INFO 202: Information Retrieval System Design

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:   INFO 202: Information Retrieval System Design
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in an information science course for graduate students by Virginia Tucker at the iSchool at San José State. The textbook emphasizes the design elements in information retrieval systems. Students learn about the systems and knowledge structures that information professionals create and use to connect users with information, including: database design, vocabulary design, and website structure design. The textbook’s content consists of lectures written by iSchool faculty (the major portion of the book), with supplemental readings from academic journals and book chapters, all of which could be included through King Library subscriptions. No copyright or royalty fees were paid as a result. Embedded links to recorded, fully captioned content by the primary author are included in the lectures and launch directly from the eBook version. The main motivation was to have a textbook aligned with course learning objectives and that was low cost. Students access the textbook as an eBook (ADE format) or hardcopy.

INFO 202: Information Retrieval System Design

Brief Description of course highlights:  This course covers the design, querying, and evaluation of information retrieval systems, from web hierarchies to controlled vocabularies.

Student population:  Class is core course for MLIS degree.  The book is used in one of the required courses in the MLIS degree program at the iSchool at San José State. Approximately 30 sections of the course are taught each year by 11 instructors. Total enrollment is approximately 900 students each year. 

Learning or student outcomes:  Student Learning Outcomes: see https://ischoolapps.sjsu.edu/gss/ajax/showSheet.php?id=9757#clo

Key challenges faced and how resolved: The textbook has been updated several times since its launch, primarily to reflect changes in library permalinks for the supplemental readings, as well as to update embedded links to websites. A how-to page was added to the front matter to help students with eBook features for annotating, highlighting, and bookmarking. Also, some of the longer lectures were shortened in response to the student survey, described below under Student Feedback. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title:  Tucker, V.M. (Ed.). (2021). Information retrieval system design: Principles & practice (6.1 ed.). AcademicPub/XanEdu.

Brief Description: The book is 465 pages and available as an eBook or in hardcopy. Cost for the eBook is $6.95; cost for hardcopy in spiralbound is $32.
The textbook is available for download through the AcademicPub platform and in hardcopy. Currently, 54% of students purchase the eBook; 46% purchase a hardcopy.
Authors:  Edited by Virginia M. Tucker, Associate Professor at the iSchool, San José State.
Student access:  For example: course management system, external server or OER repository such as MERLOT or OpenStax Cnx, printed text from bookstore or online printing service, mobile device.

Supplemental resources: The book includes 14 embedded screencasts that supplement the readings, all of which are captioned. Course assignments likewise include preparatory screencasts. The main course project (to design, build, and evaluate a database) has a dedicated resources blog with a Q&A forum. In addition, instructors have access to a repository of shared materials on a Canvas site, with faculty-only resources. Currently, eleven faculty teach the course. 

Cost Savings:  There are 3 options for this textbook - 468 pages in length.

1) DIGITAL OPTION: $6.95
2) PRINTED OPTION, softbound: $31
3) PRINTED OPTION, spiral bound: $32

License:   All materials in the book are either royalty free or were included through licensing agreements by the University’s library database subscriptions. The University librarians arranged for copies of research articles included. The book is only available to San José State students and is not shared on the AcademicPub Commons platform, as doing so would violate restrictions on distribution of the library materials. 

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.  The textbook was rolled out for the INFO202 course in Fall 2015. In its first semester, the book demonstrated that it provided improved accessibility over the previous textbook, content customized to learning objectives, and cost savings to students. 

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? The course title emphasizes the design elements in information retrieval systems. Students learn about the systems and knowledge structures that information professionals create and use to connect users with information, including: database design, vocabulary design, and website structure design. The textbook’s content consists of lectures written by iSchool faculty (the major portion of the book), with supplemental readings from academic journals and book chapters, all of which could be included through King Library subscriptions. No copyright or royalty fees were paid as a result. Embedded links to recorded, fully captioned content by the primary author are included in the lectures and launch directly from the eBook version. A list of recorded content links is included in the front matter and is also distributed separately for convenience.

Sharing Best Practices: My recommendations are to build on and highlight the expertise of faculty teaching the course and to use the university library’s extensive databases to supplement the content with research articles relevant to course learning objectives. In this way, the cost is also kept as low as possible.

Virginia Tucker 
Associate Professor, School of Information, 
San Jose State University
https://ischool.sjsu.edu/virginia-tucker

Dr. Tucker began her career in information services as head librarian at the Stanford University Physics Library. She was recruited by Dialog to their sci-tech client services and training group and eventually was promoted to manage client training programs worldwide. After many years working directly with end users and professional searchers, Virginia moved behind the scenes and worked as an information architect for commercial search engines.

Dr. Tucker began teaching at the iSchool in 2005 as adjunct faculty and joined as an assistant professor in 2016. In addition to teaching and serving as course coordination for INFO 202 Information Retrieval System Design, she teaches INFO 246 Information Architecture and INFM 204 (MS Informatics) Human Centered Design. 

Her current research projects are focused on knowledge architecture, threshold concepts theory, and online learning.