Ipl question 1 1/21/2010 Ready Reference Question

IPL Questions and Log of Answers
Clea Mahoney
INFO 521: Information Users & Services
Professor Marion
March 10, 2010
IPL Question 1
1/21/2010
Ready Reference Question
Needed by: 1/25/2010/
Question:
This winter, some of my fellow students and I (we're students at
Seoul National University) are
conducting a student seminar on
Dante Alighieri's epic poem
_The Inferno_. One of our planned
activities is to view a film based
on this literary work; however,
we're having trouble locating
suitable movies, because
the film has to be in DVD form
in order for us to view it.
Currently, we have found a
1911 silent movie, L'Inferno
(directed by Giuseppe de Liguoro) and a 2007 version, "Dante's
Inferno" (directed by Sean Meredith). Unfortunately, we can't use
either because these two films are unavailable as DVDs in our
country.
So probably the next best option would be to find a movie that is
somehow related to Dante's _Inferno_ or is loosely based on that
work. If there are no such movies, we might even consider viewing
movies that share similar themes (faith and doubt, sin and
redemtion, etc.) or deal with heaven and hell. The important
thing is that the movie should be pretty well-known (no obscure
flicks, please) in order for us to find a DVD on the Korean
market. Films in the English language would be most preferable,
but films that meet all the above requirements and have English
subtitles as well are fine, too.
Thank you in advance for your answer!
name:
from:
confirm:
location: Seoul, Korea
area: Literature
reason: I plan to use this information for a student seminar at
my college.
school: No
sources_consulted: We have consulted Google, to no such luck.
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): need to find a film based on Dante’s Inferno, or a popular film that contains similar themes (faith, doubt, sin, redemption, and heaven/hell). English language, available in DVD that will play in Korea.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thank you for your question concerning films referencing Dante’s Inferno, either through plot or themes. I recommend beginning with the 1990 film “Jacob’s Ladder,” but included other suggestions below. I looked at several sources to find these film suggestions and here are the results of my search.
I began my search through IPL2.org:
http://www.ipl2.org/
Then, I visited the “Resources by Subject” area followed by clicking on “Entertainment & Leisure” and then “Movies,” on the left. The resulting page can be found here:
http://www.ipl2.org/IPLBrowse/GetSubject?vid=13&cid=1&tid=6740&parent=6705
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/ya53okv
From the list, I selected the Internet Movie Database, available here:
http://www.imdb.com
I trust the IMDB for its comprehensive database of films, and its inclusion on the IPL2 Resources by Subject list. Searching for “Dante’s Inferno” (without quotes) returned a list of results with the film “Jacob’s Ladder” at the top. Clicking through to the film description showed me that “Dante’s Inferno” was an alternate title for this film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/
I then verified the film’s availability in your country by viewing the release details, available here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/releaseinfo
This told me that the film was released in South Korea on March 13, 1993. I am unsure of whether you will be able to find a DVD version of the film in your country, but I did find that the Seoul National University Library carries a videocassette copy of the film. I used the search engine Google:
http://www.google.com
to locate the website of Seoul National University’s library, available here:
http://library.snu.ac.kr
I trust this source based on its status as a university library. I limited my search to “non-book sources,” searched for “Jacob’s Ladder” (no quotes needed in the search) and found a video cassette available for use. Your library may have other format options (such as DVD) available, and I would consider asking them.
http://library.snu.ac.kr/Eng/DetailView.jsp?uid=1&cid=1086195&ResultType=Multi
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/ydnxdsg
In case this film isn’t available in the format you prefer, I considered your suggestion for films with similar themes. I visited filmsite.org, another film database I found through the IPL2 (through Resources by Subject, Entertainment & Leisure, Movies). The site can be accessed here:
http://www.filmsite.org/
This source gains credibility through its listing on the IPL2 Resources by Subject area. I searched for “Dante’s Inferno” (no quotes needed) and found a 1924 version.
http://movies.amctv.com/movie/12212/Dantes-Inferno/overview
Clicking on the full synopsis, available at
http://movies.amctv.com/movie/12212/Dantes-Inferno/details
presents a “Similar Movies” section listed on the right. Two in particular are popular movies with several versions (various years and directors), so I suggest checking your library or local stores for DVD for any of the following: A Christmas Carol (1951 or other versions), Dracula (1931 or other versions).
