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Monash University

FIT5105 Information access and use - Semester 1, 2014

This unit introduces students to the major categories of information resources in all media and how they are accessed through a variety of common user interfaces from anywhere in the world. The process of satisfying these needs through the reference interview and the application of skilled search strategies is explored. The ways that information resources are procured by libraries and e-repositories through purchase or licensing, and supplied to users on a cost-effective, efficient basis are examined. Access and authentication, intellectual property law and professional duty of care are described.

Mode of Delivery

  • Caulfield (Day)
  • Caulfield (Off-campus)

Workload Requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

  • 2 hours of lectures
  • One 1-hour seminar

(b.) Study schedule for off-campus students:

  • Off-campus students generally do not attend lecture and tutorial sessions, however should plan to spend equivalent time working through the relevant resources and participating in discussion groups each week.

(c.) Additional requirements (all students):

  • A minimum of 9 hours independent study per week for completing tutorial and project work, private study and revision.

Additional workload requirements

Off-campus students generally do not attend lecture and tutorial sessions, however, you should plan to spend equivalent time listening to lectures online via MULO and undertaking tutorial exercises.

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Caulfield

Tom Denison

Consultation hours: Thursdays 2.00 - 4.00pm, H7.33

Tutors

Caulfield

Andrew Dixon

Your feedback to Us

Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:

www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

The unit's content has been revised and updated this year in response to student, staff and industry feedback. The unit has scored well in all aspects in previous evaluations, however there has been some criticism of the instructions provided for tutorial exercises. These have been reviewed and revised.

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will be able to:
  • implement decisions about applying organisational policies for reference and collection services, justify the principles of collection management strategies, and evaluate them;
  • manage networked access for users in the case of electronic resources;
  • develop information literacy programs; and
  • select the best source of knowledge for a practical information need.

Unit Schedule

Week Activities Assessment
0 Students will need to familiarise themselves with the information contained in this unit guide as well as materials on the unit website (eg lecture notes and tutorial activities) No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1 The variety of information services and organisations No seminar/tutorial
2 The information multiverse: physical, digital and virtual information resources/collections and meta-collections Seminar Topic 1: The multiverse of information services
3 Understanding user information needs: Information seeking behaviour; user needs analysis; the reference interview Seminar Topic 2: The multiverse of information resources. Assignment 1 Topic 1 due
4 Understanding user information needs: Information literacy Seminar Topic 3: User needs analysis/the reference interview. Assignment 1 Topic 2 due
5 Building information resource collections in libraries (library collection management; principles and tools; cooperative schemes and networks, e.g. DocDel, ILL) Seminar Topic 4: Library collection management. Assignment 1 Topic 3 due
6 Building information resource collections in archives (archival appraisal and collection policies; principles and tools; cooperative schemes and networks) Seminar Topic 5: Archival appraisal and collection policies. Assignment 1 Topic 4 due
7 Designing access to information resources/collections/meta-collections: libraries and archives as intermediaries; disintermediation Designing, managing and evaluating information services. Assignment 1 Topic 5 due
8 Designing and managing user services Designing, managing and evaluating information services
9 Information infrastructure: Information policies; copyright; access permissions; terms and conditions of use Seminar Presentations. Assignment 2 due
10 Accessing information resources/collections/meta-collections: search and discovery strategies; Web 2.0 technologies Seminar Presentations
11 Accessing archival resources/collections/meta-collections: search and discovery strategies; Web 2.0 technologies Seminar Presentations
12 Review of Weeks 1-11 Seminar Topic: Exam Revision.
  SWOT VAC No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC
  Examination period LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/
academic/education/assessment/
assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Teaching Approach

Lecture and tutorials or problem classes
The approach to teaching and learning includes a weekly two-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar style tutorial.

This teaching and learning approach helps students to initially encounter information at lectures, then discuss and explore the information during tutorial exercises and presentations. It provides facilitated learning, practical exploration and peer learning.

