Note: This guide is not guaranteed to contain a complete list of everything that may be on the test. You are responsible for reading and learning all the concepts and skills assigned on the syllabus readings and discussed in class. This guide will help you substantially, but you should still review your class notes, reading notes, and the readings themselves.
For each concept below, you should be able to define it and identify it as used in a context. Some questions will ask you to apply your knowledge of these concepts. For example, how do top level domains differ?
The test will contain approximately 50 multiple-choice questions. Bring a Scantron 882 and pencil to the test.
WebQuester:
- URL: what is it? what does it do?
- Top level domain: what are they? how do they differ?
- Visible vs. invisible Web
- Examples of commercial databases: what’s at Vanguard?
- How to locate something in a very long displayed browser page
- Hyperlink
- Search engine: identify some?
- Directory: name a few? how different from search engine?
- Ranking of hits: how is it done? what is collaborative filtering?
- Keyword search
- Exact phrase search: how different from multiple keyword search?
- Boolean operators: what are they? which expands and which restricts?
- Wild card search: what are commonly used wild cards? Why are they used?
- Order of search terms (what difference does it make?)
- CARS: meaning? Why useful? Examples of each part?
- Information quality: what is it? why important?
- Metainformation (definition and types): why important or useful?
- Copyright and fair use: rules for copyright? rules for fair use?
- Information biases: what are the main ones? why important?
- Information warfare: what is it? examples?
- Rival hypotheses: connect to confirmation bias?
- Computer ethics: generally what it is, don’t need to memorize the 10 principles!
- Signature file
- Disinformation
- Misinformation
- Planted information
Miscellaneous articles and discussion:
- FOREST LOG: what is it? what does it help do? examples?
- Information laundering
- Naïve model of information
- Information scarcity
- Information asymmetry
- Investigative model of information
- Information overload
- Infomediary
- Knowledge transfer model of education
- Mentor model of education
Truths of Information:
- Media space must eat
- Information must compete
- The early word gets the perm
- The frame makes the painting
- Selection is a viewpoint
- Newer is seen as truer
- The media sell what the culture buys
- You are what you eat and so is your brain
- All ideas are seen as controversial
- Demand leads to counterfeiting
- Undead information walks ever on
- To accuse is to convict
- The medium selects the message
- Experimenter effect of media presence
- The whole truth is a pursuit
What is Critical Thinking?
- Analysis
- Attention
- Awareness
- Independent judgment
- Ability to ungeneralize
- Articulation
- Truth versus validity
Fallacies 1
- Fallacy frenzy
- Irrelevance
- Ignorance
- Tu quoque
- Someone else does it
- A pari
- A fortiori
- False analogy
- Pity
Fallacies 2
- Prestige
- Force/fear
- Ad hominem
- Ad populum
- Individualism
- Transference
- General transference
- Sex
- Genetic error
- Way of life
- Hypostatization
Fallacies 3
- Compound questions
- Begging the question
- Condition contrary to fact
- Contradictory premises
- Self refutation
- False dilemma
- Missing comparison
- Missing range
- Misleading average
- False compromise