We will be reading a variety of works and watching several videos in support of the diverse topics we will discuss in class. You are responsible for reading/viewing all of these. Your participation in class is critical to the success of this class. Contributing your ideas, reactions and questions to the topic at hand will nurture your skills and comfort at presenting your thoughts orally. In addition we all benefit from a dialogue that includes diverse and even occasionally conflicting perceptions.

Plan to attend class and arrive on time. You will be penalized for excessive absences and tardiness (more than 2). Be courteous to your classmates and course instructor by not conversing with others during class lectures. Turn off cell phones and other devices that might disrupt class. Use laptops and other devices to support current course activities only. During the 1 hour and 15 minutes you are in class, your attention should be completely devoted to the course.

Your participation grade is based on my perception of your participation in and out of class. Class participation consists of doing the following: attending class, arriving to class on time, being prepared for class, making observations about the readings, asking questions, taking notes, actively working on in-class exercises and actively listening.

If an unexpected problem arises for you during the course of the semester (serious illness, etc.), please let me know so that we can discuss an appropriate schedule for you. If you need to miss class because of a religious holiday, then we can certainly make alternative arrangements for this as well.

At least three times during the semester you should submit a discussion question related to a specific required reading. These thoughtful and well-written questions should be questions/challenges/points-to-ponder related to the reading that we could discuss in class. For example, do you agree or disagree with the certain points - why? You are encouraged to integrate ideas from other classes or your own personal experiences - how do they relate to things we are discussing in our Retrieving & Analyzing Information class? Will you think about things differently based upon the reading - is so, how? The comments/questions should be well thought out and may even be provocative. But they may also express tentative and exploratory thoughts - we won't hold you to any hard and fast opinions.

These discussion questions should be posted to the forums sections in our class Sakai account by 9:00 PM on the day BEFORE the reading/media is to be discussed in class for the first time. I also encourage you to read questions/observations posted by your colleagues and respond appropriately. Please make sure to identify yourself by name (to ensure proper credit) and note which reading you are responding.

Instructions for posting your questions in Sakai

1. https://www.unc.edu/sakai/
2. Log in with your onyen/password
3. You should automatically be enrolled in our class, INLS151.003.SP15
4. From the left navigation bar select Forums
5. You should see entries/topics for each of our readings. Select which you want to respond to and paste/type your question.

Throughout the course of the semester, five short pop quizzes will be administered at the start of class. Quiz questions will be about the day's readings. Quizzes cannot be made-up for any reason. If you arrive late to class and the quiz is still 'in session' then you can start the quiz. However, you will not receive extra time to complete it. Your paper will be collected along with everyone else's. There will be a total of 5 quizzes, each worth up to 2 points.

• Assignment Details [pdf]
• Search Log Template [xls]
• GSS 2012 Dataset [sav] Remember this file only opens with SPSS
• GSS 2012 Variables List [xls]
• SPSS Cheat Sheet [pdf]

1. Explore, manipulate and carefully examine an existing structured data set to identify a topic(s) of interest to you and your team partners. We will be utilizing the General Social Survey GSS, a nation-wide, bi-annual, personal interview survey that collects responses to core demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions. It is frequently used to track societal and opinion trends in the U.S.

2. Analyze the data to identify/uncover some interesting information, comparisons or findings. We will focus on only two or three variables and look for interesting relationships and possible correlations. From selected data, we will create a few charts/graphs that effectively communicate the relationship(s) between the variables.

3. Based upon the selected data, your team will search for background and contextual information, scholarly research material, historical or archival material, and popular/consumer news coverage in order to develop some sort of story. You will log your search strategies, parameters, processes, and results (both successful and dead-ends) throughout this information search.

4. After evaluating the material your team collects, you will select items that are most relevant, trustworthy and supportive of your overall story. You will document these sources in an annotated bibliography in APA format describing how you evaluated the material and why you decided to include each item.

5. To share your team's interesting news-type story and findings (you are welcome to approach any aspect of the topic) each team will craft and present a visual presentation in the form of a PechaKucha (presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 slides x 20 seconds). We'll discuss details in class.

• Project outline/plan/timeline: 8 points possible
  Due Mon March 2
• Information search logs: 8 points possible
  Due Mon April 6
• Annotated bibliography: 8 points possible
  Due Mon April 13
• PechaKucha presentation: 8 points possible
  In class April 13, 15 or 20
• Contribution to team: 8 points possible

The Final Exam is cumulative. The Final Exam is scheduled for MONDAY, MAY 4 AT 4:00 PM in our regular classroom. I expect you to be there. If you do not attend you will receive an F, no questions. If you anticipate some problem with taking the exam on this day or in this location (e.g., you have a conflict with another scheduled exam or you typically take your exams in the LDS office), then you need to let me know at least 2 weeks in advance. You will need to provide documentation of why you cannot take the exam during the regularly scheduled period and we will make alternative arrangements.