The person who acquires a Dialog password has only taken the first step building a career as an information broker. Research also involves print materials and human experts. Trade associations and government agencies are important resources. The broker must be able to locate likely people and get the needed information from them directly. One aspect of the research process often under-emphasized in traditional reference courses is the reference interview by telephone.
Brokers meet few of their clients in person.
Role playing of reference interviews, including especially those interviews done over the phone, are important part of the training. Electronic resources should be incorporated fully into reference courses. The instructor who simply says that students are welcome to use Dialog to answer any practice questions for extra credit is not especially facilitating learning, for the questions have usually been designed with specific print tools in mind and students do not necessarily have the skills to evaluate their online activities. Rather the electronic resources must be considered an integral part of the instructional design in reference courses. When the instructor of a science reference course talks about information behavior of chemists, for example, that discussion should include their use of electronic resources.