50190 Professional Information Project

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: Information and Knowledge Management
Credit points: 8 cp
Result Type: Grade, no marks

Requisite(s): 50493 Managing Information

Handbook description

This is the capstone subject in the Information Professional Strand. In this subject, students plan, carry out and evaluate a major professional information activity for a client. Concepts and techniques for the planning and management of projects to meet client needs are introduced at the beginning of the subject. A contract for the project is negotiated between the student, their client and their academic supervisor. Students are expected to work independently on their project, guided by consultations with their supervisor and discussion with a peer support group. This subject must be taken in the final semester of study.

Subject objectives/outcomes

At the completion of this subject, you are expected to be able to:

propose, implement and evaluate a solution to a professional information problem;
manage a project;
critically reflect on your learning and ethical information practice
assess your professional portfolio.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject provides students with an opportunity to integrate theoretical and professional knowledge through the conduct and management of a major information project. It also provides an opportunity for students to further develop their independent learning and critical reflection abilities. Students have the opportunity to articulate the values of ethical information practice and demonstrate their commitment to justice and equality in information provision. It also provides an opportunity for students to present and assess their professional portfolio.

Teaching and learning strategies

While there are some classes for the purpose of reviewing and evaluating your progress in this subject, you are expected to work independently on your project, while at the same time, keeping your supervisor informed of your progress. After your Plan of Action is signed you should meet your supervisor (generally the subject coordinator) as required. A list of times will be posted on your supervisor's door or appointments can be made by email. You should also keep in close contact with your client throughout the semester. In addition to your supervisor, you will also have two advisors; one academic and one professional, to assist as well as provide feedback to you. There is also a discussion board in UTSOnline and peer networks will be set up in week one to help you assist and support each other.

Content

Project planning and management; preparation of an action plan; self-directed and lifelong learning; development of a proposal to solve an information or communication problem; project implementation; evaluation of process and product, peer networking. Review of literature on professional standards and processes; ethical information practice.

Assessment

Assignment 1: Professional Activity (Note: you must obtain a Pass in this Assignment in order to be eligible to pass the subject)

Objectives
Value	75% (The grade will be assigned by the supervisor taking into account the academic advisor's report (grade and feedback) and the professional advisor's and/or client's report (feedback only)

Due	Plan of Action finalised 18 August; More detailed Proposal (as necessary, date to be agreed); Submission of Project and associated documentation to client and advisors, 31 October; Project and associated documentation, plus advisors' reports to supervisor, 7 November.

Task Summary	This will involve you using some specialist information skills and knowledge to research, investigate, propose and then carry out activities which are aimed at solving a client's information problem.

Further Information	It involves the preparation of a Plan of Action to be signed by the student and the supervisor by 18 August; the development of a more specific and detailed proposal as necessary (date as agreed) and project deliverables, including guidelines for updating the project to the professional advisor/client and academic advisor by 31 October; the project deliverables, academic advisor's grade and feedback and professional advisor/client feedback to your academic supervisor by 7 November. The professional activity itself and its documentation should take approximately 200 hours to complete. Possible projects are posted on the Professional Information Project UTSOnline site and on the UTS Shopfront website. It is your responsibility to find a suitable project. a) Plan of Action (due 18 August)– this is not assessed. Please note: work on the project itself cannot begin until after the Plan is signed. Note also that it is likely to go through several drafts before it is finalised. You need to allow time for this. The Plan of action must contain the following sections: Title of the project Description of the project Objectives of the project (may be revised in the Proposal) Brief analysis of the tasks and resources necessary to carry out the project Timetable for implementation (may be revised in the Proposal) Statement on how the outcomes will be evaluated (assessment criteria – may be revised in the Proposal) Names, titles and addresses of academic advisor and professional advisor and/or client Your name, signature and date Supervisor's name, signature and date. When your Plan of Action is completed, it will resemble the preliminary statement a consultant might provide to an organisation. Here are some comments to help you compile your Plan of Action, which will be 3-4 pages long. Title: You need a name to refer to your project by, so that within the client's organisation it is not only 'x's project', but also a project important to the organisation. Brief description: You need to describe the relevant section of the organisation and its basic mission, resources, etc as they bear on the problem you will tackle. You should also outline the information problem which the client's organisation faces. In this section, you will be showing your ability to observe, record accurately and diagnose the problem. The client/contact person should be able to agree that this is indeed a true reflection of the problem. Your supervisor should be able to use this information to assess the size and scope of your project. Objectives: These are the objectives of the project, and should indicate what outcome you are aiming for. The outcome should be a solution to the problem, e.g. the need to improve intellectual access to records, or the need to reduce the number of errors, etc. You should also include an objective relating to the provision of instructions for the continuation of the work in future. In addition, more specific objectives may be developed in the Proposal. Task and resources analysis: In this section, you should set out the tasks you expect to be carrying out to reach the anticipated outcome. This will help you to ensure that you have all the necessary knowledge, skills and resources. It will provide a checklist for your client/contact person in the organisation. It will help your supervisor to ensure that you have not overlooked something crucial to your project, and also to check the extent of your project. The list of tasks to be carried out will also help you to organise the time to be spent on the project. Your supervisor will expect some detail on the sub-tasks within each broad task, including less tangible aspects such as researching the literature for theory or professional practice to guide you in the major tasks. Timetable for implementation: Draw up the timetable to show how much you expect to have achieved at any given time during the project. It is better to work in larger blocks of time with dates set for achievement of specific milestones, eg the project proposal. All projects should show completion of the project and handover to the client and advisors by 31 October and submission of the project, professional advisor/client' feedback, academic advisor's grade/feedback and Evaluative Report to the supervisor by 7 November. Evaluation criteria and grading scheme: These must match the objectives of the project, and be based on standards of professional practice. These should be developed in conjunction with your supervisor, your client and your professional advisor and academic advisor. The grading scheme is for the use of the academic advisor only. Academic Advisor and Professional Advisor and/or Client: You must have an academic advisor, most usually from the Information and Knowledge Management Program, or possibly from the Public Communication Program or the Faculty of Information Technology. The academic advisor provides a grading and feedback on the final product as well as acting as an advisor to you during the project. You must keep a record of your meetings (dates and brief notes of what was discussed) with both your supervisor and your academic advisor and include this as an appendix in your Evaluative Report (see Assignment 2). You must also have an information professional who has expertise in the area of your project. This person does not have to be employed by the client organisation. The information professional should provide feedback on your performance on the project as well as act as an advisor to you during the project. Your client (if they are not the information professional) should also provide feedback as above. Please make sure that you discuss this with them when you ask them to act as advisors. Please provide full contact details of external advisors/clients. Your advisors should be given a copy of your Plan of Action (and any revisions) at the time you ask them to advise you and provide feedback on your work. It is your responsibility to ensure that your advisors provide you with a written assessment of your project by the due date, 7 November, 2008. Your name, signature and date: Supervisor's name, signature and date: b) Proposal (due date as agreed in Plan of Action): Building on your Plan of Action, a report containing your proposals/recommendations for solving the problem and your reasons for them, with reference to relevant literature, must be submitted to your client before implementation work begins. The date for submission of this is to be negotiated with your Supervisor. This is your opportunity to document in detail, and justify, the approach you are recommending. The report must conform to professional standards.A draft of the proposal should be submitted to your supervisor prior to submission to your client.This is also an opportunity to revisit your objectives, timetable and evaluative criteria. Any revision of your objectives, timetable and evaluative criteria must then be attached to the Plan of Action and also provided to your advisors. c) Project: A variety of other products may be produced for the client, depending on the nature of the problem and your proposed solution. Drafts of all work produced for the client (products/reports) should be submitted to your supervisor prior to submission to your client. d) Updating documentation: Procedures for the continuation/updating of the work need to be developed for the client. Appropriate professional level documentation incorporating the principles of information design should be produced to support this. Items a, b, c and d are to be submitted to your client, professional advisor and academic advisor by 31 October.

