This course focuses on advanced search strategies and techniques required to effectively and efficiently use online databases and sources for locating research materials. It is designed around a series of hands-on exercises and projects that allow students to apply the concepts, principles, and resources covered in class in meeting the information needs of researchers. The course is primarily designed for students planning to work in research libraries and information centers.
Course Goals and Objectives:
- Develop an understanding of the interpersonal and communication skills needed to carry out successful interviews and searches
- Learn various ways to analyze inquiries and identify keywords and other search concepts in an information request in order to properly assess clients' information needs
- Learn query languages of several commercially available online systems
- Develop advanced skills in search strategy formulation and database selection for effective online searching
- Develop ability to effectively use online thesauri, subject heading lists, and other controlled vocabulary tools
- Learn to interpret, evaluate, and present search results
The goals and objectives of the course will be achieved through readings, lectures, in-class discussions, examination and use of key retrieval systems, assignments, and two term projects.
EXPECTATIONS
- This course heavily relies on lecturing and in-class activities which necessitate regular attendance. The in-class activities will generate a considerable amount of student questions that will require the instructor's immediate attention and patience and tolerance from everyone.
- All readings and assignments must be completed prior to class. This is necessary for you to understand the content and make the best out of each class.
- If you must miss a class because of an illness or family emergency, please let the instructor know. Also make arrangements with your classmates to pick up class notes. One grade will be deducted from your final grade for each absence (e.g., from A to A-). If you miss two classes, you will be asked to drop the course.
- Use Chicago Manual of Style for citing and listing sources in your projects.
- You will abide by the Indiana University and SLIS policies on academic dishonesty. Students found to be engaging in plagiarism, cheating, or other types of dishonesty will be reported to the Dean's Office for appropriate action. There is extensive documentation and discussion of the issue of academic dishonesty in the Indiana University "Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct." Of particular relevance is the section on plagiarism:
- A grade of Incomplete (I) may be given in this course after discussion with the instructor, but, depending on the circumstances, there will be a penalty applied at the discretion of the instructor.
- The instructor reserves the right to make, with notice, adjustments to the calendar and content of the course syllabus.
- All assignments must be handed in on their due dates. If you cannot deliver an assignment or a project on the date it is due, it is your responsibility to discuss your situation with the instructor, preferably in advance. LATE assignments will automatically lose one-letter grade from the grade they would have gotten had they been turned in on time. In case an absence is inevitable on a day an assignment is due, e-mail the assignment beforehand to the instructor to avoid the penalty.
ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION
Assignments will be made throughout the semester to familiarize you with sources, systems, and interview and search strategies and techniques. All assignments are graded and will be discussed when they are handed in and when returned to you. Unless otherwise stated, group work is not allowed. The assignments for the course include:
- Three DIALOG assignments (10% each for a total of 30%)
- Database/online searching assignment (20%)
- Two client search assignments (20% each for a total of 40%)
- Attendance and participation 10%
Each assignment is designed so you will have opportunities to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the course materials, demonstrate originality and creativity, and exceed the course expectations. Your class attendance/participation is also an important factor in determining your grade for the course.
With regard to participation, it should be noted that there is no straight method for calculating participation points; this portion of your grade will be determined by synthesizing a tally of your attendence and my own subjective impressions of your enthusiasm for the course material and active and meaningful participation in the discussion of readings and lecture topics in the classroom.
GRADING
Grades will be assigned on an A, B, C bases. The following definitions of letter grades have been defined by student and faculty members of the Committee on Improvement of Instruction and have been approved by the faculty (November 11, 1996) as an aid in evaluation of academic performance and to assist students by giving them an understanding of grading standards at SLIS.
| Grade |
GPA |
MEANING |
| A |
4.0 |
Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations. |
| A- |
3.7 |
Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner. |
| B+ |
3.3 |
Very good work. Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus. |
| B |
3.0 |
Good work. Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and is at an acceptable level. |
| B- |
2.7 |
Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials. |
C+
C
|
2.3
2.0 |
Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials. |
C-
D+
D
D- |
1.7
1.3
1.0
.07 |
Unacceptable work. Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree. For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course with a passing grade. |
| F |
0.0 |
Failing. Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean. |
Please note that all assignments and most readings can be accessed through ERes. Also note that this course demands a HEAVY commitment of your time. It is expected that you will spend an average of 18 hours each week on attendance, readings, and assignments.
