Description:
In this course, students examine and analyze the information retrieval process in order to more effectively conduct electronic searches, assess search results, and use information for informed decision making. Major topics include: search engine technology; human information behavior; evaluation of information quality; business, economic, and cultural factors that affect the availability and reliability of electronic information; and the future of search.
Learning Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Associate critical terms and concepts in the areas of epistemology; human information behavior; information seeking, retrieval, and evaluation of information through information retrieval systems; and legal aspects and economics of the search industry.
- Explain principles that underlie information retrieval systems pertaining to searching, main processes of web search engines (e.g., crawling, indexing, querying and retrieving, ranking), and evaluation of search results.
- Evaluate and employ current technologies to access and retrieve information using diverse search tools and effective search strategies, conduct research, and communicate findings.
- Analyze and critically assess information using traditional and emergent technologies including evaluating the credibility, validity, and value of diverse information sources.