THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

School of Information

Ask Information Providers Some Reference Questions: Unobtrusive Observation

5=excellent; 4=very good; 3=good; 2=weak; 1=poor; 0=no credit

HIGH MIDDLE LOW TOTAL

5 4 3 2 1 0

A. Introducing the Questions

1. Does the student introduce the library/information setting

(while also retaining anonymity)? ...... ______

2. Does the student introduce the information provider (while

also retaining anonymity)? ...... ______

3. Does the student provide the questions in an appendix? . . . . ______

4. Are the questions reasonable and realistic? ...... ______

5. Are the questions well designed? ...... ______

6. Does the student provide the answers to the questions in

an appendix? ...... ______

7. Does the student indicate whether he/she considers each

answer complete? ...... ______

8. Does the student indicate whether he/she considers

each answer correct? ...... ______

7. Does the student briefly describe the details of each

reference encounter? ...... ______

8. Does the student indicate whether a reference

interview took place? ...... ______

9. Are reference interviews sufficiently detailed? ...... ______

10. Does the student refer to key professional documents? . . . ______

11. Does the student reflect on his/her feelings? ...... ______

12. Does the student indicate how the encounters might be

improved? ...... ______

13. Does the student indicate the impact of the encounter? . . ______

14. Does the student what he/she learned from the

encounters? ...... ______

15. Does the student summarize the experience with a

take-away? ...... ______

16. How would the student incorporate some of the learning

outcome into his/her information service career? . . . . . ______

17. If the student was the information provider’s supervisor,

what might he/she say to her to describe the quality

of service and whether or not it might be improved? . . ______

F. Quality of Presentation:

19. Originality ...... ______

20. Effort ...... ______

G. Writing Style

21 Spelling ...... ______

22. Punctuation ...... ______

23. Grammar ...... ______

24. Word choice ...... ______

25. Word usage ...... ______

26. Clarity ...... ______

27. Organization ...... ______

28. Does one idea logically follow another ? ...... ______

29. Sentence variety ...... ______

30. Are contractions spelled out? ...... ______

31. Does the student avoid “etc."? ...... ______

32. Does the student avoid weak connectives like “however”? ______

33. Cliches (not desirable) ...... ______

34. Length ...... ______

35. Neatness ...... ______

36. Are pages numbered except for the cover sheet?...... ______

37. Are section headings used?...... ______

38. Does the student avoid using “which”

when “that” is more appropriate? ...... ______

39. Is the text left justified only? ...... ______

40. Is the print dark enough to read? ...... ______

OTHER COMMENTS THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED IN THE CALCULATION OF YOUR GRADE: Check the course policies.