Course Description
An introduction to the universe of print and electronic information sources. Students examine how information is organized and presented, learn basic information retrieval techniques such as how to search library catalogues, periodical databases and the Internet, and develop information retrieval strategies to support their academic research. 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, half course.

Course Readings:
Books and photocopies eg Buckland (#2129), Crawford (#2007), Kuhlthau (#3777), and Walker (#2158) are in the 2 hr Reserve collection at The D.B.Weldon Library. Electronic readings are linked to the course website.

Bolner, Myrtle S., and Gayle A. Poirier. The Research Process: Books and Beyond. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1997. Z710.B64 1997 (Selected pages)

Buckland, Michael. Information and Information Systems. New York: Greenwood, 1991. (Ch 1,4,5) Z699.B83 1991

Bush,Vannevar. As we may think. The Atlantic Monthly 176.1 (1945): 101-108. (On Web or Ch 3 reprint in Walker)

Crawford, Susan, Julie M. Hurd, and Ann C. Weller (eds). From Print to Electronic: the transformation of scientific communication. Medford,NJ: Information Today, 1996. (Ch 2) Q223.C73 1996

Kulhthau, Carol.C. Inside the search process. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42.2 (1991): 361-371. (photocopy # 3777)

Walker, Geraldene. (ed), Information Environment: a Reader. New York: G.K. Hall, 1992. (Ch 2,3) Z665.I579 1992

The mid-term test and the final examination will be multiple choice format. You are responsible for materials presented in the readings, website, lectures and labs.

Please note that course related e-mail communication uses UWO e-mail accounts only.

Attendance at the labs is mandatory! The TAs will take attendance and any student who has missed more than one lab without asking permission in advance will be refused permission to write the final exam. Lab reports should be handed in to your TA as indicated. Extensions are not permitted. Reports will be evaluated by the TA using marking schemes supplied by the Instructor. Before lab 2, you will need to establish a printing account valid for use in any public lab. This account is set up by ITS - Information Technology Services (Natural Sciences Centre, 2^nd Floor) and requires a minimum balance of $5.00.

Conflicts
It is your responsibility to advise the Instructor or your TA of scheduling conflicts or situations which compromise your attendance or ability to hand in work at the assigned times. This must be done at least 3 days in advance of the date (except for emergencies) and includes weekends. Documentation received from Student Health Services, doctor's offices and the Academic Counsellor in your Dean's office is accepted as standard practice, so that you are not penalized for your absence. Please refer to items 26 - 27 on the yellow handout "Information for MIT Students".

Plagiarism and Collaboration
Students are reminded that plagiarism, the unacknowledged borrowing of another's words or ideas, is a serious scholastic offence and will result in academic penalties. For further details, please refer to the "Information for MIT Students" (yellow handout), items 31 - 33, or the University of Western Ontario's 2002 Academic Calendar p.32, or http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/ACCALS/2002/sec_222.htm

All of the assignments which you submit (lab reports, term project, tests and exam) must be your own independent work. You are permitted to discuss general issues with each other while completing your lab work and term project, however, the final result must be your own.

The University of Western Ontario uses software checking for plagiarism checking. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking.

Term Project
This assignment involves the production of a Resource Guide on a topic of interest to you, and is designed to demonstrate your critical thinking abilities with respect to information resources and retrieval strategies. Throughout the course, you are expected to select relevant items for your Resource Guide. This will give you the opportunity to directly apply your studies week-by-week and to create a unique project.

The Resource Guide is not intended to be "The Definitive List" of sources, but a well chosen selection, evaluated using criteria presented during the course.

The typed document is due at the beginning of class on November 18, 2002. Extensions are not permitted, (see Conflicts above).You have the option to hand in a draft of 1 entry for your Resource Guide in Lab 6 ONLY (week of Oct 28) for feedback.

The Resource Guide should function as a practical starting point for your defined user, to introduce him/her to a range of information sources on the topic. Hint: Be specific e.g. first year nursing students or third year economics students. The items should be available in the University Library System since you will need to look at them to assess them thoroughly.

Select a topic of interest to you, and discuss it with your TA during Lab 1 to get feedback and approval on its scope and feasibility. The topic will be confirmed during Labs 2 and 3. If you decide to change your topic after this approval, you should contact your TA. However, the project will be subject to 5% penalty per week starting with Week 5 (Oct 7). It is important to select a topic which is neither too general nor too narrow. For example, when considering all parts of #3 below, "Sports" would be too general; "Volleyball in Canada" may be more suitable; "Canadian volleyball statistics" might be too narrow.

What should you include? Your guide should include the following:

1. Your name, student number, lab section and topic title.
   
   
2. An introduction which outlines the scope of your selected topic and the audience/user group for whom the Resource Guide is intended. This should not exceed one half of a single spaced page. (15 marks)
   
   
3. The following types of resources must be included:
   1. a dictionary or handbook*
   2. a directory*
   3. an encyclopedia article
   4. 1 newspaper article*
   5. 2 scholarly journal articles*, one of which is a review article (book or literature review)
   6. 1 article which cites either article from number (v)
   7. 1 monograph*
   8. 1 government publication* (any format, any type of resource, any jurisdiction)
   9. 1 Internet resource (not a personal Website)
   10. 2 periodical indexes or databases not already used for finding items iv-vi and which refer to or contain relevant articles about your topic.
        
4. A complete citation for each item. Indicate which ONE of the following style formats is being used:
   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 5^th ed. DBW circ BF76 .7.A46 2001
   MLA Handbook for writers of research papers 5^th ed. DBW/TAY reference LB2369.M57 1999
   These are summarized at http://www.lib.uwo.ca/weldon/docs/styleguides.shtml
   
   Additional  guidelines Citing Government Publications are also available from this page (for item viii). For item x include Title, dates covered, format [eg CD-ROM], place of publication, publisher. (14 marks)
   
   
5. An outline of your search strategy - to indicate how you discovered the item. For example: name the specific database(s) and search terms. (12 marks)
   
   
6. A brief annotation (description) of the item. This should not exceed 5-6 lines. Based on the evaluation criteria covered in the course, summarize the strengths and/or weaknesses of the item ie Why you think it is valuable to include in your list. More than "just a description" of the resource, your annotation should assess the way the information is organized and presented. (36 marks)
   
   
7. Provide one controlled vocabulary term for each item marked with an asterisk* on the list above [items i, ii, iv, v, vii, viii]. (7 marks)
   
   
8. Include the location, or call number & location codes as appropriate. Append a printout of the first page of any web-based resource. (6 marks)

Please note: Marks are also assigned for grammar, spelling, assessment of strategies and/or presentation of material (10 marks).

MIT 026a Course Outline

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