Bryant & Stratton College
Course Syllabus COMM 150 Introduction to Information Literacy and Research
Semester Credit Hours: 3 Lecture: 3 Lab: 0 Internship: 0
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: Caroline DaSilva MEETING TIME: M 6p-850p //ROOM 111
Skills Assistance Time: After most classes; during labs; & by appointment TERM: Spring 2010
PREREQUISITE(S)
None COREQUISITE(S)
INSM180 History and Practice of Information Systems Date of Last Revision
Spring 2010
PROFICIENCY AVAILABLE: YES RESEARCH REQUIRED: YES
COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Students will study the evolution of information and the impact of technology on research. Students will learn how to access, evaluate, and synthesize acquired research. The research process and papers include a history of the careers along with the assignments on how changes in technology have impacted the communication processes in the career field.
LIFELONG LEARNING:
Bryant & Stratton College seeks to develop lifelong learning competencies in all students through the development of information literacy skills that assist students to formulate essential questions, research and apply the answers, and communicate the results within the dynamic communities of college, career, and life.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Assess how modern society represents, processes, and communicates information through technology-driven channels. This will include a study of how society has used technology in the past to communicate specific messages.
2. Evaluate how technology can represent findings in a variety of textual and graphic methods that rely on low, medium, and high technology communication platforms.
3. Effectively use public access catalogs, bibliographies, and full-text and bibliographic databases.
4. Develop and refine search techniques for electronic, print, and Internet resources.
5. Identify different information formats and then choose the most appropriate format(s) for each research need.
6. Demonstrate an awareness of political, social, legal, economic, and intellectual property issues relevant to print and electronic resources and successfully avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement.
7. Evaluate information for reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view.
8. Cite bibliographic references in APA format, properly instructing bibliographies and reference lists in research papers and assignments.
9. Investigate personal and professional interests, strengths and skills.
10. Perform research on career development and lifelong learning opportunities.
11. Complete a written career-related research project. Present research findings on career development and lifelong learning through discussion and other oral presentation formats.
PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT
The Portfolio Development Day Seminar is intended to provide introduction and support to the Portfolio Development Process. Participation and completion of assessment, due at the conclusion of the seminar, will represent 5% of the final grade.
INSTITUTIONAL OUTCOMES:
Bryant & Stratton College is a lifelong learning institution committed to teaching people “how to learn” and to value lifelong learning related to career longevity. To complement the technical program outcomes associated with a career field, the College supports the following institutional outcomes within all degree programs.
As a result of their Bryant & Stratton College experience, graduates develop critical skills and should be able to:
1. Employ information literacy skills through the effective use of technology and information resources to accomplish a goal.
2. Pursue new learning opportunities within their community and career for personal and professional growth.
3. Develop thinking processes and utilize learning strategies to understand their metacognitive abilities.
4. Transfer knowledge from life lessons and formal instruction to new situations as evidence of relational learning.
5. Demonstrate proficient mathematic and communication (written and oral) skills as required in the workplace.
MEDIA/EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:
Bryant & Stratton College faculty, as content area experts, selected the following media package for this course. A decision was made from these approved packages and is reflected on the supplemental syllabus.
YOUR TIME COMMITMENT NECESSARY TO EARN COURSE CREDIT:
Bryant & Stratton College would like you to know what will be expected of you to succeed in this course. Each student will participate in the scheduled in-class hours (three 50-minute contact hours – 150 minutes – each week) and dedicate an approximate total of 90 hours during the term for out-of-class preparation and work time. Please schedule yourselves accordingly.
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT:
During this course you will be required to complete at least one authentic assessment that enables you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills through performances or projects that simulate “real world” working situations. You must earn a grade of 70% or higher in order to pass each evaluation. A non-graded diagnostic assessment is provided at the beginning of the course to discover your level of knowledge in order to guide you toward successful completion of course requirements. Your instructor will provide specific grading criteria for this class as well as a detailed list of all assignments and assessments, including the value each will have fro your final grade for the course. By the end of Week 7, your instructor will inform you of your progress in this course.
POLICY ON ASSESSMENT DUE DATES:
Bryant & Stratton’s College educational philosophy is to provide each student with an opportunity to actively learn and demonstrate competencies needed in today’s high performance workplace. Opportunities will be made available for you to reach your maximum learning potential. Until the instructor-assigned due date, you will be able to review, revise, and/or rework your assessments. Just as in the workplace, it is expected that you will complete all assignments and assessments by the due date. Your instructor may deduct credit for assignments turned in after the due date.
