Module Information

Module Identifier
IL31600
Module Title
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Allen E Foster
Semester
Semester 1

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 22 Hours. 11 x 2 hour lectures distributed across the 2 semesters
Practical 6 Hours. 6 x 1 hour practicals
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Project Report  2500 words - outcomes assessed 4, 5, 6, 7  50%
Semester Assessment Project Report  2500 words - outcomes assessed 1, 2, 3  50%

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

  • Evaluate online information retrieval systems and the retrieval mechanisms operating within them

* Describe and evaluate methods of indexing from traditional through to state of the art

* Explain the methods, and issues surrounding, the evaluation of performance of information retrieval systems

* Assess the implications of different indexing and retrieval methods for users, systems design and management

* Evaluate opportunities, problems and issues in the context of non-traditional multimedia information retrieval

* Evaluate current information retrieval research and future directions for information retrieval systems

Brief description

Effective Information Retrieval is at the heart of 'rnformation society?. Beginning with the student'r experience of Internet search engines and library OPACs the course progresses through the surface level user experience through successive layers into the underlying tools and principles of IR systems. Students will develop a working knowledge of the principles of information retrieval in the information age and generate a view of how information retrieval will develop in the future.

Aims

This module substantially revises the curriculum of the existing IL31610 (10 credit) module to reflect changes in Information Retrieval and address the needs of both students and employers.
The module in its revised form takes on a fundamentally new shape. Beginning with the more familiar information retrieval systems, Internet search engines, the course will move from the user experience through successive layers of details to the underlying traditional concepts that, although repackaged and disguised within Internet technologies, remain at the heart of modern electronic retrieval systems.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Information Technology Standard techniques used in current computerised and manual information retrieval systems will examined, and their influence on the behaviour of users and on the quantity of system output will be analysed.
Personal Development and Career planning The module outcomes are of interest to many employment directions but are of particular value in Computer Science, Librarianship, Information Management, and Management disciplines.
Subject Specific Skills * Independent project work * Writing in an academic context * Oral discussion and presentation: classroom discussion will be encouraged as a valuable part of the learning process * Self-management: coursework requires time management and working towards goals
Team work Group activities may take place in lectures.

Reading List

Recommended Background
Burke Mary A (1999) Organization of multimedia resources; principles and practice of information retrieval Aldershot: Gower Primo search Foskett A.C (1996) The subject approach to information 5th London: Library Association Primo search Gredley Ellen and Alan Hopkinson (1990) Exchanging bibliographic data: MARC and other international formats London: Library Association Primo search Large Andrew, Lucy A. Tedd and R.J. Hartley (1999) Information seeking in the online age: principles and practice London: Bowker-Saur Primo search Nielsen Jacob (2000) Designing Web usability New York: New riders Primo search Rowley Jennifer and John Farrow (2000) Organizing Knowledge: an introduction to managing access to information 3rd Aldershot; Gower Primo search Shneiderman Ben (1998) Designing the user interface 3rd Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley Longman Primo search Barr C.L. and L. Schamber (1998) Users? criteria for relevance evaluation: a cross-situational comparison Information processing and Management, 34(2/3), pp219-236 Primo search Bates M.J (1989) The design of browsing and berry-picking techniques for the online search interface Online Review, 13(5), pp407-431 Primo search Buckland B, B.A. Norgard and C. Plaunt (1993) Filing, filtering, and the First Few Found Information Technology and Libraries, vol.12, no.3, pp311-319 Primo search Croft W.B What do people want from Information Retrieval D-Lib Magazine, November. Online, available at: http://www.dlib.org/november95/11croft.html Primo search Harter S.P and C.A. Hert (1997) Evaluation of information retrieval systems: approaches, issues and methods Annual Review of Information Science and technology (ARIST), 32, pp3-94 Primo search Travis I (1998) From storage and retrieval systems to search engines: text retrieval in evolution ASIS Bulletin, April-May Primo search Wilson, T.D., N.J. Ford, D. Ellis, A.E. Foster and A. Spink (2000) Uncertainty and its correlates The New Review of Information Behaviour Research, 1(1), pp69-84 Primo search Blackwell bibliographic services Tables of contents enrichment service Online, available at: http://www.blackwell.com/level2/TOC.asp Primo search Library of Congress; Network Development and MARC Standards Office MARC 21 Concise format for bibliographic data Online, available at; http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdhome.html Primo search National Library of Australia Meta matters Online, available at: http://www.nla.gov.au/meta Primo search Olson Hope A Between control and chaos: an ethical perspective on authority control Online, available at; http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/authconf/holson.htm Primo search

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6