I hope you find these suggestions useful for your purposes. Please don’t hesitate to contact us again if you need more information.
Thank you for using the IPL2.
Amount of Time Spent on Question: Approximately 2 hours
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): I also consulted Amazon.com DVD Search. I searched on Google.com for “DVD region encoding, “found a site on About.com: http://hometheater.about.com/cs/dvdlaserdisc/a/aaregioncodesa.htm which lists Region 3 as Korea. I did not find anything for Jacob’s Ladder and “Region 3” on Amazon and Google. Therefore, I am not totally sure if the DVD is available in the patron’s country. I also consulted Rottentomatoes.com, another movie review site with which I was already familiar, but did not find any additional useful information here.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): I am pleased with my response to this question, though I am sure that having more knowledge of specific Web sites that would have what I am looking for (for instance, a site with the ability to search DVDs by region and title) would have helped even further. I initially wasted some time searching for the DVD availability, and finally decided that the University’s library (Seoul National University) would be further able to help the patron locate the title that I recommend in the format they desire.
Anything I would do differently in the future: I would like to gain a better understanding of where to find specific products available in other countries, as locating a Region 3 DVD over the internet proved to be difficult, even for some popular movies.
IPL Question 2
1/25/2010
Ready Reference Question
Needed by: 1/28/2010/
Question:
What is mean by Content Creation? How does it applicable in
Academic libraries?
name:
from:
confirm:
location: India
area: Library
reason: In my library for improving library services
school: No
sources_consulted: Content Creation: Evolution of Tools and
Processes
J.Srinivasan, M.Ganapathy, A.Narayanan and S.Venkadesan
[My initial thoughts: I need to find a definition for “content creation” and find out how it applies to academic libraries. This patron wants to improve library services, so I will focus on resources that emphasize improvement of library services.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question on content creation and its relation to academic libraries. I consulted several sources to find an answer to your question. My initial inquiries led me to deduce that “content creation” usually relates to digital content.
First, I found an article on “Definitions of Digital Preservation” from the Web site of the American Library Association, which offers a brief description of content creation:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/resources/preserv/defdigpres0408.pdf
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/yl37g5n
I also found a report by the Council on Library and Information Resources that makes recommendations to academic libraries, including a small section on content creation. The report notes that changes in content creation can alter archiving rights:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub138/execsum.html
In addition to these sources, I found an article on the challenges facing academic libraries. The authors note the importance of content creation for knowledge management and resource collection at the following link:
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/assfoo/publications/2002/02wls_fmt.pdf
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/y8rk5fl
Finally, I would recommend visiting your local academic library and asking how that library specifically views content creation and why it is important. From the site Libraries on the Web, I found the following locations in India:
http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Asia_India.html
I found the first two sites through the search engine Google, 1.) By searching for the Web site of the American Library Association and, 2.) By searching for “content creation” and “academic libraries” (with quotes).
http://www.google.com
I trust the ALA as a source of information regarding library science based on its long-standing reputation in the field. I trust the CLIR report due to its status as an independent, non-profit organization that works to improve access to information.
I found the third site through Google Scholar, a trusted search engine for scholarly articles:
http://www.scholar.google.com
A search for “content creation” and “academic libraries” returned many results that require a subscription service, so I would check with your local libraries on accessing those sources.
I hope you find these sources help answer your questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us again if you need more information.
Thank you for using the IPL2.
Amount of Time Spent on Question: 2 hours 40 minutes
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): I also consulted The Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (http://lu.com/odlis/search.cfm) but found no results for content creation. I also tried libraryinstruction.com, to no avail, and ASIS&T, with no clear results on what I was looking for. I visited Wikipedia to search for “content creation,” but didn’t find any helpful linked sources or authoritative definitions. Finally, I also searched (through Google) for the title of the source that the patron already consulted, to see if any bibliographical information might be provided.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): I thought I answered this question pretty well, considering its difficulty. Since I’ve answered two questions now (including the practice question), I feel more confident that my answer was useful to the patron and stated in a professional, courteous way. Since “content creation” seems rather vague and was not defined in any of the dictionaries I searched, I think my answer was an appropriate introduction to the patron’s question.
