Geography 492

When & Where the Class Meets

1. To familiarize you with a research process that integrates traditional geographic literature and electronic information tools and resources
2. To familiarize you with the scholarly and professional literature of geography and your major concentration
3. To provide you with a foundation set of skills that you can apply to the balance of your course work here at the UW as well as in your personal and professional life outside the university

• identify when you need to seek information
• understand how information is produced resulting in publications for different audiences, uses, and of different styles and quality
• identify appropriate resources to solve that information need, whether these are materials published traditionally or electronically
• effectively use those resources to identify information
• evaluate the usefulness of the information for the project you are working on
• locate material successfully, whether it is in the UW Libraries, another library, or on the Internet
• use print and electronic information in a legal and ethical manner through familiarity with copyright laws and citation style
• be able to create basic www pages (in essence you will learn a little bit about publishing)

• Attend class and participate
• Collaboration -- please share your experience, expertise and enthusiasm for geography, information technology, or libraries with other students and the instructor.
• Assignments -- are due on the date specified in the syllabus. No late assignments will be accepted without prior consultation with the instructor.

Course Grading

• This course will be graded on a credit/no credit basis. To receive course credit:
  • participate in class activities and discussions
  • collaborate with class members and the instructor
  • complete course readings
  • complete all course assignments and turn them in on the date specified
  • complete the final project and put it on the World Wide Web
  • attend class -- since many class activities will relate to the weekly assignments and final project, more than 3 absences will significantly impair your ability to succeed in the course
  Course activities are planned on the basis of three hours of work per week for each credit hour (2 credits x 3 hours/week = 6 hours work per week). If you find that you are spending more than 4 hours per week on the readings and assignments for this course (in addition to the 2 hours being spent in class), please let me know.