SKILLS ASSISTANCE: (supplemental learning options determined by your instructor)
You will be required to attend Skills Assistance if your instructor determines, at any time during the semester, that you need additional help in order to progress successfully in the course. At Skills Assistance you will be able to receive additional help to address deficiencies, answer questions, and identify strategies to be successful in this course. Skills Assistance meeting times and place will be provided by your instructor.
PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE:
Bryant & Stratton College believes regular class attendance is necessary for you to receive the maximum benefit from your education, as well as to develop the professional work habits and attitudes highly valued by the business community. In order to successfully attain your college degree, you must be committed to your course of study and demonstrate that commitment through regular class attendance, active participation in the learning experience, and completion of all assigned work. It is your responsibility to make arrangements with your instructors to receive any assignments you may have missed as a result of absences.
Absences are recorded daily, become a part of your permanent record, and may be referred to by future employers. Attendance is taken in all classes and labs, at your internship site, and during all mandatory skills assistance sessions.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
homework for May 10, Correct your diagnostic assessment and bring it to class
There could be a quiz, you never know...
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT FOR LIBS 100:
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY AND RESEARCH
Directions:
The purpose of this diagnostic evaluation is for your instructor to discover what you already know about researching information and what you need to learn about researching information. This evaluation is not graded; therefore, relax and answer the following questions to the best of your ability in the spaces below.
PART I
Match each term in Column A with the most appropriate definition in Column B. Examine the definitions in the whole table in order to determine the best match (continued on reverse side in most copies of the Diagnostic).
Column A Column B
__2__RAM 1. interface that incorporates movable windows, icons, and a mouse
__5__Operating System 2. memory that functions as the computer’s primary workspace
__12__Blogs 3. a plug-and-play interface for peripheral devices, such as thumb drives.
__1__GUI 4. web sites in which original content on a topic is edited by visitors to the site with a history of their revisions
__3__USB Port 5. program that manages the computer system
__11__Scholarly Journals
6. a publication with either popular, trade, or peer-reviewed articles from different authors, and issued multiple times a year
__4__Wikis
7. unacknowledged use of another person’s words or ideas
__7__Plagiarism
8. a list of citations of works an author refers to in a text (e.g., journal article or book) or a list of citations to works on a particular subject
__10__Abstract
9. a wireless network, whose components are inter-operable and comply with a standard regardless of their manufacturer
__9__Wi-Fi 10. a brief summary of the main
ideas of an article
__8__Bibliography
11. a publication with a regular frequency containing
information written by
experts on current research
in a given field
__6__Periodical
12. online, interactive, and relatively frequent postings of comments on topics of interest to an individual or group
PART II
Read the following questions and check the box next to the best answer for each question.
1. Which of the following is not a searchable field in a library online catalog?
0 a. Subject Heading
0 b. Author
X c. Publisher
0 d. Title
2. Where do you search to find books in a library?
0 a. Reader’s Guide
0 b. ERIC Database
0 c. Yahoo!
X d. Online Public Access Catalog
3. Which of the following is not the correct function of a Boolean operator?
0 a. AND allows you to broaden your search results
0 b. OR allows you to broaden your search results
0 c. NOT allows you to narrow your search results
0 d. AND allows you to narrow your search results
4. The Library of Congress Subject Headings arrange books on the library shelves by:
0 a. Author
0 b. Title
0 c. Year of Publication
0 d. Subject
5. What are two major classification systems used by United States libraries?
0 a. American Library Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
0 b. Dewey Decimal Classification System and Cutter Classification System
0 c. Library of Congress Classification System and American Library
Classification System
0 d. Library of Congress Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
6. When developing a topic for a research paper, it is helpful to state your topic in the form of a question and isolate the key ideas or concepts. A motivational question to ask yourself at the beginning is:
0 a. Who else in my class has chosen the same topic?
0 b. Is there any specific aspect of this topic that I am truly interested in?
0 c. Is there enough material available on the Internet to write a research
paper?
0 d. Do I know how to cite my sources?