Anything I would do differently in the future: In the future, I would look to organization’s websites first (such as the ALA), especially if the question pertains to a specific discipline, as it did to library science in this case. After this question, I have gained a better understanding of where to look for resources—the IPL resources by subject didn’t prove very fruitful, and I need to remind myself to think outside the box to remember what other free resources might be available.
IPL Question 3
2/1/10
Research Question
Needed by: no need by
Question:
Find Singapore's Property and Real Estate for Sale & Rent with
Singapore's Leading Property Site
name:
from:
confirm:
location: Singapore
area: Other
reason: Find Singapore's Property and Real Estate for Sale & Rent
with Singapore's Leading Property Site
school: No
sources_consulted:
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): This seems like a spambot-type of question, since it isn’t stated in question format and the source consulted is titled “Singapore’s Leading Property Site.” However, since the IPL librarians screened this, I will treat it as a legitimate question and search for current property and real estate for sale and rent in Singapore.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question on finding property for sale or rent in Singapore. The source you already consulted seems like a valuable, comprehensive resource but it is always great to have additional resources on hand that could help in your search.
The first website I found that will aid you in your search is as follows:
http://www.propertyzone.sg/
I recommend this website above similar ones returned by a Google search because it seems more user-friendly; you can easily browse properties for sale or rent and by property type, as shown on the main page to the left.
Another website that may provide you with quality real estate listings is:
http://www.iproperty.com.sg
I recommend this resource because of its user-friendly search functions; you can search by criteria such as for sale, rent or new properties, and limit your results to keywords, neighborhoods, price and even the size of certain rooms. This seems like a helpful way to search for specific properties, and one that will get you much more precise results.
To find the first resource, I used the search engine Google:
http://www.google.com
I then entered this query, which may seem complex but I will explain: ("real estate" OR property) and (sale or rent*) and Singapore
Since you are searching for real estate or property, this would be one concept, enclosed by parentheses. You want properties for sale or rent, so I included these words as another search concept, again in parentheses. Adding an asterisk (*) to “rent” allows the search engine to pick up terms like rental, renting, and so on. Finally, your third concept is Singapore, so I joined all three concepts with an “and” between concepts. This will give you much more specific results than just entering the terms individually.
I trust the first source based on its About Us page, located below. This section notes that the website is run by the iProperty.com Group, Asia’s top network of property rentals.
To find the second resource, I used the “metasearch” engine Clusty:
http://www.clusty.com
Clusty compiles data from other search engines such as Ask.com, MSN and more. Since there were so many results for my search through Google, I thought Clusty would be helpful in providing an ordered list that includes the best results on top, while filtering out spam. I trust Clusty based on its inclusion in the IPL2 Resources and its recommendation by my graduate school professors and peers.
I found the resource I included above through Clusty by using the same search phrases as my Google search, also described above. The website I included was the first returned result, so Clusty considers this a legitimate source.
I hope these resources help you in your search for real estate in Singapore. If you need more information, please write back to use any time. Thanks for using the IPL2!
Amount of Time Spent on Question: Approximately 1 hour 45 minutes
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): First, I consulted the IPL2’s Resources by Subject, specifically the Real Estate section under Business & Economics. None of the sites provided were helpful for searching for properties outside of North America, so this was a dead end. I also checked a few other websites returned by my Google search (described above), but a few didn’t have very detailed information about the company or organization that created the website, so I hesitated to trust these other sources.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): I think I did an excellent job answering the patron’s question. I provided her with two resources she had not yet considered, which seem just as helpful as the source she already consulted. The websites I found have a great layout and comprehensive database of continually updated information, so I am confident that I answered this question as best I could.
Anything I would do differently in the future: In this case, I would not do anything differently. I may skip over searching the IPL2’s Resources by Subject as my first step, since I didn’t find anything helpful (this seems to be common for questions I’ve answered from patrons outside of the U.S.). However, the IPL2 was useful for verifying that Clusty was included in its resources, so it was still worthwhile for me to consult the IPL2 in general.
