Southern Miss School of Library & Information Science
LIS 651: Foundations of Information Science
Online, Fall 2012
Professor
Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Southern Miss School of Library & Information Science
Cook Library, Room 206H
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 1:30-4:30pm or by appointment
Phone: 601.296.0528
teresa.welsh@usm.edu or drtwelsh@yahoo.com
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w146169/

Course Description
This 3 hour course is a survey of information science as a field of study; it examines the role of the library as an information transfer model and the associated implications to the profession and the future.

Required Texts may be purchased from USM Textbooks or another source such as Barnes & Noble or Half.com or Chegg.com.
Introductory Concepts in Information Science
2nd edition
Norton, M.J., ed. (2010)

Course Goals
This course introduces students of Library and Information Science to the basic practical and theoretical concepts of the nature of information while examining the impact of the information age on society and its institutions. Information technology has changed the way in which information, technology and the traditional library tasks and environments are viewed. The implications of these changes must be considered to prepare professionals for the continuing challenges and future roles the technology will foster in the library/information profession.

Students will demonstrate via production of graduate quality research, annotated bibliography and readings reports the following:

  1. Understanding of the practical concepts of information in the forms of its creation, organization, dissemination and retrieval, specifically in relation to information technology.

  2. Ability to articulate the various interpretations of 'data', 'information' and 'knowledge' and the implications of these differences including the impact communications issues have upon the status of information, both in theory and practice.

  3. Ability to apply bibliometric methodology as an evaluative tool in research.

  4. Ability to evaluate and discuss issues of information policy, information economics, professional roles and ethics within the context of library and information science.

  5. Understanding of the role and implications of technology relevant to information and information management.

  6. Ability to apply various electronic information tools in performing course work, including electronic mail, electronic bulletin board access, Internet use and software programs.

Weekly Schedule of Topics (Subject to Revision)

Week 1: Course Introduction, IS Pioneers

Week 2: Foundations of Information Science

Week 3: Communication & Information

Week 4: Scholarly Communication

Week 5: Information Organization & Retrieval

Week 6: Bibliometrics: Measuring Information

Week 7: Bibliometric Laws, Publication Patterns

Week 8: Midterm, Fall Break

Week 9: Bibliometric Proposal

Week 10: Citation Analysis, Citation Searching

Week 11: Zipf's Law: Word Frequency

Week 12: Webometrics, Scientometrics, Infometrics, Cybermetrics

Week 13: Information Policies, Individual Rights

Week 14: Thanksgiving Week

Week 15: Economics of Information

Week 16: Information & Future Technology
Evaluation
Grades will be based upon:
  1. Annotated bibliography (15 points)

  2. Midterm research paper proposal [20 points]

  3. Final research paper using a bibliometric methodology on an approved topic [50 points]

  4. Participation (15 points).

Grading Scale

A95-100
A-93-94
B+91-92
B86-90
B-84-85
C+82-83
C75-81
C-73-74
D+71-72
D66-70
D-64-65
F0-63
Course Policies
Students are responsible for reading syllabus content and becoming familiar with course policies and procedures.

Students will not be granted an Incomplete for this course for failing to complete assignments. A student who receives an Incomplete will have only ONE semester in which to complete the work.

If a student stops attending class and does not complete the appropriate withdrawal papers or procedures with the registrar, that student will be assigned an F. If this is the only class a student is taking then the student must call the USM graduate school to properly withdraw.

If a student commits plagiarism, that student will receive an F in the course.

A student may not self-plagiarize or submit work done in another course unless receiving prior permission from the instructor. Any assignment that is self-plagiarized without prior permission from the instructor will receive zero points.

Virtual classroom attendance and participation is expected. Participation is a large part of the grade and consists of the virtual classroom participation and discussion.

Students are required to subscribe to listnews, the LIS listserv. Subscribe to lisnews by completing the online form available at https://mailman.usm.edu/mailman/listinfo/lisnews

All assignments should be saved in .doc or .rtf format and posted to the Digital Drop Box. Work not turned in on time will be assessed a penalty of 10% per week without prior approval from the instructor.

Failure to follow specific instructions for content and formatting of assignments will result in lower grades.

Writing skills: all work must be in Standard English; inappropriate grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling will result in lower grades.

Academic Code of Conduct
Students are expected to follow the Academic Code of Conduct, which includes mutual respect and academic honesty.

"When cheating is discovered, the faculty member may give the student an F on the work involved or in the course. If further disciplinary action is deemed appropriate, the student should be reported to the dean of students. In addition to being a violation of academic honesty, cheating violates the Code of Student Conduct and may be grounds for probation, suspension, and/or expulsion. Students on disciplinary suspension may not enroll in any courses offered by The University of Southern Mississippi." USM Graduate Bulletin.

"Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another's facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work. Plagiarism is committed in a number of ways:

  1. Reproducing another author's writing as if it were one's own.
  2. Paraphrasing another author's work without citing the original.
  3. Borrowing from another author's ideas, even though those ideas are reworded, without giving credit.
  4. Copying another author's organization without giving credit.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. An act of plagiarism may lead to a failing grade on the paper and in the course, as well as sanctions that may be imposed by the student judicial system." USM Graduate Bulletin.

Disability Statement
If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Mailing address: 118 College Drive, # 8586; Telephone: 601- 266-5024; TTY: 601-266-6837; FAX: 601-266-6035.



Note: This is an abbreviated version of the course syllabus.
The complete syllabus is posted on the Blackboard LIS651 course site.

Web Page Design
Teresa S. Welsh
e-mail: drtwelsh@yahoo.com
Updated 8/9/2012