INLS 500, Spring 2007 -- Course Outline



1. Introduction
        Objective:  Students should be able to define some of the basic concepts of the course.
Thursday, January 11,  Review course requirements, readings, assignments, and expectations.

        View the EPIC video:  http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/epic    and discuss in class.


2. Overview
Objective:  Students will identify the theoretical overview and context for exploring human information interaction.
Tuesday, January 16,  Perspectives on communication and fundamentals of interaction.
Reading:
  • Pierce, J. (1972). Communication. Scientific American, 227(3):31-41. (course documents section of Blackboard site, photocopy in PAM box)
  • Shedroff, Nathan (2000). Information interaction design: A unified field theory of design. http://www.nathan.com/thoughts/unified/

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    3.  Recognition and Identification of Information Needs
    Objective:    Students will define motivations for information seeking, discover some of the barriers and problems people face when they seek information, and describe some of the concepts researchers in the field apply to these problems.
     
    Thursday, January 18, Perspectives on the causes/motivation for information seeking.
    Reading:
  • Belkin, N. (1980). Anomalous states of knowledge as a basis for information retrieval.  Canadian Journal of Information Science, 5:133-143.  (on e-reserve, PAM box)
  • Wilson, T.D. (2006). Information-seeking behaviour and the digital information world. The Indexer, 25 (1) April: 28-31. (available campus e-journals)

    • Tuesday, January 23, Perspectives on the causes/motivation for information seeking (cont.)

    Thursday, January 25, Analyzing information needs and recognizing barriers.

    Reading:
    Chatman, E. (1996). The impoverished life-world of outsiders. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(3):193-206, 1996.  (on reserve in PAM box, e-journals, bound journals)
    4. Resolving information needs
    Objective:  Students will be able to describe techniques and strategies people use as they seek answers to questions, and will be able to explain why information behaviors may be affected by the information-seeking context.

    Tuesday, January 30, Information seeking methods and sources.

    Reading:
    Marchionini, G. (1995).  Information-seeking perspective and framework. Information Seeking in Electronic Environments.  NY: Cambridge University Press.  Chapter 3, pages 27-60. (book on reserve shelf; also available online at http://ils.unc.edu/~march/isee_book/Chapter_3.pdf, diagrams on blackboard site)
    Solomon, P. (1997).  Conversation in information-seeking contexts: A test of an analytical framework.  Library & Information Science Research, 19(3):217-248.  (on reserve in PAM box, bound journals, also available online through UNC e-journals)
     

    Thursday, February 1, Information retrieval:  Analytical strategies

    Reading:
     

    Belkin, N.J. (2000).  Helping people find what they don't know. Communications of the ACM, 43(8):59-61. (on reserve in PAM box, e-journals)

    Marchionini, G. (1995).  Analytical search strategies.  Information Seeking in Electronic Environments.  NY: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 5, pages 76-99). (book on reserve shelf; also available online at http://ils.unc.edu/~march/isee_book/Chapter_5.pdf, diagram on blackboard site)

    Assignment 1 is due.

    Tuesday, February 6, Information retrieval:  Browsing

              Reading:

    Marchionini, G. (1995).  Browsing strategies.  Information Seeking in Electronic Environments.  NY: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 6, pages 100-138). (book on reserve shelf; also available at http://ils.unc.edu/~march/isee_book/Chapter_6.pdf, diagrams on blackboard site)

    Optional:

    Choo, C.W., Detlor, B., and Turnbull, D. (2000). Information seeking on the Web: An integrated model of browsing and searching.  Firstmonday, 5(2): http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_2/choo/index.html

    Thursday, February 8, Summary and Discussion

                        Discussion of issues and topics to date.

    Tuesday, February 13, Information seeking contexts - professionals and organizations.

    Reading:
    Leckie, G.J., Pettigrew, K.E., and Sylvain, C.  (1996).  Modeling the information seeking of professionals: a general model derived from research on engineers, health care professionals, and lawyers. Library Quarterly, 66(2):161-193.  (bound journals, on e-reserve, in PAM box)

    Kuhlthau, C.C. & Tama, S.L. (2001). Information search process of lawyers: A call for 'just for me' information services.  Journal of Documentation, 57 (1): 25-43. (campus e-journals)

    Thursday, February 15, Information seeking contexts - information grounds and everyday information seeking

    Fisher, K.E., Durrance, J.C., and Hinton, M.B. (2004). Information grounds and the use of need-based services by immigrants in Queens, New York: A context-based, outcome evaluation approach. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 55 (8): 754-766. (e-journals, also current periodicals)

            Tuesday, February 20, KILGOUR LECTURE - Class will meet at the School of Social Work

            Thursday, February 22, The need to know.

                Reading:

    Williamson, K. (1998).  Discovered by chance: the role of incidental information acquisition in an ecological model of information use. Library & Information Science Research, 20(1):23-40. (bound journals, on reserve in PAM box; also available online through UNC e-journals)

    Ross, C.S. (1999). Finding without seeking: the information encounter in the context of reading for pleasure. Information Processing & Management, 35 (6): 783-799.


