LIBR 244-11
Online Searching
Summer 2007 Greensheet
Amelia Kassel
E-mail
Virtual Office: Contact via e-mail
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Resources Course Requirements Other Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
The Greensheet is a course syllabus which may be revised before or during the semester.
This class is completely online via BlackBoard. Enroll at the Blackboard site between June 1st and June 6th. You will need an access code, which will be sent to all registered students on June 1st. Late enrollments are not accepted. The first day of instruction is Monday, June 4th.
Course Description
This course introduces students to search techniques and content for databases contained in Dialog, Factiva, and LexisNexis, historically known in the information industry as the Big Three.
Students will learn how to formulate search strategies through hands-on exercises based on real-life research questions and select appropriate databases. Through readings, discussions, and exercises, students will work with and compare the Big Three fee-based major aggregator systems to Internet search engines. Along with experiential learning, course topics include the history of the online information industry, current trends, and pricing issues.
Prerequisite: LIBR 202
Course Objectives
LIBR 244 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- Design, query and evaluate information retrieval systems;
- 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.
In addition, this section supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- 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.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will learn:
- Content for three major fee-based aggregator systems
- Effective search strategies and techniques for conducting online searches in fee-based systems
- Dialog interfaces and command language
- Correct search syntax for three fee-based systems
- How and why fee-based database systems play a role in obtaining precision results quickly and efficiently for many types of questions
- Techniques that can be applied or adapted to Internet searching based on conceptual similarities
- How to become better teachers for training users in how to conduct online research in various settings
- How to better decipher quality Internet sources
- Why it’s beneficial to subscribe to and learn the fee-based aggregator systems particularly in business and special library settings
- How to search better using major search engines
Textbooks and Resources
Required
- Bell, Suzanne S. Librarian’s Guide to Online Searching, Libraries Unlimited, 2006
- Walker, Geraldene & Joseph Janes, Online Retrieval: A Dialogue of Theory and Practice, 2nd Ed., 1999, Libraries Unlimited. (Please note that this text is dated and does not cover the vast changes in technology generated by the Internet and today’s search engines; however, the book is valuable for understanding how to effectively search fee-based systems, especially Dialog, and contains relevant underlying technology discussed in this course. Despite its date, most students find it very useful.)
- Hock, Randolph. The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook, 2nd edition, 2007, Info Today.
- Kassel, Amelia. DialogClassic Web, Re-Designed: A Hit! Searcher, May 2007
The books may be ordered through the SLIS e-Bookstore, part of the Amazon Affiliates program. The SLIS Scholarship fund receives a referral fee on all items you purchase after clicking a book on the SLIS e-Bookstore page.
Online Resources
The following are high quality guides from the major vendors we will study this semester. Read or scan through these and use them as reference materials to assist you in learning. All of the items below can be downloaded at no charge.
- Dialog
Dialog offers a number of instructional materials through its Graduate Education Program at http://gep.dialog.com. Review available sources and select those most useful to you. I’ve listed key materials below but there are others that some students find useful.- Introduction to Dialog; Featuring DialogClassic
http://training.dialog.com/sem_info/courses/general.html#idc - Dialog Pocket Guide (HTML or PDF versions)
http://support.dialog.com/searchaids/dialog/pocketguide - Dialog Catalog 3Mb
http://support.dialog.com/publications/dbcat - Reference Card with Basic Commands (use as a cheat sheet)
http://gep.dialog.com/instruction/pdf/student_ref_guide.pdf - Choosing the Right Database Dialog Lab Workbook 2005 - Chapter 5 http://gep.dialog.com/instruction/workbook/2005_labwb_chap5.pdf
- DialogClassic Web Guide
- http://www.thomsondialog.com/dialogclassicweb/support/
- Introduction to Dialog; Featuring DialogClassic
- LexisNexis Resources
http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/244/lexisnexis.htm - Factiva.com Guide will be posted to BB
Additional Readings
- Battelle, John, The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture, Portfolio, 2005
- Mann, Thomas. Oxford Guide to Library Research, Third Edition, 2005, Oxford University Press.
Further reading assignments will be posted to Blackboard.
Course Requirements
Blackboard
Students must regularly consult BlackBoard sections including:
- Announcements
- Course Information
- Course Documents
- Assignments
- Discussion Board
Assignments
Students are required to complete the following assignments:
- Read required books and articles, some of which will be assigned via Blackboard.
