Information and its Organization

The information and organization core competencies are demonstrated in my use and exploration of different information retrieval (IR) systems and explanation of how different types of search methods work in this evaluation from the ISCI 706 Information Organization and Access course. In this essay, I examine the types of metadata available in IR systems, describe how IR systems represent (or index) documents (or information), explain how different types of search methods work, and ascertain what impact the indexing methods and the types of available metadata of an IR system have on finding relevant information. For the first part of this assignment, I detail the search features available for the Library of Congress's LC Online Catalog; further explaining search options available in the "advance search" function and describing what types of metadata are available in their search results (or their cataloging records). Secondly, using multiple systems, I conduct various searches using basic and advanced search options to demonstrate different search strategies with several information retrieval systems, explaining how these strategies work with each system. Lastly, I reflect on what I had learned from this assignment, having used a consistent topic for my clarity, understanding, and demonstration of search methods within my exploration of IR systems. 

The Evaluation of Information Systems assignment breaks down and demonstrates search strategies through the use of existing IR systems that an informational professional might use. This assignment explains the relationship between information organization and information retrieval through its use and explanation of information-seeking behavior; proficient professional skills in information searching are further demonstrated, with a brief explanation of some major concepts, theories, and trends in knowledge representation and information organization. The appendices are particularly useful in this demonstration and explanation, as they provide a visual of the searches performed in the text. This display could have been improved upon by choosing a different search topic that may have been more conducive to both the information that the IR systems hold, as well as the searches performed; while the topic and repeated search phrases do a good job of breaking down the search strategies and information organization concepts in an understandable way, they were also a bit simplistic and could have been more complex to further display the IR systems' capabilities. 

As stated in the reflection of this evaluation assignment, conducting, applying, and articulating the process of doing these test searches helped integrate the knowledge I learned from the ISCI 706 Information Organization and Access course into real-world skills that I will continue to apply and frequently use as a librarian and information science professional. Prior to gaining this knowledge, my search strategies would always fall short, as I did not understand the fundamentals of different types of keyword searching, the use of Boolean operators, or how subject searching works. Learning about and understanding information organization, information retrieval systems, and search strategies have been crucial in my job as a public librarian, and has helped me improve my research skills as well as teach others to improve their research skills as well. This assignment allowed me to practice and understand the concepts of information organization and retrieval which served as a key building block in developing my skills in this profession.