Welcome to Module 3: Information Seeking Behavior

Welcome to Module 3! Information – creation, accession, consumption, and dissemination – pervades everything we do and is a foundational characteristic of information communities. From studying the information seeking behaviors of varied and diverse populations to analyzing information activities in online settings, the importance of the exchange is foundational to understanding libraries, emerging information technologies and design, and the management of knowledge in organizations. We’re moving closer to each of you choosing an information community to study and this module may further inform your decision. I would urge you to start broad and narrow, as appropriate, over the course of the semester as you gain your footing in research and writing about your information community. Please be patient and open-minded as you approach the blog posts and the larger writing assignments (Information Sources Survey, Literature Review Matrix, Research Paper). A few students last semester decided mid-term to change direction or completely abandoned their initial information community. We do have that flexibility in case things aren’t falling into place.

Please read this important post about surveys and interviews.

Action Items:

Your community choice is due soon as a blog post. Please join the group for discussion of your community choice. If you haven’t, please read over the Choosing Your Community helper.
Blog Post #2 is due SUNDAY. (Three day grace paid applies if needed.)
If you haven’t yet, please review the Assignment Synthesis examples to see how the work you begin this week leads to the final paper.
I would also suggest reviewing the assignment pages and submission details and rubrics closely so you understand the expectations for each assignment.
Hopefully, everyone has downloaded the OPML file
Be sure you are logged in to our section site (this one) and the Community Site so your activity is added to the streams. If you are not logged in your activity is not visible.
For this site: If you haven’t added a profile pic or avatar for your member account, please do so by editing your Profile under the top right-hand menu on our site. Remember: you can use any image to represent yourself in class. I’d also suggest doing it at the LIBR 200 Community Site as well.
Try using an @username to give another classmate a shout out or send me a public thought with @michael. See this page for more info.

INFO 200 Class Chat:

September 22: INFO 200 Assignment Q & A Session at 12pm PT. We will go over you might have about the Sources Survey and LRM. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://sjsu.zoom.us/j/81834098806?pwd=70OaBGL1ksBfJvDLVMxXwEXzhigmTm.1 Password: 895765
November 10: INFO 200 Research Paper Q & A Session at 12pm PT. We will go over any questions you might have about the Research Paper.Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://sjsu.zoom.us/j/83524601394?pwd=KdPVWnfmtHOV8aTJ13IdyFwTjZH5fi.1 Password: 870665

Students are encouraged to attend if schedules allow. The sessions will be recorded.

Blog Report Due Dates: (See assignment page for full descriptors.)

Blog Post #1: Introduce yourself. DUE: 9/01
Blog Post #2: Describe the Information Community you are choosing to explore for the course and the research paper. DUE: 9/15
Blog Post #3: Report on the information-seeking behavior and information needs of chosen community. DUE: 10/06
Blog Post #4: Summarize one of the peer-reviewed articles relating to your information community you’ve found. DUE: 10/13
Blog Post #5: Explore how libraries and information centers create learning and programming opportunities for your chosen community. DUE: 11/10
Blog Post #6: Report on the issues your community may face on an international scale. DUE: 11/17
Blog Post #7: Report on your community’s use of emerging technologies. DUE: 11/24
Blog Post #8: Personal reflection on information communities. DUE: 12/09

Major Assignment Due Dates:

LIS Model/Theory Research Summary DUE: 9/22
Information Sources Survey: DUE: 10/20
Literature Review Matrix: DUE: 11/03
Research Paper: DUE: 12/06

Ongoing Throughout Semester: Commenting, Engagement and Participation URL due 12/08

Late Policy:

If you need to turn in an assignment late (for any reason), you must write to me before the deadline at mstephens7@mac.com.

If you do not write before the deadline, late submissions for major assignments will be reduced by 20% of the total points possible for that assignment.
There is more flexibility with Blog Reports. They can be up to 3 days late.