LIS 5053:  Information Seeking & Use

Description, Analysis, & Reflection

Description 

The course description for LIS 5053: Information Seeking and Use states 

This course covers information use by people in various roles, situations, and contexts, individually and in groups. To do this we will study information behavior and the influence of learning and cognitive processes; value systems; and situational, psychological, sociological, and political perspectives. We will be examining community, disciplinary, and functional practices, as well as individual and social aspects of human information needs, seeking, and use based on theoretical and empirical research. We will also apply the study of user information behavior to textual, graphical, and visual representation of knowledge. This course includes both theoretical models and practical methodologies for the study of users and for user-centered design of information and knowledge systems and services. 

Because of the vast range of material in this subject area, the objective has been to select a few areas to focus on in order to develop at least a little depth in those areas and to begin to develop judgment regarding the products of others in the field. An effort was made to select materials reflecting a range of philosophical and methodological approaches (Rubenstein, 2022). 

My artifact for LIS 5053: Information Seeking and Use was the course’s final project which was a research paper over either information grounds or information behavior.  I went with the information grounds option and wrote a paper called Facebook Groups, Information Grounds, and Punk Rock, Oh My.  The paper is about a Facebook Group that is run by the Metropolitan Library System that is used by their Special Collections & Research Department in the building and maintaining of the Oklahoma Underground Music Archive.  The second part of the assignment was to create a slideshow presentation to share with the class, explaining the paper.  What was fun about this paper was that I was directly involved in this Facebook Group, inviting a lot of people who ended up sharing their memories and, for lack of a better term, artifacts that found their way into the collection.    

Analysis 

More than anything else, this course gave me a better understanding of the proper application of citations, specifically the American Psychological Association (APA) Style.  Prior to entering the MLIS program, the vast majority of my citations experience was with the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style.  Transitioning to APA was a challenge because the styles and their rules are so different.  During the semester, I would get frustrated with the fastidiousness of the assignments and how they were graded.  Looking back, I’m thankful for that attention to detail because I have used these skills in every single course in the program.  Beyond that, the study of user centered models combined with my previous work experience as a technical support call center representative reinforced the importance of understanding how and why people look for and process information.  Having a strong grasp on these concepts increases one's success in communicating and working with not only customers but co-workers, friends, family members, or the cashier at the store.  

Reflection 

One of the biggest difficulties I have faced in the MLIS program was working with academic literature.  I am a very slow reader, which has proven to be a challenge throughout life but especially in graduate school.  These articles and papers are often long, filled with big words that have me running for the dictionary, at times using acronyms without context or explanation, and often leave me feeling befuddled.  As I mentioned in LIS 5033: Information & Society, I am a bit of a practical thinker.  That’s not to say that I can’t think in theoretical terms or understand theory, it just really depends on the subject.  At this point in my MLIS career I was still building a foundation and developing the skills to learn how to work with academic literature successfully.  This class played a big role in challenging me to expand my thinking and find ways to manage.    

Personal Learning Goals 

Information Seeking and Use touched on all four of my goals but especially helped toward Objective 1 of Goal 3:  Increase reference and user services skills -- Develop new research and evaluation skills and techniques with its emphasis on the mechanics of writing research papers and proper citation methods/skills.  

MLIS Program-level Student Learning Outcomes 

This course advanced me towards SLO 1 Core Knowledge by examining how information behavior; SLO 2 Intellectual Skill through exploring the ideas of information grounds and information behavior; and SLO 5 Methods and Analysis through the emphasis on the mechanics of research writing and citations. 

ALA Competencies 

This course helped towards the competency 6. Research through its attention towards proper academic citations and writing mechanics. 

Rubenstein, E. (2022). LIS 5053: Information seeking and use [Syllabus]. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma. 

Artifact:
Facebook Groups, Information Grounds, and Punk Rock, Oh My