IPL Question 4
2/4/2010
Research Question
Needed by: no need by
Question:
books about the influence of peer pressure...
name:
from:
confirm:
location: Leyte, Philippines
area: Library
reason: send through e-mail
school: Yes
sources_consulted: books and periodicals
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): The patron does not note which books/periodicals he has consulted, so I have no definite way to avoid duplicates. I will try to find the most up to date books available—sources that are general enough but also comprehensive enough to give the patron the most helpful resources. I also don’t know whether the patron is a teacher or student, but do know that this is for school, which gives me an idea of the general audience.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question about the influence of peer pressure. I was pleased to research this question, since I am curious about the topic. You didn’t list the books you already consulted, so I tried to find the most current books that address the influence of peer pressure.
The first book is called “How to Say No and Keep Your Friends: Peer Pressure Reversal for Teens and Preteens” by Sharon Scott, the second edition published in 1997. I recommend this book because it is a straightforward guide that preteens and teens can read easily, and because it talks not only about the influence of peer pressure, but what kids can do about it.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Say-Keep-Your-Friends/dp/0874254094/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265313465&sr=1-2
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/yktugw9
The second resource is called “Adolescence in America: A-M” by Jacqueline V. Lerner, Richard M. Lerner and Jordan Finkelstein. The section on peer pressure offers a simple overview of the good and bad sides of peer pressure. I trust this source because it’s an encyclopedia, and its publisher (ABC-CLIO) is well known for its published reference books, CD-ROM products, and research publications. You can preview the section on peer pressure here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=MtaTpxCqITwC&lpg=PA494&dq=influence%20%22peer%20pressure%22&lr=lang_en&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0&as_pt=BOOKS&pg=PA494#v=onepage&q=influence%20%22peer%20pressure%22&f=false
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/yhbz3nx
You may be able to find these books at your local library. I consulted LibWeb to find libraries in the Philippines, so I hope one of the following is close to your location:
http://www.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/libweb-search.pl?search=philippines
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/yewwl32
I found the first source by searching Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com
Amazon is a popular online retailer that offers a large variety of books. In the search bar, I chose “Books” from the drop-down menu and entered this statement: “influence of peer pressure” (no quotes). The book I recommend was on the list of results.
I found the second book by searching Google Books:
http://www.books.google.com
I entered “influence of peer pressure” (no quotes) in the search bar and found the “Adolescence in America” book on the list of results.
I hope you find these books helpful for your purposes. Please don't hesitate
to contact us again if you need more information, and thanks again for using the IPL2!
Amount of Time Spent on Question: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): At first I found a wide variety of books about the influence of peer pressure, but the reading level seemed too high for the audience, let alone a patron located outside of the U.S. I also did a Google search for “Leyte, Philippines library” but didn’t find anything helpful. Finally, I also consulted the IPL2’s resources by subject but didn’t find any key sources or links to websites that might give me book titles.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): Since the patron didn’t provide his age but did say it’s for school, I made sure to select sources geared toward simpler reading levels and using everyday (rather than academic) language. I believe the sources I chose are authoritative and will be helpful, but I do wonder if I’m missing out on some key sources by not knowing more specifics on the patron’s question.
Anything I would do differently in the future: I know that if I were answering this question in person, I would be able to define the patron’s position better (i.e. teacher or student), but since that isn’t the case online, I might ask whether there’s a more specific reason or audience for the topic in question. This is another case where I wasn’t sure of the best starting place, since the IPL2 does include many helpful online links but I haven’t found anything for books specifically. Despite the lack of details about the user and the reason for his question, I think I did a good job choosing sources overall and explaining why I recommend them.
IPL Question 5
2/4/2010
Research Question
Needed by: 2/10/2010
Question:
Define active transport
State those types that represent active transport and the
mechanisms of those mentioned
ie filtration
vesicular transport
diffusion
carrier mediated transport
name:
from:
confirm:
location: Accra -Ghana
area: Science
reason: assignment
school: Yes
sources_consulted: internet
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): The patron does not note which internet sources he has consulted, so I have no definite way to avoid duplicates. I will try to find sources that offer authoritative definitions and simple explanations, because I am unsure of the patron’s grade level.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question about active transport. I was happy to research this question because I loved learning about cellular transportation in my biology classes. You didn’t list the sources you already consulted on the internet, so I tried to find a few authoritative and straightforward sources that will help answer your question.