    5.  The Role of the Intermediary in Information Seeking and Retrieval.
    Objective: Students will be able to describe the role of intermediaries in information-seeking and to describe the challenges intermediaries face in this role.
    Tuesday, February 27, Methods and means of intermediation.
    Reading:

    Taylor, R.S. (1968).  Question negotiation and information seeking in libraries.  College & Research Libraries, 29(3):178-194, 1968. (on e-reserve, in PAM box, bound journals)

    Thursday, March 1, Technology and intermediation.
    Reading:
    Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2000).  Agents and angels.  In The Social Life of Information. pages 35-62 (on e-reserve, PAM box and shelf)

                       


    6.  The Use of Information.
    Objective:  Students will be able to explain how the use of information differs from retrieval.  Students will also be able to provide one or more definitions of relevance and ways of measuring it.
    Tuesday, March 6, Assessment of Value
    Reading:
    Amento, B.L. (2000).  Does authority mean quality? Predicting expert quality ratings of web documents.  (supplemental readings, ACM portal).
    Thursday, March 8, Relevance
    Reading:
    Schamber, L., Eisenberg, M.B., and Nilan, M.S. (1990).  A re-examination of relevance: toward a dynamic, situational definition. Information Processing & Managment, 26(6):755-776, 1990.  (on e-reserve, in PAM box, bound journals)

    Team Project Idea is Due (1-2 page description)

     Assignment 2 is Due

    SPRING BREAK - No class March 13 or March 15


    7.  The Dissemination of Information

    Objective:  Students will be able to describe ways that information is shared within and between organizations and describe the role that technology has and can play in information dissemination.  Additionally, students will be able to discuss unintended effects of technology, the ways that technology has influenced the way we communicate that were unforeseen.

    Tuesday, March 20, Diffusion theory, social network theory and the sharing of technology.

    Reading:
    Rogers, E. (1995).  Elements of diffusion.  In Diffusion of Innovations, 4th ed.  NY: Macmillan.  (on Blackboard, in PAM box, shelf).

    Garton, L., Haythornthwaite, C., & Wellman, B. (1997).  Studying online social networks.  Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3(1) at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue1/garton.html  (online)


    8.  Scholarly Communication
    Objective:  Students will be able to describe the cycle of scholarly communication, explore some of the techniques used to measure the significance and impact of scholarly communication, and identify the challenges facing those who are concerned with disseminating and sharing the results of scholarly communication.
    Thursday, March 22,  The cycle of scholarly communication.
    Reading:
    Kling, R. & McKim, G. (1999).  Scholarly communication and the continuum of electronic publishing.  Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(10):890-906.  (bound journals, e-journals)

    Nasser, R. and Abouchedid, K. (2001).  Problems and the epistemology of electronic publishing in the Arab World: the case of Lebanon. Firstmonday, 6(9).  http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_9/nasser/

     Tuesday, March 27, Technology and scholarly communication

    Reading:
    Zhao, J. L. and Resh, V.H. (2001).  Internet publishing and transformation of knowledge processes.  Communications of the ACM, 44(12):103-109.  (e-journals, ACM DL)

    9.  Organizational contexts for communication
    Objective:  Students will be able to identify ways that organizations and social groups influence information seeking and use, and will define the challenges facing individuals and organizations in distributed environments.
    Thursday, March 29,  Organizational information seeking
     

    Reading:

    Tannen, D. (1995).  The power of talk: who gets heard and why. Harvard Business Review, 73:138-148. (on e-reserve, PAM box)
    Tuesday, April 3,  Information sharing in organizations
    Reading:

    Constant, D., Kiesler, S., & Sproull, L. (1994).  What's mine is ours, or is it? a study of attitudes about information sharing. Information Systems Research, 5(4):400-421.  (on e-reserve, in PAM box, bound journals)

    Thursday, April 5, Technology and organizational communication
     

    Reading:
    Lippincott, J.K. (2005). Net generation students and libraries. In D.G. Oblinger & J.L. Oblinger (Eds.) Educating the Net Generation. Educause. Available at http://www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen and on through the Blackboard site.

    Tuesday, April 10,  Controlling interaction and managing overload.

            Reading:

    Levy, D.M. (2005). To grow in wisdom: Vannevar Bush, information overload, and the life of leisure.  Proceedings of the 5th ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, pages 281-286. (e-journals: ACM Digital Library)

    Thursday, April 12, Communication costs.

        Reading:

    Shneiderman, B. (2000). Universal usability.  Communications of the ACM, 43 (5): 85-91.  (ACM Portal, e-journals, bound journals)

    Assignment 3 is due.

    10.  Policy Issues

              Tuesday, April 17, Access to information and information technology: fair use

    Reading:

    Thatcher, Sanford G. (2006). Fair Use in Theory and Practice: Reflections on its History and the Google Case.  Journal of Scholarly Publishing, April: 215-229. (Available through campus e-journals - via Project MUSE)

    ALA Resolution on the Patriot Act, http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/theusapatriotact/alaresolution.htm

        

    Thursday, April 19,  Ownership and protection of information.

    Reading:

    Roel, Eulalia (2005). Intellectual Property: Ethical Economics. Journal of Information Ethics, Spring: 60-63. (Available through campus e-journals)

    11. Project Presentations

     Tuesday, April 24, Presentations (1st half)

    Thursday, April 26, Presentations (2nd half)

     

    Final Projects are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 4


    Last updated 1/2/2007