7. You should evaluate information found on the Internet because:
0 a. The design of the website changes the information contained there
0 b. Internet information goes through the editorial process before being
uploaded
0 c. Most material published on the Internet has not gone through the
editorial process
0 d. Internet information sources are not acceptable for college level
research
8. To limit your search results in Internet Web directories and search engines, it is helpful to:
0 a. Put asterisks before each search term
0 b. Put question marks around each search term
0 c. Put asterisks after each search term
0 d. Put quotation marks around the words to search as a phrase
9. The most common way to shorten words to search a database is:
0 a. Right-hand truncation
0 b. Wildcard truncation
0 c. Left-hand truncation
0 d. Straight-card truncation
10. When you perform an author search in a library catalog, which do you type first?
0 a. Author’s last name
0 b. Author’s first name
0 c. Author’s salutation
0 d. Title of book
11. The best way to start to research a relatively unfamiliar topic is to acquire an overview of your topic by:
0 a. Finding a bibliography
0 b. Entering a keyword for your topic in one of the general Internet search
engines Either of these are correct!!!
0 c. Consulting an encyclopedia
0 d. Examining a chronology
12. An unabridged dictionary:
0 a. Contains all of the most common words in a language
0 b. Contains only the words appropriate to a specific field
0 c. Contains all the officially recognized words in a language
0 d. Contains only alternate meanings of words
13. Thesauri list:
0 a. Word homonyms
0 b. Word synonyms
0 c. Etymologies
0 d. How a word has been used through the centuries
14. Three major Boolean operators are:
0 a. and, or, not
0 b. If, When, Then
0 c. AND, OR, NOT
0 d. +, /, -
15. The purpose of copyright law is:
0 a. To encourage the development of knowledge through limited rights for
authors, artists, and inventors
0 b. To provide legal protection of human rights
0 c. To make sure each copy of a work is paid for in full
0 d. To prescribe the proper method for citing and crediting sources
16. A main disadvantage of Internet searching for research is:
0 a. Many sources are unreliable
0 b. Search engines do not allow for complex search queries
0 c. Web sites have no cross references to other documents
0 d. You cannot use truncation
17. Which of the following is not an essential component of evaluating Web resources?
0 a. Timeliness
0 b. Accuracy
0 c. Format
0 d. Reliability
18. You are writing a research paper on the war in Iraq and need to narrow down your topic. Which of the following subjects is most narrowed down?
0 a. The findings in a report by General Taguba about prisoner abuse that
took place from October to December in 2003 at the Abu Ghraib U.S.
military prison in Iraq
0 b. The condition of the prisoners who are being held in Guantanamo Bay
0 c. Music, poetry, and other cultural expressions that have been generated
In response to the war in Iraq
0 d. The point of view of young people regarding the war in Iraq and how
this may affect the next presidential election
19. You are researching films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. You are not interested in reading about his earlier films, “Champagne” and “Blackmail.” Which of the following would be the most efficient keyword search for researching this topic?
0 a. Alfred AND Hitchcock NOT Champagne
0 b. Alfred Hitchcock WITHOUT Champagne OR Blackmail
0 c. Alfred Hitchcock AND (Vertigo NOT Champagne)
0 d. Alfred Hitchcock NOT (Blackmail OR Champagne)
PART III
Indicate whether each statement is True or False.
1. Library catalogs (OPACs) provide immediate and direct access to articles
inside periodicals.
True ( ) False ( X )
2. The APA Style requires the use of both in-text citations and References for most types of sources.
True ( X ) False ( )
3. The Wikipedia is an indisputable source of reliable information.
True ( ) False ( X )
4. Articles in trade magazines are generally peer-reviewed.
True ( ) False ( X )
5. The number of times a Web site has been visited is a good measure of its
authoritativeness.
True ( ) False ( X )
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT FOR LIBS 100:
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY AND RESEARCH
Directions:
The purpose of this diagnostic evaluation is for your instructor to discover what you already know about researching information and what you need to learn about researching information. This evaluation is not graded; therefore, relax and answer the following questions to the best of your ability in the spaces below.
PART I
Match each term in Column A with the most appropriate definition in Column B. Examine the definitions in the whole table in order to determine the best match (continued on reverse side in most copies of the Diagnostic).