Assessment Summary

Examination (3 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%

Assessment Task Value Due Date
Assignment 1: Discussion Topics 1-5 25%: note up to 20% of this mark (5 marks) will be deducted for non-participation in related tutorials by on-campus students, non-completion of tutorial exercises by off-campus students; and non-participation in discussion forum. Topic 1 due Week 3; Topic 2 due Week 4; Topic 3 due Week 5; Topic 4 due Week 6; Topic 5 due Week 7
Assignment 2: Evaluation of an information service 25%: note up to 20% of this mark (5 marks) will be deducted for non-participation in related tutorials by on-campus students, non-completion of tutorial exercises by off-campus students; and non-participation in discussion forum. Report due at the end of Week 9; Presentations scheduled Week 9 to Week 11
Examination 1 50% To be advised

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Assessment Tasks

Participation

On-campus students are expected to participate in all tutorials; all students are expected to complete tutorial exercises and related discussion forums. The activities in these sessions are directly related to the Assignments. Up to 20% of the marks for each assignment may be deducted if students do not meet this requirement.

  • Assessment task 1
    Title:
    Assignment 1: Discussion Topics 1-5
    Description:
    There are five discussion topics, worth 5% each. Each discussion topic will require that the student contribute an original post of not less than 250 words to a discussion group, and making at least one comment on another student's post. A detailed assignment specification will be provided.
    Weighting:
    25%: note up to 20% of this mark (5 marks) will be deducted for non-participation in related tutorials by on-campus students, non-completion of tutorial exercises by off-campus students; and non-participation in discussion forum.
    Criteria for assessment:

    Criteria for assessment:

    1. Degree to which postings demonstrate understanding of the topic and engagement with the readings.

    2. Contribution in discussion forum and responses to postings with other students.

    3. Completion of class exercises.

    Due date:
    Topic 1 due Week 3; Topic 2 due Week 4; Topic 3 due Week 5; Topic 4 due Week 6; Topic 5 due Week 7
  • Assessment task 2
    Title:
    Assignment 2: Evaluation of an information service
    Description:
    You will undertake an evaluation of an information service. You will write a 2,500 word report on your findings; and give a 10 minute class presentation.
    Weighting:
    25%: note up to 20% of this mark (5 marks) will be deducted for non-participation in related tutorials by on-campus students, non-completion of tutorial exercises by off-campus students; and non-participation in discussion forum.
    Criteria for assessment:

    You will be assessed on the basis of:

    1. Demonstrated understanding of the information service.

    2. Evaluation of the main components of the service according to the criteria provided.

    3. Research and investigative effort.

    4. Identification, coverage and use of relevant sources.

    5. Presentation of findings in report, including citations and bibliography.

    6. Class presentation.

    7. Participation in related tutorial exercises and discussion forum.

    Further detailed guidelines will be provided.

    Due date:
    Report due at the end of Week 9; Presentations scheduled Week 9 to Week 11

Examinations

  • Examination 1
    Weighting:
    50%
    Length:
    3 hours
    Type (open/closed book):
    Closed book
    Electronic devices allowed in the exam:
    None

Learning resources

Reading list

See the unit reading list via the Monash Libraries website.

Additional references will be provided during semester.

Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

Faculty of Information Technology Style Guide

Feedback to you

Examination/other end-of-semester assessment feedback may take the form of feedback classes, provision of sample answers or other group feedback after official results have been published. Please check with your lecturer on the feedback provided and take advantage of this prior to requesting individual consultations with staff. If your unit has an examination, you may request to view your examination script booklet, see http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/procedures/request-to-view-exam-scripts.html

Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:

  • Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes
  • Graded assignments with comments

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Resubmission of assignments

It may be possible to resubmit assignments in a limited number of special circumstances. However, this will only be possible with the prior permission of the Lecturer.

Referencing requirements

APA 6th is the recommended style for undergraduate and coursework masters students in the the Faculty of Information Technology. Information about APA 6th can be found in the Library Style Guide at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/style-guide/.

Assignment submission

It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Technological Requirements

All materials will be delivered through Moodle. Students must check Moodle regularly for announcements relating to the unit.

Other Information

Policies

Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html

Key educational policies include:

Faculty resources and policies

Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/

Graduate Attributes Policy

Student Charter

Student services

Monash University Library

Disability Liaison Unit

Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis.

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