SSC101: Introduction to Information Resources for the Social Sciences

Spring 2017 (April 3 – June 16), North Seattle College

Syllabus

Instructor: Zola Mumford, MLIS zola.mumford@seattlecolleges.edu Office Location & Hours: by appointment in the Library building

IMPORTANT: please read this syllabus all the way through. You may earn one point by e-signing the Syllabus Signature form.

 Image credit: geralt on Pixabay.com. Public domain.

General Information

This course emphasizes gaining proficiency in using electronic resources including those available on the library's information networks, the library catalog, and the Web.  Your final project is an annotated bibliography in MLA (Modern Language Association) format. Find a definition and example here. Directions and the drop box are on this page.

• For ENG&102 linked students this final project consists of resources collected throughout the quarter and developed into an annotated bibliography. Selections from this bibliography can then be used for the annotated bibliography associated with the ENG&102 research paper.

• For non-linked students taking SSC101 as a standalone, this Personal project will consist of an annotated bibliography on a topic of their choice. Students could use this Personal project to do intensive research in support of a project for another course they are taking.

Course explorations include understanding key issues such as:

Freedom of information	Copyright	Creative Commons licenses
Filtering and analyzing search results	Information evaluation and information literacy	Open educational resources
Privacy	Plagiarism	The digital divide
	Visual literacy

Student Outcomes

Intellectual and Practical Skills, including critical thinking and problem solving; information literacy; and collaboration through group discussion and peer review.

Student Outcomes and Competencies:

• Choose a research focus area (topic)
• Orient search strategies to this research focus area
• Select variety of sources clearly relevant to this focus area
• Critically analyze sources
• Critically annotate sources
• Apply ethics of using information accurately, citing sources
• Compare different perspectives
• Draw original conclusions
• Work collaboratively with others
• Reflect critically on research strategies and choices

 

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Select research topics and develop strategies to identify and retrieve relevant information
• Discover, evaluate, and use a wide variety of information resources
• Understand and practice using library and other information organization systems
• Demonstrate ability to select resources appropriate to stated research objectives
• Document information sources using annotation and standard bibliographic citation format

 

Goals, Expectations and Standards

Written assignments

You will do a moderate amount of academic writing in this course. Students are expected to keep reading logs. Some assignments require writing summaries. All submitted assignments must be proofread before you turn them in; this means that the spelling, word usage, grammar, and formatting should be correct. It's always a good idea to have someone else look over your work, no matter how much experience and education you have. Please visit the student Learning Center (North campus), the tutoring center at your own campus, or sign up for online tutoring.

Assigned reading

Expect to do 1-2 hours of reading per week. The assigned reading will include pages within Canvas, articles, blog posts, news articles, and possibly some information science-related short fiction in the science fiction/speculative fiction genres.

As you develop your research project, use this reading log, Research Reading Log.docx. Save this MS Word file so that you can duplicate the type notes into it, or print it out and make copies.

Grading

Students may earn a total of 120 points in this course. Assignments are due by 11:59 pm on the stated date. Feedback from me on your work will be available to you within a week of the date you turn it in (barring emergencies). Grading rubrics for the Final Annotated Bibliography Project and the Research Reflection Statement will be available in advance of the project due dates.

 

Assignment	Points
Syllabus signature	1
Self-Introduction (discussion post)	5
Week 1 Quiz: Understanding Information	10
Discussion Board Posts & Responses	40
Primary and Secondary sources assignment	4
Evaluating Web Information	4
Library Research Activity: Finding Primary Research Articles	2
Choose research topic for annotated bibliography	2
Copyright and Plagiarism	2
Final project: Annotated Bibliography - statement of intent	3
Final project: Annotated Bibliography - First draft	10
Final project: Annotated Bibliography - Final version	10
Midterm Quiz (Week 6)	2
Research Reflection	10
Information literacy post-survey	5
1st Extra Credit opportunity: Stand-alone research project (description TBA) to be arranged with instructor at least two weeks in advance of deadline. Week 6.	5
2nd Extra Credit opportunity. Week 7.	5
	120 points

Late Work Policy

You have two chances to turn an assignment in late without penalty and no questions asked.  For each of these two chances, the assignment must be turned in within one week of the original due date.  These chances apply to all assignments, large or small.  Beyond the two chances there is no late work accepted.  No exceptions.  NOTE:  This pass does NOT apply to the Final draft of the annotated bibliography, the syllabus signature, or any Extra Credit opportunities.

Course Materials

• There is no required textbook for this course if you are only registered for SSC101. However, if you have registered for the ENG102 course as a link with this course, you will have a required text. Please see the ENG102 syllabus for details. Assigned reading for this course will be available online.

