INF 100 - First Assignment

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This week's assignment is relatively light.

Required Readings:

If you are brand new to the internet, please start with this tutorial:
http://www.educ.sfu.ca/tutorial/

A reading on Netiquette (e-mail etiquette):
http://www.iwillfollow.com/email.htm,
and if you are interested in more about email style, this one too: http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html.

This 1994 article in Crossroads on "information overload," by Mark Nelson:
http://info.acm.org/crossroads/xrds1-1/mnelson.html.
Don't spend too much time on this article - read it for the good parts. Note that the technological trends it discusses are somewhat out of date.

Carefully read Chapter 1 in Introduction to Information Research, "The Organization of Information," pages 1-20.

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Assignment based on the readings:

Please answer the following ten questions in the form provided. Your answers will be emailed to the instructor. Each question is worth five points.

Your name:

Your email address:

From the reading on Netiquette:

What do the abbreviations BTW, FWIW, IMHO, ROTFL, and TTYL mean?

What is the ">" sign ("greater-than" sign) used for in email?

What are some things that are likely to get you "flamed?"

From the reading on "information overload":

Give three examples of "information overload."

What are "false drops?" Use your own words.
(Hint: You can use the Ctrl-F key to search the page for the term.)

From the reading in An Introduction to Information Research:

How does the American Library Association define "information?"

What is a primary source and what is a secondary source?

What is the difference between factual and analytical information?

What is organization by format?

What is the last word on page 17 of Carla List's book?

This week you should also begin thinking about a topic for your final bibliography project.

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Last updated June, 2000