quiz on Finding Company Information |
10/16/05 |
1 |
| Quiz on Trustworthiness and Oddities in Business Information |
10/22/05 |
1 |
| Assignment 4: Paper on Trustworthiness and Oddities in Business Information |
10/22/05 |
10 |
| Quiz on Finding Information on International Businesses |
10/29/05 |
1 |
| Assignment 5: Writing to grandma (not as a librarian) comparing companies as investment possibilities. |
11/5/05 |
15 |
| Quiz on Finding Industry / Comparative Information |
11/5/05 |
1 |
| Assignment 6: “Marketing to You” paper. |
11/19/05 |
10 |
| Quiz on Finding Marketing Information. |
11/19/05 |
1 |
| Quiz on Finding Information on Commodities. |
11/26/05 |
1 |
| FINAL (questions based on the quizzes) |
|
20 |
| TOTAL |
|
100 (OK, 102.5) |
Grading Scale
The following grading scale will be utilized:
| 95-102.5 |
A+ |
| 90-94 |
A |
| 85-89 |
B+ |
| 80-84 |
B |
| 75-79 |
C+ |
| 70-74 |
C |
Academic Integrity
Read the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy
http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
Students who need accommodation due to a disability must register with SJSU's Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first three weeks of the semester. The Center will work with the students to determine the disability, document it, and determine the services and accommodations necessary for student success. Then, the DRC will contact the faculty member to determine the types of consideration necessary.
Students attending the Fullerton campus should first contact the Disability Resource Center in San José since they are SJSU students. The DRC will then direct the students to supporting resources on the Fullerton campus.
The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
|