school of information sciences logo
IS 530: Information Access & Retrieval
Course Syllabus
IS530 Campus Section 001
Course ScheduleAssignments & ProjectsLecture NotesTest #1Test #2

Professor: Dr. Dania Bilal
Meeting time: Tuesday, 3:40p.m.-6:20p.m.
Meeting Place: BEC 116
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1-3p.m. Other times are available by appointment.
Voice mail: (865) 974-3689
Email: dania@utk.edu
http://web.utk.edu/~dania
Catalog Description
Information access, retrieval, and use. Information seeking, user interfaces, information services and tools. Database structure, search engines, query logic, and evaluation of retrieval system performance.
Note: This class is NOT ONLY ABOUT GOOGLE SEARCHING as there is more to accessing and finding information than Google.
New Required Text. Charlotte Ford. Crash Course in Reference. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. Available at Libraries Unlimited website.

Other required materials to download from the Web:

Course Objectives
This course is part of the required curriculum that is determined by SIS faculty to contain basic knowledge that SIS student must acquire. It is intended to prepare students for specialized electives offered in the Program.

Upon completion of the course, you should:

Seeking and Achieving Success in this Course
Success beings with you! Like the other two required courses (IS 510 and IS 520), this course is demanding in that it requires that you spend much time outside of the classroom reading the required materials, doing the assignments, practicing database and web searching, and networking with classmates to complete class activities. You are responsible adults who have made a commitment to pursue a graduate degree, despite the demands that life imposes on you. Since you have been accepted in the SIS program, there is no doubt that you are very able students. It is my hope that you will use your abilities and make extra efforts to succeed in this course with a proud "A".
Course Delivery
This section is offered on campus face-to-face. The delivery of the course content will include lectures, discussions, field observation, team work, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities.
Expectations and Challenges
The amount of knowledge and skills you will gain from this course will depend on the amount of time and work you invest each week.

Much of the content of the course is problem-based. You, as a user of information, are and will always be faced with information problems that you need to solve. Users also have their own information problems, but many times they need "expert" assistance to solve them. You are the future information professionals who will mediate user needs and find the best solutions for their information problems. The knowledge you gain in this course will equip you with the basic knowledge for using appropriate mediation techniques to solve a variety of information problems for a variety of users.

This course may be the most challenging among the core/required courses. It is characterized by stimulating challenge in a collaborative learning atmosphere. You will be challenged, intrigued, confused, frustrated, and may be "lost" in using and evaluating IRs and solving information problems in both virtual and non-virtual information environments. Your dedication, perseverance, patience, and motivation should help you meet the challenge and find your way in these environments. Remember to use your "emotional intelligence" whenever you experience negative emotions.

This course is structured to be a "rewarding" learning experience and NOT a punishment. It is designed to provide meaning for you as you take advanced classes that require knowledge and skills in using what you learn in this class, and as you become an information professional who will be interacting with information on a regular basis.

Computing Requirements
You must have adequate computing skills, including but not limited to use of word processing, Web browsers, e-mail, and listservs. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides training classes in using varied technologies for students at no charge (advanced registration is required).

You must obtain both Unix and Tmail accounts at UTK and must subscribe to the SIS student listserv. In addition, you must have the PowerPoint Reader installed on your computer or the regular PowerPoint software to download the lecture notes.

A Dialog ID and password will be assigned to each of you to use Dialog databases at no charge.

Contacting the Instructor
Feel free to contact me for questions or to share ideas! To ensure quick response to your email, start your message subject line with IS530. I will reply to your messages as soon as I can. My reply over the weekend may or may not take place depending on availability.
Submission of Assignments
Submit the assignments in class in hard copy.

Organizing the Assignments
In general, provide the following information for each assignment you submit. Additional guidelines for completing each assignment are found under the Assignments & Projects link.

Late assignments
Assignments are due on the date indicated in the course schedule and the assignments page. Each late assignment will receive a reduced credit of 3 points, unless I am advised at least one day in advance about a delayed submission and given a legitimate reason.

Lecture Notes
Most lecture notes will be posted in the morning of the class meeting. Make sure you download the notes prior to each class meeting. Note that lecture notes do not substitute for the assigned readings and that content covered in the notes, class demos., and class discussions will be part of the Tests.
Disabilities and/or Special Needs
Please contact the Office of Disability Services at 191 Hoskins Library (865.974.6087) if you need course adaptations or any other accommodations. The office staff will work with you to arrive at the appropriate program and will register you for the services needed. Please contact me about this matter if you need to discuss appropriate solutions.
Class Participation
In a professional environment you would be conversing with your colleagues. I expect a similar effort in this class because information sharing, interaction, and collaboration are essential components of learning. Being a team player, keeping up with the assigned readings, and participating in class discussions counts toward your class participation grade (5%).

