Autumn 2007
This assignment will give you the opportunity to conduct a small research endeavor for another person.
I’d like you to find another person—a friend, colleague, relative, whoever—for whom you can conduct a real research consultation. The more real the need, the better. (I’d prefer that you find someone not part of the school.) You should solicit someone with a problem that is more than just a ready-reference question or two, but not one that would take you days to do. The user's need should be something he or she honestly wants to know more about and not something contrived or "made up" for the purpose of the assignment. Ask the user if they would be willing to let you help them find information to address their need as part of a course assignment.
Have
your subject fill out this form, conduct an
interview, and then plan out and execute your search. You may, if you wish, have the user with you
when you do the search to help in deciding on what you find and what to do
next. You may use any resources you
like, print, digital, Web, other people (except professional librarians and
other information professionals), and so on.
Treat this as you would a professional session. You may find that you need more than one
interview/search/presentation session to do a complete and thorough job.
After
your search, reflect on the experience and compose a brief report on it. You should tell me who your user is (I don’t
need names but enough so that I have an idea of why you did the search the way
you did) what you did and why you did the search the way you did, along with
anything else you want me to know (including search techniques you used, as appropriate).
You
should submit:
Your submission will be evaluated based on the quality of your decision-making, the strategy you used, the results you obtained and how they are presented, how challenging the topic is, and the overall quality of presentation of your report.
The
Assignment is due by noon on December 10.
You should submit this in whatever format
you think best, though I would ask you not to send these to me
via email.
TIPS ON SOLICITING A QUERY:
“Am
I to rush out into the street, collar the first man of wealthy appearance that
I meet, shake him, and say, ‘Go to law upon the spot, you dog, and retain me,
or I’ll be the death of you?’”
Charles
Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, Chapter
III
Although you may
imagine it is awkward and intrusive to approach people about the prospect of
"probing their needs" and "resolving their problems," this
task is not as difficult as it may initially sound.
1. Listen to
people in everyday conversation. Quite often, someone will indicate they need
to "find out about ..." or were going to "look into
something..." or were "considering whether or not to..." Such
comments are a natural "in" for you to offer to help and explain
about your course assignment. When you read your email, look for similar
phrases.
2. If
someone starts talking about their work or hobby, listen to determine if they
begin to describe a problem or obstacle. If it involves locating information in
some form, offer to help, but be careful not to give the user false expectations
regarding how much work you plan to do.
3.
The next time
you hear someone mention, "Oh, I have so much to do!" try to
determine if one of the tasks involves searching for information. Offer to
help.
4. If no other
opportunity presents itself, explain to a relative or friend that you are
working on a class project that involves providing research assistance to anther person. Ask the person, "Is there anything you
need to check up on?" or "Is there anything you want to know but
aren't sure who to ask?" If the person can't think of anything, tell them
to keep you in mind and check back with them later that day or the next day.
Ask many different people until you find a suitable subject.