Click here for a current version of the syllabus.
Background on the course
I developed INF2330: The Information Experience in Context from scratch as a more dynamic and contemporary treatment of the topic of information behaviour. This course is unique to our Faculty; nothing like it exists at other iSchools. The objective is to instill an awareness and understanding of the information dimension within human affairs and to develop the observational and analytical skills necessary to do so.
The course involves a fusion of information theory and ethnographic method that is structured as four units: Introduction, Methods Workshop, Featured Contexts, and Synthesis. During the Methods Workshops, a large portion of class time is devoted to hands-on practice of field methods such as interviews, fieldnotes, and photography. As the semester unfolds, students refine their observational and analytical skills through an exploratory, ethnographic research project about the information experience within a context of personal interest or career relevance.
Thus far, students have examined information in a wide range of contexts, for instance: a rock-climbing gym, a Toronto subway car, Starbucks, professional offices (i.e. a stock broker, a nutritionist), a sculptor’s studio, a personal library of a famous Canadian author, Facebook, online communities (wedding planning, scrap-booking), video games, home gardens, a women-owned sex shops, IKEA, and more. Several student papers were published in the Fall 2009 and Winter 2011 issues of Faculty of Information Quarterly. On a COMPASS evaluation, a student exclaims, “My favorite course by a mile so far.”
The course involves a fusion of information theory and ethnographic method that is structured as four units: Introduction, Methods Workshop, Featured Contexts, and Synthesis. During the Methods Workshops, a large portion of class time is devoted to hands-on practice of field methods such as interviews, fieldnotes, and photography. As the semester unfolds, students refine their observational and analytical skills through an exploratory, ethnographic research project about the information experience within a context of personal interest or career relevance.
Thus far, students have examined information in a wide range of contexts, for instance: a rock-climbing gym, a Toronto subway car, Starbucks, professional offices (i.e. a stock broker, a nutritionist), a sculptor’s studio, a personal library of a famous Canadian author, Facebook, online communities (wedding planning, scrap-booking), video games, home gardens, a women-owned sex shops, IKEA, and more. Several student papers were published in the Fall 2009 and Winter 2011 issues of Faculty of Information Quarterly. On a COMPASS evaluation, a student exclaims, “My favorite course by a mile so far.”
Course overview (from the syllabus)
INF2330 focuses on identifying and understanding what is “informational” in any setting. Students will develop sharpened vision to discern informational patterns, that is, an ability to trace what Bates (1999) calls the “red thread” of information pervading life. To this end, the course involves a fusion of information theory and ethnographic method that is structured as 4 units. Introduction: in Sessions 1-3, foundational ideas about information research are introduced. Methods Workshop: in Sessions 4-8, students will learn the tenets of ethnography and techniques of ethnographic fieldwork. Featured Context: in Sessions 9 and 10 The Home and 12-Step Recovery will be profiled and considered as exemplar information contexts. Synthesis: in Sessions 11-13 feature training in ethnographic analysis and writing, and presentations of independent Research Projects. As the semester unfolds, students will refine their observational and analytical skills through an exploratory, ethnographic Research Project about the information experience within a context of personal interest or career relevance. A Blackboard course website will provide an online environment for peer review and discussion outside of class time.
Major topics
• Awareness of metatheory as a guiding lens for information research, and an ability to recognize major information metatheories and their impact on research and practice.
• Familiarity with several major models of information behaviour.
• A working knowledge of ethnographic field methods, ethics, and tools such as: observation, fieldnotes, interviews, photography, analysis and writing.
• Ability to design and execute a small-scale, exploratory, ethnographic field study that leads to insights on information phenomena.
• Understanding of the features of information in the contexts of The Home and 12-Step Recovery.
• Specialized expertise in the information experience within the chosen context of personal interest and an inkling of how to transfer discoveries to professional practice.
• Familiarity with several major models of information behaviour.
• A working knowledge of ethnographic field methods, ethics, and tools such as: observation, fieldnotes, interviews, photography, analysis and writing.
• Ability to design and execute a small-scale, exploratory, ethnographic field study that leads to insights on information phenomena.
• Understanding of the features of information in the contexts of The Home and 12-Step Recovery.
• Specialized expertise in the information experience within the chosen context of personal interest and an inkling of how to transfer discoveries to professional practice.
Course evaluations
Fall 2010 COMPASS course evaluations (PDF)
Summer 2010 COMPASS course evaluations (PDF)
Fall 2009 COMPASS course evaluations (PDF)
Summer 2010 COMPASS course evaluations (PDF)
Fall 2009 COMPASS course evaluations (PDF)
Related work
Hartel, J. and Thomson, L. (in press). Visual Methods and Photography for the Study of Immediate Information Space. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.
Hartel, J. (September, 2011). Understanding Information Technology in the Home Via Photographs: A Detailed Analysis of Swan and Taylor. International Visual Methods Conference, Milton Keynes, UK.
Hartel, J. (2011). Introduction to the special issue on ethnography. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 3(2), 4-6. [Table of Contents]
Hartel, J. (2009). Introducing the information experience in context. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 2(1). [PDF]
Hartel, J. (September, 2011). Understanding Information Technology in the Home Via Photographs: A Detailed Analysis of Swan and Taylor. International Visual Methods Conference, Milton Keynes, UK.
Hartel, J. (2011). Introduction to the special issue on ethnography. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 3(2), 4-6. [Table of Contents]
Hartel, J. (2009). Introducing the information experience in context. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 2(1). [PDF]