Column A Column B
__2__RAM 1. interface that incorporates movable windows, icons, and a mouse
__5__Operating System 2. memory that functions as the computer’s primary workspace
__12__Blogs 3. a plug-and-play interface for peripheral devices, such as thumb drives.
__1__GUI 4. web sites in which original content on a topic is edited by visitors to the site with a history of their revisions
__3__USB Port 5. program that manages the computer system
__11__Scholarly Journals
6. a publication with either popular, trade, or peer-reviewed articles from different authors, and issued multiple times a year
__4__Wikis
7. unacknowledged use of another person’s words or ideas
__7__Plagiarism
8. a list of citations of works an author refers to in a text (e.g., journal article or book) or a list of citations to works on a particular subject
__10__Abstract
9. a wireless network, whose components are inter-operable and comply with a standard regardless of their manufacturer
__9__Wi-Fi 10. a brief summary of the main
ideas of an article
__8__Bibliography
11. a publication with a regular frequency containing
information written by
experts on current research
in a given field
__6__Periodical
12. online, interactive, and relatively frequent postings of comments on topics of interest to an individual or group
PART II
Read the following questions and check the box next to the best answer for each question.
1. Which of the following is not a searchable field in a library online catalog?
0 a. Subject Heading
0 b. Author
X c. Publisher
0 d. Title
2. Where do you search to find books in a library?
0 a. Reader’s Guide
0 b. ERIC Database
0 c. Yahoo!
X d. Online Public Access Catalog
3. Which of the following is not the correct function of a Boolean operator?
0 a. AND allows you to broaden your search results
0 b. OR allows you to broaden your search results
0 c. NOT allows you to narrow your search results
0 d. AND allows you to narrow your search results
4. The Library of Congress Subject Headings arrange books on the library shelves by:
0 a. Author
0 b. Title
0 c. Year of Publication
0 d. Subject
5. What are two major classification systems used by United States libraries?
0 a. American Library Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
0 b. Dewey Decimal Classification System and Cutter Classification System
0 c. Library of Congress Classification System and American Library
Classification System
0 d. Library of Congress Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
6. When developing a topic for a research paper, it is helpful to state your topic in the form of a question and isolate the key ideas or concepts. A motivational question to ask yourself at the beginning is:
0 a. Who else in my class has chosen the same topic?
0 b. Is there any specific aspect of this topic that I am truly interested in?
0 c. Is there enough material available on the Internet to write a research
paper?
0 d. Do I know how to cite my sources?
7. You should evaluate information found on the Internet because:
0 a. The design of the website changes the information contained there
0 b. Internet information goes through the editorial process before being
uploaded
0 c. Most material published on the Internet has not gone through the
editorial process
0 d. Internet information sources are not acceptable for college level
research
8. To limit your search results in Internet Web directories and search engines, it is helpful to:
0 a. Put asterisks before each search term
0 b. Put question marks around each search term
0 c. Put asterisks after each search term
0 d. Put quotation marks around the words to search as a phrase
9. The most common way to shorten words to search a database is:
0 a. Right-hand truncation
0 b. Wildcard truncation
0 c. Left-hand truncation
0 d. Straight-card truncation
10. When you perform an author search in a library catalog, which do you type first?
0 a. Author’s last name
0 b. Author’s first name
0 c. Author’s salutation
0 d. Title of book
11. The best way to start to research a relatively unfamiliar topic is to acquire an overview of your topic by:
0 a. Finding a bibliography
0 b. Entering a keyword for your topic in one of the general Internet search
engines Either of these are correct!!!
0 c. Consulting an encyclopedia
0 d. Examining a chronology
12. An unabridged dictionary:
0 a. Contains all of the most common words in a language
0 b. Contains only the words appropriate to a specific field
0 c. Contains all the officially recognized words in a language
0 d. Contains only alternate meanings of words
13. Thesauri list:
0 a. Word homonyms
0 b. Word synonyms
0 c. Etymologies
0 d. How a word has been used through the centuries
14. Three major Boolean operators are:
0 a. and, or, not
0 b. If, When, Then
0 c. AND, OR, NOT
0 d. +, /, -
15. The purpose of copyright law is:
0 a. To encourage the development of knowledge through limited rights for
authors, artists, and inventors
0 b. To provide legal protection of human rights
0 c. To make sure each copy of a work is paid for in full
0 d. To prescribe the proper method for citing and crediting sources
16. A main disadvantage of Internet searching for research is:
0 a. Many sources are unreliable
0 b. Search engines do not allow for complex search queries
0 c. Web sites have no cross references to other documents
0 d. You cannot use truncation
17. Which of the following is not an essential component of evaluating Web resources?
0 a. Timeliness
0 b. Accuracy
0 c. Format
0 d. Reliability
18. You are writing a research paper on the war in Iraq and need to narrow down your topic. Which of the following subjects is most narrowed down?
