COURSE SYLLABUS - LSCI 100
SPRING 2005

Welcome to LSCI 100, “Introduction to Information Research.” The first step toward success in this course is to understand how the course operates and what is expected of you. Therefore, please take a few moments to read this course syllabus.

I. Course Goals

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basic conceptual and technical skills involved in the information research process. You will learn important concepts and procedural skills that will help you understand how information is recorded, organized, accessed, and evaluated. By mastering the basic concepts and tools presented in LSCI 100, you will become a confident and discerning researcher, fully capable of conducting research for term papers and essays required in college-level courses. The ultimate aim is that you retain the intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills of the research process long after the course ends.

Each lesson will offer you hands-on practice with information access tools in which you’ll be asked to apply conceptual as well as technical knowledge.

II. Course Mechanics

INSTRUCTORS

The course is team taught by Dennis Wolbers and Eric Brenner, both of whom can often be found in their offices when not at the Reference Desk:

Dennis Wolbers: Office #5208 ; Office telephone: (650) 738-4184
(wolbers@smccd.net)

Eric Brenner: Office #5209 ; Office telephone: (650) 738-4177
(brenner@smccd.net)

Reference Desk, Skyline Library: (650) 738-4312

Kim Lim and Amy Titus are reference librarians available in the afternoons and
evenings. They are also able to answer questions about course content.

Please ask the librarian on duty at the Reference Desk any time you have a question or problem regarding the course. Our goal is to help make the course an enjoyable, as well as a challenging, learning experience.

LESSONS, QUIZZES, EXERCISES

Course content is presented in a series of 11 online lessons. The lessons are accessed via the LSCI 100 course home page.

If you are using a computer in the Skyline Library, the easiest way to access the course is to click on the "Library Homepage" icon on the desktop. From the Skyline Library home page, click on the LSCI 100 link in the left yellow margin. [NOTE: If using your home computer, or another computer on campus, go to the Skyline College home page (http://skylinecollege.net) and click on “Library.” You’ll be brought to the Library’s home page.]

After reading each lesson, you are required to complete a quiz and an exercise. Each quiz and exercise is worth a certain number of points. Please enter your name -- not your student ID number or social security number -- at the appropriate text entry box before beginning each quiz and exercise.

Read the directions and questions carefully. Mistakes are often made simply because a student has not read carefully. Also, pay special attention to any type of “HINT” or “NOTE” that may be given within a question.

If you are asked to make any corrections to your work, please do so before moving on to the next lesson. Your score for each lesson is only given when all the work is done, including any necessary corrections.

Since this course places much of the responsibility for learning on the student, do your best to complete the lessons on your own, without explicit direction from the instructor. If, however, you are uncertain about anything in the reading, unsure about how to handle a particular question, or confused about how to use a database, don’t hesitate to ask the instructor.

Please record the time you spend on the course by using the link on the course homepage.

WORKING FROM HOME

Almost the entire course can be done from home. However, the following must be done in the library:
* Lesson 1 exercise
* Part IV of the Lesson 5 exercise (LC Easy program)
* Meetings 1, 2, and 3 (see below)
* Final exam

TIME REQUIREMENT

This is a one unit course. To earn one unit of credit, you must invest 48 hours of study time. Your time is allocated as follows:

2 hours per lesson (11 lessons) reading the text: 22 hours
2 hours per lesson (11 lessons) completing the quiz and exercise: 22 hours
3 one hour meetings: 3 hours
1 hour to complete the final exam: 1 hour

Total time invested= 48 HOURS

DEADLINES

Deadlines for the completion of each lesson are listed on the course Website and on your handout. You may submit your work one day late if you cannot meet the deadline. However, after this one-day grace period, you will lose 5 points for each day past the deadline, up to half the total number of points possible for the lesson. For example:

1 day late = no penalty
2 days late = minus 5 points
3 days late = minus 10 points
etc. up to half the number of points possible

If you are having difficulty keeping up with the due dates because of unusual or difficult circumstances, you must contact the instructor immediately.

ONE-ON-ONE MEETING WITH INSTRUCTOR (MEETING #1)

You will be required to meet individually with the instructor before beginning Lesson 3. This meeting will last 30 -- 45 minutes. Please sign up for this meeting during the orientation session.

TWO SMALL GROUP SESSIONS (MEETING #2 AND MEETING #3)

You are required to attend two 50- minute small group meetings during the semester. These meetings provide essential information that will enable you to complete upcoming exercises. Each meeting will be offered on four separate dates and times, allowing you to choose the session that best fits your schedule. Please sign up for these two meetings during the orientation session.

Feel free to request additional meetings with the instructor if for any reason you desire more individual attention.

FINAL EXAM

The final exam is an open book paper exam that must be completed in the library. Allow yourself approximately 1.5 -- 2 hours to finish the exam. The exam must be completed by 4 p.m. on Friday, May 20, 2005.

III. Grading

This course can be taken for a letter grade or credit/no-credit. If taken for a letter grade, your final grade is determined as follows:

To earn an A, you must earn between 511 and 568 points (90%-100%).
To earn a B, you must earn between 454 and 510 points. (80%-89%).
To earn a C, you must earn between 397 and 453 points (70-79%).

IV. Academic Integrity

You will be expected to do your own work in this course and avoid academic dishonesty. The Skyline College Student Handbook and Academic Planner 2002-03 defines academic dishonesty as an attempt by a student “to show possession of a level of knowledge or skill which he or she does not possess. The two most common kinds of academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism” (p. 124). Copying answers from someone else’s assignment is cheating and will not be tolerated. Pretending that someone else’s work is your own is plagiarism and will not be tolerated. Giving your work to another student to copy is also academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated.

The consequences of academic dishonesty depend on the seriousness of the infraction and may include:

• A failing grade on the assignment, project, or exam
• A lower grade for the course, or possibly a failing grade for the course
• Temporary suspension from LSCI 100
• Disciplinary probation
• Suspension or expulsion from Skyline College

[For a complete explanation of academic integrity, consult pp. 128-29 of your Skyline College Student Handbook and Academic Planner 2002-03. If you have any uncertainty about what might constitute academic dishonesty in this course, please contact the instructor.]

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