University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Information and Library Science

INLS 500, Human Information Interactions, Spring 2014

Syllabus

On this page: Course description / Objectives / Readings / Assignments and evaluation / Additional course policies

Other class pages: Schedule / Assignments / Additional Readings / Sakai site

Class meetings: Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30-10:45; 208 Manning Hall (new location)

Course Description

Brief description: The behavioral and cognitive activities of those who interact with information, with emphasis on the role of information mediators. How information needs are recognized and resolved; use and dissemination of information.

Rationale and relationship to the current curriculum: This course undergirds much of our curriculum, because it introduces students to core concepts that have implications for the practice of information science and librarianship. It is expected that it will be taken during the first or second semester of the student's career at SILS.

Objectives for the Course

Students completing this course will:

• be familiar with the empirical and theoretical literature related to information seeking, including the recognition of information needs, actions taken to resolve those needs, the roles of intermediaries (both human and machine), and the retrieval and use of information;
• understand key concepts related to the ways in which information is created, structured, disseminated and used, with particular emphasis on scholarly information behaviors;
• be able to investigate the ways in which the context of an information interaction can affect the process and outcomes of that interaction;
• be able to investigate information behaviors and practices, including the impact of technology on human information interactions; and
• critically apply theories and empirical findings to the definition and solution of problems related to human information interactions.

Readings for the Course

Since this is a "survey" course, students will be expected to complete readings in preparation for each class meeting. The assigned readings are listed on the course schedule and will be made available electronically, through the UNC libraries, e-reserves, or the Sakai site for the course. No textbook is required.

Assignments and Evaluation

The final grade will be based on class participation and four graded assignments, one of which will be completed in small teams:

• Class participation (10%): Be prepared for each class by completing the assigned reading(s); ask questions and participate in the class discussions and activities both in class and online; respond to and discuss classmates' evidence summaries online.
• Assignment 1 (20%), Diary and analysis of an information-seeking event: Each student will keep a diary of a personal information-seeking event and analyze the event in terms of the concepts and ideas discussed in the course.
• Assignment 2 (15%), Evidence summary: Each student will write an evidence summary of one study (using the EBLIP evidence summaries as a model), will present it briefly in class, and will moderate an online discussion of it.
• Assignment 3 (35%), System/service proposal: Each student will select a particular population of interest and, based on a review of what we already know about that population, will develop a proposal for a new system or service for that population.
• Assignment 4 (20%), In-depth examination of an example of scholarly communication: Each team of students will select a set of related articles and will analyze the structure and content of each paper, as well as the way it has been used by other scholars (i.e., through an analysis of their citations to it). All members of the team will receive the same grade for the project.

Due dates, including due dates of intermediate deliverables, are listed on the class schedule.

Honor Code. The Honor Code, which prohibits giving or receiving unauthorized aid in the completion of assignments, is in effect in this class. Whenever you use the words or ideas of others, they should be properly marked as a quotation (and referenced) or the source of the ideas should be cited.

Please contact the instructor if you have any questions about the application of the Honor Code to your work in this class. You can learn more about the UNC Honor Code at http://honor.unc.edu and about the Instrument of Student Governance at http://instrument.unc.edu.

Additional Course Policies

Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the specified due date. With the instructor's permission, late assignments will be accepted with a penalty.

Laptops and mobile devices are welcome in class, but should be used only for legitimate purposes related to this course.

You will be using SILS library and IT services during the course of the semester. Please remember that many of your fellow students also need to use the same equipment and materials. Follow the proper checkout procedures and return materials promptly to be a good SILS citizen.

Email is the most efficient way to communicate with the instructor outside of class, for brief questions or notes. Normally, you should expect a response within 24 hours. I am also happy to schedule a meeting with you; office hours are by appointment. If you come by the office and my door is open, then I'm available for a conversation.

This INLS 500 website, UNC-CH, 2014, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and benefitted from the earlier or co-development of this course by Deborah Barreau, Laura Sheble, Ruth Palmquist, Kaitlin Costello, and Earl Bailey. Address all comments and questions to Barbara M. Wildemuth at wildemuth@unc.edu. This page was last modified on January 14, 2014, by Barbara M. Wildemuth.