0 a. The findings in a report by General Taguba about prisoner abuse that
took place from October to December in 2003 at the Abu Ghraib U.S.
military prison in Iraq
0 b. The condition of the prisoners who are being held in Guantanamo Bay
0 c. Music, poetry, and other cultural expressions that have been generated
In response to the war in Iraq
0 d. The point of view of young people regarding the war in Iraq and how
this may affect the next presidential election
19. You are researching films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. You are not interested in reading about his earlier films, “Champagne” and “Blackmail.” Which of the following would be the most efficient keyword search for researching this topic?
0 a. Alfred AND Hitchcock NOT Champagne
0 b. Alfred Hitchcock WITHOUT Champagne OR Blackmail
0 c. Alfred Hitchcock AND (Vertigo NOT Champagne)
0 d. Alfred Hitchcock NOT (Blackmail OR Champagne)
PART III
Indicate whether each statement is True or False.
1. Library catalogs (OPACs) provide immediate and direct access to articles
inside periodicals.
True ( ) False ( X )
2. The APA Style requires the use of both in-text citations and References for most types of sources.
True ( X ) False ( )
3. The Wikipedia is an indisputable source of reliable information.
True ( ) False ( X )
4. Articles in trade magazines are generally peer-reviewed.
True ( ) False ( X )
5. The number of times a Web site has been visited is a good measure of its
authoritativeness.
True ( ) False ( X )
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/sumparquo.html
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
-You can borrow from the works of other writers as you research. Good writers use three strategies—summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting—to blend source materials in with their own, while making sure their own voice is heard.
-Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly from the source word for word. Quotations must be cited!
-Use quotations when:
You want to add the power of an author’s words to support your argument
You want to disagree with an author’s argument
You want to highlight particularly eloquent or powerful phrases or passages
You are comparing and contrasting specific points of view
You want to note the important research that precedes your own
-Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author, putting his/her thoughts in your own words. A paraphrase can be viewed as a “translation” of the original source. When you paraphrase, you rework the source’s ideas, words, phrases, and sentence structures with your own. Paraphrased text is often, but not always, slightly shorter than the original work. Like quotations, paraphrased material must be followed with in-text documentation and cited the on the Works-Cited page.
-Paraphrase when:
You plan to use information on your note cards and wish to avoid plagiarizing
You want to avoid overusing quotations
You want to use your own voice to present information
-Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) or one or several writers into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summarized ideas are not necessarily presented in the same order as in the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
Summarize when:
-You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic
You want to describe common knowledge (from several sources) about a topic
You want to determine the main ideas of a single source
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
-You can borrow from the works of other writers as you research. Good writers use three strategies—summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting—to blend source materials in with their own, while making sure their own voice is heard.
-Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly from the source word for word. Quotations must be cited!
-Use quotations when:
You want to add the power of an author’s words to support your argument
You want to disagree with an author’s argument
You want to highlight particularly eloquent or powerful phrases or passages
You are comparing and contrasting specific points of view
You want to note the important research that precedes your own
-Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author, putting his/her thoughts in your own words. A paraphrase can be viewed as a “translation” of the original source. When you paraphrase, you rework the source’s ideas, words, phrases, and sentence structures with your own. Paraphrased text is often, but not always, slightly shorter than the original work. Like quotations, paraphrased material must be followed with in-text documentation and cited the on the Works-Cited page.
-Paraphrase when:
You plan to use information on your note cards and wish to avoid plagiarizing
You want to avoid overusing quotations
You want to use your own voice to present information
-Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) or one or several writers into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summarized ideas are not necessarily presented in the same order as in the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.
Summarize when:
-You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic
You want to describe common knowledge (from several sources) about a topic
You want to determine the main ideas of a single source
internet detective units
What's the Story? – understand the advanced Internet skills required for university and college work.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly – see why information quality is an issue on the web, especially for academic research. Learn how to avoid time wasting on Internet searching, scams and hoaxes.
Detective Work – get hints and tips that help to critically evaluate the information you find on the Internet.
Get On the Case – try out your Internet Detective skills with these practical exercises.
Keep the Right Side of the Law – be warned about plagiarism, copyright and citation.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly – see why information quality is an issue on the web, especially for academic research. Learn how to avoid time wasting on Internet searching, scams and hoaxes.
Detective Work – get hints and tips that help to critically evaluate the information you find on the Internet.
Get On the Case – try out your Internet Detective skills with these practical exercises.
Keep the Right Side of the Law – be warned about plagiarism, copyright and citation.
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