• This course requires consistent, reliable high-speed internet access. You may use your NetID on-campus computers during quarters when you are an enrolled student at North Seattle College. Learn about the NetID, your .edu student email address, and student access to Office 365 : https://itservices.northseattle.edu/student-computing
• If you have a problem connecting to Canvas, please try this link instead: https://northseattle.instructure.com

Optional Materials

The North Seattle College Library collection includes many useful manuals and guides for college writing. Search the Library catalog (find our online catalog here: https://library.northseattle.edu ). You may also come to the NSC Library to ask a Librarian for help; look for the blue Research Help sign over the Reference Desk.

Course Schedule

Weekly flow of Due Dates: ALWAYS check our Canvas course website for the current Week's expectations. This flow is a framework that may change as needed. The rest of the week’s work generally relates to Monday’s reading.

Week	Topic	Reading
Week One, April 3-10 Information cycle; types of sources; NoodleTools	M - Read syllabus and course expectations; NoodleTools tutorial T - Introduce yourself: Discussion Board post & response W & F - Set up NoodleTools account	Pages within Canvas
Week Two, April 10-17 Effective search; finding & evaluating websites	M - Reading & video; web evaluation quiz T - Identify your research focus for the duration of the class W & F - Discussion Board post & response Th - Effective search techniques (So You Think You Know Google?) Collect and summarize at least 3 reputable websites re: chosen research topic; to be submitted later as part of final project	Pages within Canvas What is Confirmation Bias? OPTIONAL: Prejudice, Discrimination, and Stereotyping by Dr. Susan T. Fiske (external website)
Week Three, April 17-24 Information evaluation, continued; visual literacy; citation; plagiarism	M - Reading & video W & F - Discussion Board post & response to reading Th & F - Collect at least 3 images or audiovisual items related to your research topic; to be submitted later as part of final annotated bibliography	Pages within Canvas
Week Four, May 2-8 Copyright and plagiarism	M - Reading and videos F - Discussion Board post & reading response	Reading: Pages within Canvas
Week Five, May 8-15	M - Reading work on statement of intent and topic selection re: final annotated bibliography project Th - Video: The Filter Bubble with Eli Parisier F - Discussion Board post & reading response W - Sources assignment Collect at least three primary & three secondary sources re: chosen topic; to be submitted later as part of as part of final annotated bibliography
Week Six, May 15-22 Research articles; databases; filtering search results	M - Reading T & Th - Discussion Board post & reading response; midterm quiz W - DUE: extra credit 1st opportunity Collect at least three articles re: chosen topic and found through general databases; to be submitted later as part of as part of final annotated bibliography	Pages within Canvas
Week Seven, May 22-29 Open Educational Resources; Digital Divide; subject specific Databases	M - Reading & video on Open Educational Resources (OER) and open access W & F - Discussion Board post & response re: open access issues Library Research Activity Collect at least three articles from JSTOR or other Subject Specific databases re: chosen topic; to be submitted later as part of as part of final annotated bibliography	Pages within Canvas Additional reading TBA
Week Eight - Nine, May 29-June 5 Open Education Resources, cont.; Creative Commons	M - Reading DRAFT of final annotated bibliography with research sources is due Monday, June 5 (10 points) Collect at least three openly accessible articles re: chosen topic; to be submitted later as part of as part of final annotated bibliography	Pages within Canvas The Social Contract of Scholarly Publishing by Daniel J. Cohen, http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/27
Week Nine, June 5-12 Freedom of information; Intellectual Freedom; Censorship	M - Read as assigned T & Th Discussion Board post & reading response W - DUE: extra credit 2ndopportunity	Pages within Canvas Additional reading TBA
Week Ten, June 12-16 Information Literacy review; Research as you know it	Monday, June 12 at 11:59 p.m.  - DUE – Final Annotated Bibliography Project - minimum 20 resources (12 new since first draft), fully cited & annotated Wed - DUE -- video quiz (1 point); last discussion board post (5 points)	Pages and linked page within Canvas

Dates of Spring Quarter 2017: April 3 – June 16

Disability Accommodations

I support the intent of the ADA.  If you need course accommodation because of a disability please let me know no later than Monday, April 10.

The Disability Services (DS) office at North Seattle College (NSC) provides reasonable accommodations so that qualified students with documented disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in all of North’s programs, activities, events, and services. Academic accommodations can be provided if the adjustments are determined to be reasonable and appropriate for the student’s specific disability and its impacts.

Students with a documented disability that impacts their academic performance may be eligible for accommodations. Students are responsible for self-disclosing their disability to DS and for providing documentation in order to determine eligibility.  As responsible adults in the college environment, students with disabilities should contact DS directly. The contact must be made by the student and not a representative of the student.

https://northseattle.edu/disability-services

Additional Information and Resources

• North Seattle College Library
• North Seattle College Library Citation Guide