- Online Discussion: Students are required to participate in online discussions via Blackboard on a weekly basis adding thoughtful, substantive comments or questions that relate to the reading or other assignments. Detailed class discussion requirements will be posted to Blackboard. BB Class Discussion is 20% of the grade. Lack of satisfactory participation will automatically result in a grade below a B. See the grading scale below.
- Exercises: A series of questions in which you perform online searches will be posted on Blackboard with specific instructions about each assignment.
- Final Research Report. Prepare a formal report of eight to ten pages in length on a current issue or online research topic of interest to you. Follow APA style and all the rules of good grammar and syntax. Alternatively, you can opt to submit a research project in which you search online systems used this semester and describe and analyze your steps and results along with techniques you have learned, plus include all search work, strategies, and results. The final research report or research project is due the last day of class, August 10, 2007, and should be submitted in a Word file to me via email with a brief report title in the Subject line. The research project may be submitted in more than one file as needed.
| Exercise 1 | Due June 18, 2007 |
| Exercise 2 | Due July 2, 2007 |
| Exercise 3 | Due July 16, 2007 |
| Exercise 4 | Due July 30, 2007 |
| Exercise 5 | Due August 10, 2007 |
Grading Policy
Completing all assignments including class discussion participation accurately and on time will earn a grade of B. To raise this grade, you will need to demonstrate above average creativity, imagination, analysis, and scholarship including:
- Originality in the approach to the assignment
- Greater depth of analysis than the written assignment calls for
- Overall treatment of the assignment above and beyond what the written assignment calls for or
- Superior organizational and/or written skills in the presentation of the material.
Scores are assigned to each required category:
| Exercises | 60 points |
| Participation in Online Discussion | 20 points |
| Final Research Paper or Project | 20 points |
Grading for exercises is based on a combination of:
- Following instructions provided with exercises. Points are deducted for not following instructions.
- Completing all exercises and submitting them on time. Two points are deducted for each day late and assignments are not accepted if more than three days late.
- Evidence that you’re learning basic commands and syntax, reflected in your work.
- Your comments – contained in a summary that includes an analysis of your thought process, strategies, and findings. You must also integrate what you have learned from readings and class discussion.
- Finding relevant results.
- Grading incorporates consideration of creativity, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and originality.
Successful course participants will:
- Post a brief bio and statement of purpose to the BlackBoard Discussion Board during the first week of class.
- Read the required textbooks cited above and other reading assignments as posted to BlackBoard.
- Initiate and contribute to discussion on BlackBoard weekly with substantive and analytical comments and questions.
- Integrate knowledge from readings and class discussion into assignments.
- Submit all required exercises and the final report or research project on time.
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 |
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/
Other Requirements and Comments
- A high-speed connection for downloading various resources cited above is preferred. If you do not use a high-speed connection, it will be your responsibility to obtain all materials nevertheless.
- This is a technical course that requires consistent and regular attention to all discussion on Blackboard and continuous preparation and effort – no exceptions.
- In a survey of 43 students asking for the number of hours spent on this class, 24 responded. About 60% of the group spends between 4 and 12 hours per week on this class. About 30% spends 12 or more hours. 5% spent 2-4 hours and 5% spent 20-25 hours.
- Students taking more than one or two courses and having other responsibilities find this course too time-consuming to adequately meet all requirements for an A and several have had problems earning a B grade. Lack of satisfactory participation in BlackBoard results in a grade lower than a B. See the grading scale above.
- All students are graded on the same basis regardless of workload, personal, medical, or technical problems, which are each student’s responsibility.
- Extra credit assignments are not accepted.
- Because there are many search questions used to teach this course and there isn’t necessarily one correct answer or approach, students will be required to read and study a document titled Tips, Corrections, and Comments, which I post after grading each set of exercises. This file provides a variety of methods for searching questions at hand and contains examples of varied approaches based on both the professor’s recommendations and successful searches undertaken by current and past LIBR 244 students. If a student continues to have questions about his/her work, posting on BB for class discussion is recommended, or if preferred, a student may email me. One-on-one answers to each exercise’s set of questions by email are not provided.
- This is a full semester course compressed into a 10 week summer session and the same requirements and standards are applied to this course as for Fall and Spring.
- No incompletes will be awarded – no exceptions.
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