BMSC 621 Searching & Information Management

Credits: 1
This course provides students with functional knowledge of information searching and information management in the sciences through a critical framework. Students will develop their abilities to identify the need for information, procure the information, evaluate the information, and subsequently revise their strategy for obtaining the information. Students will learn how to search database and non-database sources such as PubMed and other NCBI tools, Scopus, and grey literature to find information. They will also learn to use the information they find in an ethical and legal manner, engage in best practices for information management (e.g. using citation management software), and cultivate a mindset of lifelong learning related to information literacy. This course encourages students to be critically reflective in every stage of the information research cycle as they recognize that the information tools and systems they use in their everyday and academic lives are not neutral – that existing power structures are reflected in the creation, organization, and access of information. Through class discussions, exercises, readings, and assignments, students will develop their own critical research praxis to become better researchers and information consumers.

Graded: Pass/No pass
May be taken only once for credit