The Reference
Interview
- an introduction
| Information Sources and Services | |
| Clarion University of PA | |
| Fall 2002, Southpointe Center | |
| http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~matthewm/refiview/refiview.htm |
| Users ask for something very broad and general | |
| Users ask for something specific but there’s a mismatch | |
| Users aren’t exactly sure how the library system works | |
| (Ross, Nilsen and Dewdney, p. 22-25) |
| Keywords in the user’s question are ambiguous | |
| User’s question involves a reconstruction | |
| User’s question contains an error or misconception | |
| (Ross, Nilsen and Dewdney, p. 22-25) | |
| Style | |
| Isolation | |
| Success |
| Eye contact | |
| Gestures (smiles, nods) | |
| Posture | |
| Pausing | |
| Facial expression and tone of voice |
| Remembering (what the patron tells you) | |
| Avoiding premature diagnosis | |
| Reflecting feelings verbally | |
| Restating or paraphrasing content | |
| Move from a system-based perspective to a user-based perspective |
| Using encouragers | |
| Asking open questions | |
| Neutral questions or sense-making questions | |
| Giving opinions and suggestions | |
| Closing |
Six Common Causes of Communication Accidents
| Not acknowledging the user | |
| Not listening | |
| Playing 20 questions | |
| Interrupting at inappropriate times | |
| Making assumptions | |
| Not following up | |
| (Ross, Nilsen and Dewdney, p. 15-16) | |
| Dervin, Brenda and Patricia Dewdney. 1986. “Neutral Questioning: A New Approach to the Reference Interview.” RQ 25, no. 4 (summer): 506-13. | |
| Dewdney, Patricia and Catherine Sheldrick Ross. 1994. “Flying a Light Aircraft: Reference Evaluation from a User’s Viewpoint.” RQ 34, no. 2 (winter): 217-30. | |
| Gross, Melissa. 1995. “The Imposed Query.” RQ 35, no. 2 (winter): 236-43. |
| Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, Kirsti Nilson and Patricia Dewdney. 2002. Conducting the Reference Interview. New York: Neal-Schuman. | |
| Radford, Marie L. 1999. The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. | |
| Jennerich, Elaine Z. and Edward J. Jennerich. 1997. The Reference Interview as a Creative Art. 2nd ed. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited. |