Julie Still -- Honors 122

Honors 122: Solid Rock or Shifting Sand -- The Structure of Information
525:122:09

This class will examine how information made available for the public is produced, arranged, and distributed, and what avenues are available for locating information. We will examine scholarly and popular publications, primary and secondary sources, mainstream and niche publications, print and digital counterparts, and the impact of the Internet on information production and dissemination. Students will leave the class with a solid grounding in standard research skills and an ability to evaluate sources.

Instructor: Ms. Still
            Office hours: in library 9-4 Tuesday – Friday
            Office phone: 225-6033 ext. 22
            Email: still@camden.rutgers.edu
            Home phone: 215 884-0232 (never after 10:00 p.m.)

January 24	Introduction, course outline, where do we get information. Assignment for next week: find 2 printed sources (or web printouts), think about where they got their information (bring them to class)
January 31	Where does information come from, e.g. the research cycle Scholarly / popular / professional / government reports Assignment for next week: look at a scholarly article and a popular article about it. Write a one or two page critique of the two.
February 7	More on Scholarly / popular / professional / government reports Primary / secondary sources Assignment for next week: Review the American Memory Lesson Overview and read student lessons 1-3. Also Review: Library Research Using Primary Sources
February 14	More on Primary / Secondary Sources Differing editions / ethnic or niche publications Assignment for next week: use Academic Universe or Dow Jones and find 2 articles from a mainstream newspaper, use Ethnic Newswatch to find 2 other articles on the same topic. Write a two or three page synopsis. Read: relevant articles from Nov. 2001 American Demographics
February 21	More on differing editions / Ethnic or Niche publications Print vs. Full Text Assignment for next week: Find a print publication and the full-text digital version. Sit down with 2 issues at a computer terminal and compare the print and digital version. Write a two page synopsis. Read New Yorker article / Nation article
February 28	More on print vs Full Text Corporate Influences / conglomeratization Assignment for next week: bring in the URL for 2 Internet sites on the same topic.
March 7	Statistics / What is the Internet / metadata For next week, read or skim white paper on the Invisible Web, review Search Engine Watch
March 14	Search engines / Invisible Web You must have decided on your 3 case studies by this point.
March 21	SPRING BREAK
March 28	Bibliographic databases / controlled vocabulary
April 4	citation analysis (bring a book or scholarly article to class for practice)
April 11	Reviews / presentations of case study 1 (2-4 page paper)
April 18	Reviews / presentations of case study 2 (2-4 page paper)
April 25	Reviews / presentations of case study 3 (2-4 page paper)
May 2	What to do with all this?

This course is short on exams, long on discussion and short papers, so attendance is particularly important. Missing more than 1 class without an acceptable excuse in advance will affect your grade.

Paper length is listed when papers are assigned. Use 1 inch margins and 10 or 12 point type, double spaced. A two page paper can be 1 3/4 page or thereabouts, etc. We will discuss the papers in class and you will turn them at the end of the class. If you have an excused absence your paper will be due before that class.

Using no less than 5 sources (no more than 3 from the free Internet) construct an answer to 3 of these questions. You can suggest an alternate but do so far enough in advance to regroup if I don’t approve your concept.

1) You have graduated and have been offered similar jobs in 2 cities (you can pick them or I can assign them). Your significant other is getting a degree in (you can pick or I can assign) and is interested in graduate work in (you can pick or I can assign). Which job would you pick and what salary do you need to live there? (Use sources such as Places Rated Almanac, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, as well as other reference and Internet sources.)

2) You have a family history of a disease (you can pick or I can assign). What lifestyle choices have you or should you make to keep the illness at bay for as long as possible. When or if it strikes what current course of treatment would you prefer and what potential treatments are on the horizon. (Use reference sources such as the Merck Manual, as well as popular and scholarly publications and Internet resources.)

3) Next year you anticipate buying a car, what kind of car would best suit where you will be living or working? What options do you want? How much should you expect to pay for it? What kind of insurance can you expect to pay for it? (You can substitute something else for the car.) (Use Consumer Reports, other publications and Internet resources

4) Your local government has been awarded a federal grant for community improvement. You would like to persuade them to use the money to build a trail network (or something else) through the area. What are your arguments for it and what defense will you have for what you suspect are the arguments against it.

5) A long lost uncle has left you $5000 for a vacation. Plan out where you want to go, how you want to get there, how long you want to stay, your itinerary and a beginning budget. (Use published and digital travel guides, air and train schedules, printed and Internet sources.)

6) If you have a strong research requirement in another class you can use one of your case studies to plan out a literature review for that project. (Talk with me about this).