READINGS
Unless otherwise indicated, all readings are available on ERes. In addition to the weekly readings, you will occasionally consult the following DIALOG products:
- Dialog Corporation. Dialog Bluesheets. Bluesheets are written guides for every database on the Dialog service. They contain detailed instructions on search techniques for the special features of each database, including file description, subject coverage, date range, update frequency, sources of the data, and the origin of the information. On the Bluesheet you will also find a sample record that shows what you can expect to obtain when you perform a search in the database. In the Search Options section, you will see the field labels that you can use to focus or narrow your search, as well as examples of how to use them online. Bluesheets on the Web are updated regularly and reflect the most current database information available. A current list of Bluesheets can be viewed by: (1) Database Name; (2) Database Number; (3) Subject; (4) OneSearch Options/Groups; (5) Search Index Options; and (6) Database Terms and Conditions.
- Dialog Corporation. Dialog Pocket Guide. Provides a brief summary of the most common Dialog commands and features encountered by users. It is intended as a quick reference resource. For additional commands and more extensive explanations and examples, use Successful Searching on Dialog.
SCHEDULE
May 07: COURSE INTRODUCTION; WHY DIALOG; BASIC DIALOG TOOLS; DATABASE STRUCTURE
Readings:
- Drabenstott, K. M. (2004). Why I still teach online searching. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 45(1), 75-80.
- Othman, R., & Halim, N. S. (2004). Retrieval features for online databases: Common, unique, and expected. Online Information Review, 28(3), 200-210.
- Tenopir, C. (2001). Why I still teach dialog. Library Journal, 126(8), 35-36.
- Tenopir, C. (2002). Sorting through online systems. Library Journal, 127(8), 32, 34.
- Tenopir, C. (2002). Disappearing databases. Library Journal, 127(20), 38, 40.
- Wilson, P. (1992). Searching: Strategies and evaluation. In For information specialists: Interpretations of reference and bibliographic work (pp. 153-181). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
May 09: BASIC DIALOG COMMANDS AND SEARCHING
Readings:
- Basch, R. (1993). Secrets of the super searchers: Planning search strategies. Online, 17(5), 52-58.
- Dialog lab workbook. Chapters 1, 2, and 4.
- Quint, B. (1991). Inside a searcher's mind: The seven stages of an online search--part 1. Online 15(3), 13-18.
- Quint, B. (1991). Inside a searcher's mind: The seven stages of an online search--part 2. Online 15(4), 28-35.
May 12: CONTROLLED VOCABULARY VS. NATURAL LANGUAGE; THESAURI
Readings:
- Dialog Lab Workbook. Chapters 3 & 7.
- Tenopir, C. (1999). Human or automated, indexing is important. Library Journal, 124(18), 34, 38.
May 14: DATABASE SELECTION; SEARCHING MULTIPLE DATABASES
Readings:
DUE: Dialog Assignment #1
May 16: CITATION SEARCHING
Readings:
- Dialog Lab Workbook. Chapter 9.
- Tenopir, C. (2001). The power of citation searching. Library Journal, 126(18), 39-40.
May 19: MORE CITATION SEARCHING
Readings:
- Ballard, S., & Henry, M. (2006). Citation searching: New players, new tools. Searcher, 14(9), 24-33.
- Falagas, M. E., Pitsouni, E. I., Malietzis, G. A., & Pappas, G. (2008). Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: Strengths and weaknesses. The FASEB Journal, 22, 338-342.
- Jacso, P. (2008). Amazon, Google Book Search, and Google Scholar. Online, 31(1), 51-54.
- Jacso, P. (2008). Google Scholar revisited. Online Information Review, 32(1), 102-114.
DUE: Dialog Assignment #2
May 21: CSA, EBSCO, GALE, OVID, PROQUEST
May 23: DATABASES FOR NON-PERIODICAL LITERATURE
DUE: Dialog Assignment #3
May 28: CLIENT SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
DUE: Database/online searching assignment
May 30: LEXIS-NEXIS, FACTIVA, NEWSPAPER DATABASES
June 02: CLIENT SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
June 04: OPEN ACCESS SOURCES
Readings:
- Jacso, P. (2006). Open access to scholarly indexing/abstracting information. Online Information Review, 30(4), 461-468.
- Jacso, P. (2006). Open access to scholarly full-text documents. Online Information Review, 30(5), 587-594.
- Jacso, P. (2006). Open access ready reference suites. Online Information Review, 30(6), 737-743.
DUE: Two Client Search Assignments