You are encouraged to ask questions and participate in class discussions. Please refrain from using computers during lectures as they will distract your classmates. You will be given time to use computers for hands-on class activities.

Attendance
Attendance of class sessions is expected because class discussions are an important part of mastering the content of the course. There will be live demos of searching databases and search engines, as well as using social networking sites. If you miss out on these topics, you will be at a disadvantage. If you miss a class, you will be responsible for taking notes and catching up with the course content.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Make sure you provide attribution to the sources you use for the assignments and project. If you fail to do so, you will be plagiarising. Remember that cheating and plagiarism are violations of scholarly and professional ethics as well as UT policy. If you cheat or plagiarize, you will fail the course and could face further actions such as suspension from the academic program and UT. Further information is available in the latest Hill Topics, the UTK Student Handbook.
Readings and Course Reserve
Readings that are not from the class textbook will either be provided on course reserve via Course Reserves located at Hodges Library. Search either under my name or the course number.
Formatting Sources
Use any standard style manual for citing sources and remain consistent in formatting cited sources.

Grades

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale
A 93-100%Excellent
B+86-92%Very Good
B80-85%Good
C+75-79%Marginal
C70-74%Below graduate level

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on the following activities
Assignment 1: Users, mediators, and information sources & services: Field observation20%
Assignment 2: Information tools and user queries15%
Assignment 3: Searching IRs15%
Assignment 4/Team Project: Digital Query Anwering 25%
Tests20%
Class engagement, keeping up with assigned readings, and effective communication with instructor and classmates 5%

Course Schedule

8/25: Course introduction; overview of reference & information service
Readings: Ford, chap. 1
Class dynamics: Discussion of student experiences with information use
9/1: Selection & evaluation of information sources & services
Readings: Ford, chaps. 1 & 3
Class dynamics: Discussion of readings
Due: Identification of library to visit for Assignment #1
9/8: Information tools (APTs or Answer-Providing Tools)
Readings: Ford, chaps. 4-8
Familiarize yourself with the sources in these chapters
Class Dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
9/15: Information tools (cont'd.)
Readings:
Class dynamics: Discussion of information tools and purposes
Due: Assignment #1: Field observation.
9/22: Database structure in Web search engines & directories; indexing techniques; Web spiders/crawlers; search logic

Readings and Website exploration:



Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due: Oral class discussion of Google and Yahoo search features.

9/29: Dialog system
Information transfer life cycle; Dialog database structure; Introduction to searching Dialog databases; Searching non command-driven databases


Readings:
Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due: Take Home Test#1

10/6: Google/Yahoo/Dialog databases/non command-driven databases/print sources
Readings:


Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due: Assignment #3: Lab Book, Chap. 1, Parts 1 & 2.
10/13: Digital reference; Web 2.0 & social networking; mobile libraries
Readings and Web exploration: Digital Reference

Readings and Web exploration: Web 2.0 & social networking


Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due: Assignment#2: Information tools; Assignment #3: Lab Book, Chap. 2, Parts 3 & 4.
10/20: Controlled vocabulary vs. free-text/keyword searching
Readings:
Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due:Assignment #3: Lab Book, Chap. 3, Parts 5 & 6.
10/27: Advanced searching (Google & databases)
Readings and Web exploration:
Class dynamics: Demos, discussions, hands-on
Due: Assignment #3: Lab Book, Chap. 4, Part 7.
11/3: Matching APTs to user information needs; relevance & pertinence; IR performance measures
Readings: Class dynamics: Discussion of readings
Due: Assignment #3: Lab Book Chap 5, Part 8.
11/10: User mediation; diversity & cultural aspects; issues in sterotyping users
Readings:
Class dynamics: Class discussion of readings.
Due: Assignment #4: IPL and other query answering web services
11/17: User mediation (cont'd.); Practice with Searching
Readings: See previous week
11/24: User information behavior
Readings:
Class dynamics: Class discussion of readings.
Due: Test #2
12/1: Practice with Searching; Course review and wrap-up
Assignment 4/Team Project is due on 12/3. OPTIONAL/BONUS submission: Lab Book, Chap. 6 - Dialog Search is due on 12/1.
Last updated on 11/13/09