SAN 101.R Section Z (Spring'98)

Beyond the Internet: Electronic Infomation Retrieval Essentials

1 hour, credit/no credit



Instructor: Jenny Presnell
279 King Library
529-3937
presnej@muohio.edu





Course Objectives
This course is intended to enhance information literacy; to enable students to develop self sufficiency in the use of on-line electronic information sources and in techniques of finding, analyzing and evaluating information found there. Includes learning to select topics and concepts, developing search strategies, selecting appropriate resources, searching and obtaining information, evaluating information. To reduce overlap with SAN 101i, we will not be covering Web guides and search engines in this class. Sign up for SAN 101i for an in depth discussion of internet resources.




Evaluation and Grading

This course is only offered credit/no credit and therefore you will not receive a letter grade. However, I will figure letter grades, so that if you wish to know your progress, you can. Also, to receive credit, you must earn a final average of C or above. To pass you must fulfill:


Grades are figured:

Class Attendence 10 points (one for each class)
Homework and in class assignments 40 points
Final Project/ Exam 50 points





Readings

There is no text book for this class. Readings will be placed on reserve or linked in the class outline.

Class Schedudule

WEEK 1


March 30
Administrative Issues
Description of Course
Producers of Information and Access in the Information Society

Readings:
We Have the Information You Want, But Getting it Will Cost You: Being Held Hostage by Information Overload.
Available from: http://info.acm.org/crossroads/xrds1-1/mnelson.html

Why Information Literacy
Available from: http://www.uovs.ac.za/commserv/grownet/projects/infolit/whyinf2.htm

Cleveland, Harlan. Age of Spreading Knowledge. The Futurist. v24 (Mar/Apr 1990):35-39.
Available from: full text in Periodical Abstracts and electronic reserve

Sale, Kirkpatrick, etal. Information Technology: Boon or Bane. The Futurist. 31 (Jan/Feb, 1997): 10-15.
Available from: full text in Periodical Abstracts and electronic reserve


April 1
Defining topics, designing searches and using a database.
(keyword and subject searching, boolean logic, truncation)
Finding books at Miami

Readings:

Electronic Database Basics From Gustavus Adolphus College.
Available from: http://www.gac.edu/Academics/Resources/Library/tutbasics.htm

A Boolean logic primer
Available from http://www.albany.edu/library/internet/boolean.html

Exercise 1

WEEK 2



April 6
Finding Books outside of Miami: OhioLINK, Worldcat and other libraries

Readings:
Advanced Search Techniques
Available from: http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/77advanc.htm

Exercise 1 due
Exercise 2

April 8
Popular and Scholarly Periodical Articles
Uisng a General Periodical Index.

Readings:
Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals
Available from: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill20.html

Bodi. "Scholarship or Propoganda: How Can Librarians Help Undergraduates Tell the Difference?" Journal of Academic Librarianship. 21(Jan. 1995):21-25. on electronic reserve

Rodgers, Sharon, etal. How Scholarly Communication Should Work in the 21st Century. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 36 (Oct 18,1989): A56
Available from: full text in Periodical Abstracts and on electronic reserve

Exercise 2 due
Exercise 3

WEEK 3

April 13
Specialized Journal Indexes

Exercies 3 due
Exercise 4


April 15
Newspapers and online/full text databases and resources

Exercise 4 due
Exercise 5

WEEK 5

April 20
Evaluation of sources

Why we need to evaluate what we find on the Internet
Available from: http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/~techman/eval.html

Fink. Deborah. Process and Politics in Library Research. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1989. Read chapter 10 -- Critical Evaluation on electronic reserve.

Exercise 5 due
Exercise 6

April 22
Reference works and Special Databases
(types of reference matierials. finding book reviews, biographical information, directories, company information, country information, statistics, financial information, literary criticism, chemical information, encyclopedias, handbook information, consumer and medical information)

Readings:
Bolner, Myrtle S. etal. The Research Process: Books and Beyond. Dubuque, IA.: Kendall-Hunt, 1997. Read chapter 8 -- Reference Resources
on electronic reserve.

Exercise 6 due
Exercise 7

WEEK 5


April 27
Reference works continued

Exercise 7 due
Exercise 8 due at end of class


April 29
Final
Information Society