The first source I found, titled “Transport in and out of cells,” comes from the website of the Estrella Mountain Community College. It includes a Table of Contents at the top, where you’ll find several of the subjects you inquired about: Active and Passive Transport, Carrier Assisted Transport, and Vesicle-mediated Transport (vesicular transport). You can find the site at the link below.
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBooktransp.html
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/ymt5
Further down the document, you’ll find a list of Terms, which includes another one of the terms you asked about—diffusion. You can find that definition below, and please feel free to browse the entire glossary for other terms that may be related to active transport:
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookglossD.html#diffusion
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/y97xqn7
The second resource is a website called Biology-Online.org, which includes an entry for the other term you asked about, filtration. I have included the link to this term below, but the site includes definitions for your other terms of interest as well—just enter those terms in the search bar.
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Filtration
I will include the general link for Active Transport as well, since it may give you a clearer picture of the concept as well as some related terms:
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Active_transport
I found the first source by searching Google:
http://www.google.com
I entered the following in the search bar: "active transport" mechanism. I trust the source because it is a part of a university’s web site, and includes citations at the bottom of the page to the scholarly sources used to obtain the information.
I found the second website, Biology-Online.org, by searching for Biology on the IPL2’s homepage:
http://www.ipl2.org
I trust the Biology-Online.org site because of its inclusion in the IPL2 resources links, and because the information I found is consistent with what I have learned in college classes about cellular transportation.
I hope you find these books helpful for your purposes. Please don't hesitate
to contact us again if you need more information, and thanks again for using the IPL2!
Amount of Time Spent on Question: 1 hour 20 minutes
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): At first I consulted the IPL2’s resources by subject and browsed the Resources by Subject, Science & Technology section. I tried a few of the resources (such as Scholarpedia) but didn’t find anything helpful, but I did finally choose to go with Biology-Online.org as a reliable source (described in my answer above). I tried a variety of search statements via Google before settling on the one described in my answer above. Finally, I checked Wikipedia to see if I could find more sources, but the entries for passive transport (and related terms like filtration) didn’t include any citations.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): Since the patron didn’t provide his age but did say it’s for school, I made sure to choose easy to understand sources (the first even had helpful animations and pictures). Although the question wasn’t stated in the form of a complete sentence, I think I answered the patron’s inquiry and provided useful, authoritative sources.
Anything I would do differently in the future: It would have helped if I knew about more general websites that offer reliable encyclopedia-like entries on scientific concepts. I had an idea in my head of the type of source I wanted to find (a Wikipedia entry with sources cited would have been a good start!) but I had to compromise. I found many PDF files that looked helpful and had .edu URLs, but because these didn’t cite sources, I neglected to include them. Other than becoming more familiar with a variety of free reference sources in the sciences, I think I answered this question adequately and in a helpful, encouraging manner.
IPL Question 6
2/11/2010
Research Question
Needed by: 2/11/2010
Question:
NJ colleges that offers a doctorate degree in child psychology?
And is this affordable or what is the requirements to get a
scholarship
name:
from:
confirm:
location: NJ
area: Psychology
reason: in career portifolio for english class
school: Yes
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): The patron does not say if he has found any results, so my response may include schools he has already considered. I will try to find sources that offer detailed information on which schools in NJ offer this degree, and then search for both internal and external scholarship opportunities.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question about colleges in New Jersey that offer a doctorate degree in child psychology. I was glad to research this question because I went to college in New Jersey and am curious about what colleges in the area offer the program you’re searching for. I found a few helpful websites on schools that offer graduate programs in psychology; however, none specifically for child psychology. I hope the school I link to below is helpful in your search, and I’m including a few recommendations on sources for scholarships below.