Assessment criteria	As given in each student's signed Plan of Action or as revised by written agreement between the student and the supervisor.

Assignment 2: Evaluative Report (2000 words - submit to your supervisor only)

Objectives
Value	25%
Due	7 November

Task	This report requires you to develop and apply criteria to assess the process you used and to reflect on your own performance as a professional; a project manager and an independent or lifelong learner, using the literature and examples of professional practice as points for comparison. You need to be able to show the literature and other sources of expertise* you have used to help you carry out the project and its documentation. Any evaluative report not making extensive use of the theoretical and practical knowledge bases of information practice is not acceptable. This part should also make reference to the usefulness of your peer support network, and its impact, on the project and its processes. * You must include a record of your meetings (dates and brief notes of what was discussed) with your supervisor and your academic advisor and include this as an appendix to your report. There must be at least three documented meetings. You should also include details of your peer network meetings in the appendix.

Assessment criteria	Process criteria well developed and relevant Integrity of reflections and critique of performance Links between experiences and the literature Documented use of other sources of expertise

Minimum requirements

In order to pass the subject, students must fulfil the additional requirements set out below.

Attendance in class in weeks 1, 4, 7 and 14
The class in week 1 will cover an introduction to the subject, an understanding of information problems, independent learning processes, project management and developing your Plan of Action. Week 4 will provide an understanding of developing Proposals. The class in week 7 provides a review of progress before the mid-semester break, an opportunity for peer networking and will provide assistance with writing the Evaluative Report. The class in week 14 is intended to provide a wrap-up for the subject, to allow you to give us feedback on the subject, and to carry out your Portfolio Evaluation (see below). Should you experience difficulties meeting these attendance requirements, please contact your supervisor to make alternative arrangements.
Professional Portfolio Evaluation
The Portfolio is the knowledge, skills, activities and outcomes which you will use to help you take the next step in your career. It provides you with an opportunity to evaluate what you have achieved, not just in the Professional Information Project subject, but in your course as a whole. You will have the opportunity to express your own thoughts about your knowledge, skills attitudes and values and to evaluate your achievements through participation in a structured group activity in the final class for this subject (approximately 2 hours).
Participation in a peer support network (throughout the semester)
You are expected to form a peer (student) network, which will be an embryonic professional network, and to use this network or other alternatives for support and advice during the work on the project. The networks will be set up in class in week 1. There is a UTS Online site set up to help you get started with your networking. You will also need to document these meetings and include the record as an appendix to your Evaluative Report.

Indicative references

These references relate only to professional development and lifelong learning. References relevant to individual projects will be determined by the student in consultation with the supervisor.

Booth, A. 2003, 'Bridging the research-practice gap? The role of evidence-based librarianship, New review of information and library research, vol. 9, pp.3-23.

Booth, A. and Brice, A. eds, 2004, Evidence based practice for information professionals: a handbook, Facet, London.

Candy, P. 1991, Self-direction for lifelong learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

Eraut, M. 1994, Developing professional knowledge and competence, Palmer Press, London.

Knowles, M. 1975, Self-directed learning: a guide for learners and teachers, Follett, Chicago.

Schon, D.A. 1991, Reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action, New edition, Arena, Aldershot.