Richard P. Smiraglia

Doctoral Courses

DIS 801: Information: Organization And Access

Overview of the foundations, topics and issues in knowledge organization and access, including current research in knowledge organization, information storage and retrieval, systems analysis and design, and human-computer interaction.

DIS 807: Research Methods II: Qualitative and Historical

Formation of methodological pluralism. Examination of the qualitative paradigm of research, naturalistic inquiry, and the bases of symbolic interactionism. Examination of historical methods for research. Critical review of historical and qualitative research in information studies. Design and implementation of historical and qualitative research.

DIS 810: Seminar in Knowledge Organization

Significant questions related to problems of knowledge organization are identified and studied with close attention to theory-building through research. Emphasis is on autonomous student investigation, writing, and discussion. Students conduct original research during the course of the semester; results are reported in the seminar. The seminar begins with an overview of basic concepts of knowledge organization and a review of classical literature in knowledge organization, including philosophy, research methods, history, and theory. A major component of the seminar is a thorough review of the 8^th International Conference on Knowledge Organization held in London in July of 2004. Students are assigned to lead discussions of all texts. The final segment is based on students’ self-selected research topics. Current research is reviewed, literature reviews are presented, and research results are subsequently reported. Students assign readings and lead discussions in these three sessions. Topics may fall into the following broad areas:

cthe historical context for knowledge organization;

cproblems related to meta-data (e.g., descriptive cataloging, subject headings, web meta-data applications;

cknowledge representation (classification, subject analysis, bibliometric analysis);

cdocumentary relationships (works, content representation, content evolution);

clanguage processing (vocabulary or authority control, indexing, NLP, etc.); and

cthe design of systems for retrieval of organized recorded knowledge.

The research must contribute to theory in knowledge organization. Students are encouraged to consult the professor to discuss topics and potential research methods. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are encouraged. The following articles were published from student papers in prior seminars.  Students might check these to get an idea of what is expected:

Kasten, Joseph. 2005. Rocks in the stream: an exploration of knowledge flow inhibitors within organizations. CAIS/ACSI 2005: Data, Information, and Knowledge in a Networked World. Proceedings of the Canadian Association for Information Science/L'association canadienne des sciences d l'information (CAIS/ACSI) 5th Annual Conference June 2-4, 2005, ed. Liwen Vaughan. http://www.cais-acsi.ca/2005proceedings.htm

Tanaka, Michiko. 2005. Toward a proposed ontology for nanoscale research. CAIS/ACSI 2005: Data, Information, and Knowledge in a Networked World. Proceedings of the Canadian Association for Information Science/L'association canadienne des sciences d l'information (CAIS/ACSI) 5th Annual Conference June 2-4, 2005, ed. Liwen Vaughan. http://www.cais-acsi.ca/2005proceedings.htm

O’Keefe, Daniel J. 2004. Cultural literacy in a global information society-specific language: an exploratory ontological analysis utilizing comparative taxonomy. In McIlwaine, Ia, ed. Knowledge organization and the global information society: Proceedings of the 8^th International ISKO Conference, London, July 13-16, 2004. Advances in knowledge organization, v. 9. Würzburg: Ergon Verlag.