Course name:Information Science: Concept and Method

Teaching medium: English

A. COURSE DESCRIPTION

2 credit, 24 Class Hours, 2rd Semester

This course introduces the basic concepts, basic theories and methods related to informatics and information processing technology, including information theory, cybernetics, computer science, statistics, psychology, etc. It mainly discusses the information sources in the objective world, the identification of structured and unstructured information, the structure and hierarchy of information, information systems and information management, big data technology and artificial intelligence in data science, user information behavior and personalized information service, etc. Specifically, it takes the information life cycle as the main line, focuses on the acquisition and evaluation, coding and processing, storage and retrieval, analysis and utilization of scientific and technological information resources, and understands the latest cutting-edge knowledge such as semantic web, big data technology and data science. Through the study of this course, students can master the necessary basic principles and methods of informatics, understand and master the methods and processes of information analysis, information evaluation, information decision-making and information management, so as to lay a good foundation for users to provide personalized information, data and knowledge services at a higher level.

B. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION

Teacher lectures and student presentations

C.COURSE OBJECTIVES(five or six objectives; general but comprehensive)
Objective 1:From the perspective of information management and utilization, let students understand the basic concepts and categories of information, information resources, information management and information science, and understand the learning objects, teaching scope and teaching objectives of this course.

Objective 2:From the perspective of information life cycle, learn and understand the whole process of information production, information management, information processing, information consumption, information reproduction and reuse, including important information sources, information collection and measurement, information organization and storage, information retrieval and evaluation, information processing and analysis, information decision-making and utilization, etc.

Objective 3:From the perspective of information service and knowledge service, understand and master a series of methods and technologies related to information management, especially the methods and technologies related to information collection and analysis.

Objective 4:From the perspective of the fourth industrial revolution, understand the position of big data and data science in Information Science, learn and understand the platforms, models, tools and technologies related to big data and data mining, cloud computing, artificial intelligence algorithm, etc.

Objective 5:From the perspective of library user service, let students correctly understand the user's information needs and user psychology, and understand how to use new information technology and means to provide personalized and accurate information service and deep knowledge service for library users.

D.COURSE TOPICS/UNITS AND DATES

Topic 1: development status and basic concepts of Informatics (4 class hours)

Topic 2: information collection and evaluation (4 class hours)

Topic 3: information organization and information retrieval (4 class hours)

Topic 4: information processing, information analysis and information decision making (8 class hours)

Topic 5: information and big data technology (2 class hours)

Topic 6: user information needs and knowledge services (2 class hours)

E. TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED TOOLS OR SUPPLIES
Textbook (required): Zhu Qinghua. Information analysis: fundamentals, methods and applications[M]. Beijing: Science press, 2004.

Supplies and/or tools:

[1] Yan Xuebin. Information science: concepts, systems and perspectives[M]. Beijing: Science press, 2016.

[2] He Bin, Zhang Lihou. Principles and methods of information management[M]. Beijing: Tsinghua university press, 2006.

[3] Hu Changping. Information service and users[M]. Wuhan: Wuhan University press, 2008.

F. GRADING PLAN
Course assessment:(1) 40 points for usual performance (attendance and interaction in class) ;(2) 60 points for case analysis report.

Classification criteria:

(1) 60-70: basically complete the teaching task of this course and preliminarily master the concepts and methods related to informatics and information management;

(2) 71-80: complete the teaching contents and tasks in this course, and have a relatively comprehensive understanding of information management and information service;

(3) 81-90: be able to complete the teaching tasks in this course and have a deep understanding of information management technology and methods;

(4) 91-100: can perfectly solve the teaching tasks in this course, and can skillfully use information management technology to carry out information retrieval, information collection and information analysis, and write high-quality information consulting reports.

G. COURSE COMPONENT SPECIFICS

Chapter 1 History of Information Science (1 hour)

1.1 Origin of informatics: cybernetics and information theory

1.2 The Birth of Information Theory, Informatics and Information Science

1.3 Three schools of thought in Information Science

Chapter 2 Current Situation of Information Science (1 hour)

2.1 Information concerns in different disciplines

2.2 Camps and systems of contemporary information disciplines

Chapter 3 Basic Concepts of Information (2 hours)

3.1 Meaning, characteristics and types of information

3.2 Measurement of information

3.3 Life cycle of information

3.4 Basic concepts and principles of information management

3.5 Concepts and models of information science

Chapter 4 Information Collection and Evaluation (4 hours)

4.1 Information gathering: sources and principles

4.2 Information-gathering methods: survey, observation, experiment and literature analysis

4.3 Measurement of information

4.4 Reliability and validity

4.5 Information evaluation

Chapter 5 Information Organization (2 hours)

5.1 Classification and indexing of information

5.2 Information topic and topic glossary

5.3 Information tagging languages: HTML and XML

5.4 Metadata and RDF

Chapter 6 Information Storage and Retrieval (2 hours)

6.1 Information storage technology and systems

6.2 Semantic Information Encoding

6.3 Linguistic networks: RDF and Ontology

6.4 Information Retrieval and Search Engine

Chapter 7 Information Processing and Analysis (2 hours)

7.1 Information processing methods

7.2 Information processing procedure

7.3 Information preprocessing

7.4 Overview of information analysis methods

Chapter 8 Information Analysis Methods (6 hours)

8.1 Logical thinking methods

8.2 Bibliometric methods

8.3 Statistical analysis methods

8.4 Machine learning methods

8.5 Uncertainty theory

8.6 Database/data warehousing technology

8.7 Information visualization technology

Chapter 9 Information and Decision Making (1 hour)

9.1 Summary of decisions

9.2 Decision-making guidelines

9.3 Decision information

9.4 Information decision-making methods

Chapter 10 Information and big data (2 hours)

10.1 Big Data and Data Science

10.2 Big Data Technology and Cloud Computing Systems

10.3 Hadoop platforms and related ecosystems

10.4 Big Data and Data Mining

Chapter 11 User Information Requirements and Information Services (1 hour)

11.1 User Information Needs and Information Psychology Research

11.2 Information Services Operations and Organizations

11.3 Personalized information services and knowledge services