MBIB4600 Interactive Information Retrieval Course description

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge:

Knowledge

The student can

• discuss the arguments for and against a natural-science approach to human behavior
• explain a scientific position where the goals are description, prediction and control
• place behavioral analysis in a historical context
• explain the relationship between behavior analysis, evolutionary biology, and social anthropology
• describe the relation between a behavior-analytic approach and key philosophies of science, including positivism, empiricism and contextualism
• account for selection as explanation of behavior at the phylogenetic, ontogenetic and cultural level
• define the concept of category errors and discuss such errors in explaining behavior
• explain a functional account of verbal behavior, including discussing the role of consequences in establishing and maintaining verbal behavior; various elements of a verbal episode; the distinction between the terms communication, language and verbal behavior, and a behavior-analytic understanding of the "meaning" of verbal behavior
• give an account of methodological and radical behaviorism and the distinction between them

Anita Sandberg

In the BSCA specialisation, campus-based lectures and seminars are the main teaching methods. The lectures will partly be based on Interteaching sequences using readings from the curriculum. Texts used for Interteaching are announced in the digital learning platform of the university.Students read selected texts in advance for each day of class, and everyone is expected to participate in class through questions and through joining in discussion. In the BSII specialisation, the main teaching method is digital course sequences, and feedback on details of course content, and supervised discussion groups will be available during pre-determined time periods. Feedback on written assignments is used in both specialisations.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• 4 individual written assignments submitted digitally, each with maximum 6000 keystrokes

Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge about the different philosophy of science perspectives on what constitutes knowledge
• advanced knowledge about the philosophy of science basis for library and information science as a field of study
• specialised insight into criteria for research quality and for ethically sound research
• specialised knowledge about important quantitative and qualitative methods for the collection, processing and analysis of research data
• practical and theoretical knowledge about the stages of a research project, from developing a research question to reporting and publication

;

Skills

The student is capable of

• evaluating the quality of existing research and relating it to the philosophy of science basis for library and information science
• articulating research issues and research questions and relating them to relevant choices of methods
• planning and developing an individual, limited research project in the form of a master¿s thesis

;

General competence

The student

• can discuss criteria for assessing research quality both in writing and orally
• can design a research project of similar size and scope as an MA thesis and share their reflections both in writing and orally

The course is organised as a series of four sessions over three days.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

1. The students must complete a group assignment relating to a quality evaluation of library and information science research projects.;Supervision is given by other students (peer-to-peer learning), meaning that two groups give each other feedback. The groups will subsequently submit a written assignment of four pages.;
2. Another coursework requirement is that the students present their individual research project (see form of assessment) orally during the fourth session and that they act as opponents for each other. Additional supervision is provided by a lecturer.

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam.

In the event of sickness absence, the first coursework requirement will be approved as long as the student participates in the written assignment. In the event of sickness absence during the fourth session, the responsibility of acting as opponent is observed by the students in question communicating directly outside of the sessions and conveying the communication to the lecturer. The lecturer will not provide supervision outside of the sessions.

The form of assessment is an individual written assignment (10-12 pages), where the student must develop an independent research project. Font and font size: Arial/Calibri 12 points. Line spacing: 1.5. The assignment must be viewed as a preparatory exercise for the master's thesis, and will be presented in more detail during the first session.

Students awarded a fail grade are given one opportunity to submit an improved version of the assignment/portfolio for assessment

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with

Pass/fail

All exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.