The first source comes from Psychology.org:
http://www.psychology.org/links/Organizations/PhD_Programs/
The page includes a helpful list of accredited doctorate programs, so I chose two from that list to narrow down our search. One is available here:
http://www-gse.berkeley.edu/program/SP/html/sp_gradprograms.html
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/ykr2crx
Berkeley’s page offers an option to search by state on the left-hand side, so I clicked on States K-N:
http://www-gse.berkeley.edu/program/SP/html/stateskn.html
The list for New Jersey includes many M.A. programs, but also links to a few PsyD programs—specifically at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers University. I followed the link for Rutgers, but the website says no Ph.D. information is available. The link to Fairleigh Dickinson’s graduate programs is located here:
http://alpha.fdu.edu/ucoll/psychology/psyhome.html
Some information about financial aid and scholarships for FDU can be found here:
http://staging.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=4615
Although I found many other helpful links on the Psychology.org homepage, I was unable to find other schools in New Jersey that offer Ph.D. programs in psychology, let alone child psychology specifically (even FDU doesn’t offer that exact program, but I recommend contacting the university to speak to them about their offerings).
I also recommend checking with your school’s guidance counselor about other scholarship opportunities. While the universities in New Jersey may offer a limited number (if any) scholarships for this type of degree, I encourage you to search for private scholarships and a guidance counselor would be able to offer more details on the availability of local scholarships.
I found the first two sources by searching Google:
http://www.google.com
I entered the following in the search bar: accredited doctorate programs child psychology. This led me to the Psychology.org page, where I continued my search by browsing through the links provided on the site I linked to above. I consider Psychology.org a trustworthy source based on its APA accreditation.
I found financial aid information from FDU by searching Google for Fairleigh Dickinson University and graduate scholarships. This is a reliable source for information because it comes from the university itself.
I hope you find these links helpful for your search. Good luck, and please don't hesitate
to contact us again if you need more information. Thanks again for using the IPL2!
Amount of Time Spent on Question: 1 hour 25 minutes
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): I tried a Google search for “doctorate programs in ‘child psychology’ and ‘New Jersey’” and found a site called Education-Portal.com. The site seemed trustworthy (containing an ALA logo at the bottom and a status as an Accredited Business by the BBB), but the schools that this website suggested didn’t have what I was looking for. I also checked out several other links from Psychology.org, such as http://www.socialpsychology.org/ranking.htm, but the other New Jersey schools only had M.A. programs.
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): This was a seemingly easy question that proved to be much harder to answer than I thought. I found many schools in New Jersey that offer M.A. programs in psychology, a few Ph.D. programs, but none specifically in child psychology. I am confident that my search strategy returned several reliable sources, but none of these pointed to specific child psychology doctorate degrees in New Jersey colleges. Aside from copying and pasting the scholarship specifics for the school I found to be helpful for the patron (FDU), I was unsure of whether I should include more sources. Overall, I am happy with the answer I provided but probably just as frustrated as the patron to learn that there aren’t more programs available for him and his geographic location.
Anything I would do differently in the future: In the future, I may try other websites that are either general sources of information on graduate programs in colleges by state, or perhaps websites from the APA as that organization would be a trustworthy source of information. However, I am happy with the sites I found and think they answered the patron’s question without adding too much extra information that wouldn’t be useful in this case.
IPL Question 7
3/4/2010
Research Question
Needed by: no need by
Question:
What is a midlife crisis? Does it have a formal definition? Is
there enough information on this topic to write a definitional
argument paper for a Composition 2 class?
name:
from:
confirm:
location: Rhode Island
area: Education
reason: I teach English classes, and my students asked me these
questions, as part of choosing a topic for a writing assignment
school: Yes
sources_consulted: wikipedia
[My initial thoughts (not included in response to patron): The patron indicated that she already consulted Wikipedia, which might be a good starting point but I wonder if she checked any of the references on that page. I chose to begin at the IPL’s resources by subject and wanted to look for an official source, perhaps something by the APA.]
Response:
Greetings from the IPL2! Thanks for your question about the definition of a midlife crisis. I was curious about the answer myself, so I enjoyed searching for an answer. Below are a few links to websites that may help answer your question, and from the wealth of sources I found, I would say there is enough information to write a definitional argument paper.
The first source comes from Priory Medical Journals, and the definition itself comes from an article published in 1995 in Psychiatry On-line:
http://www.priory.com/mbti1.htm
This site mentions that there are many definitions of mid-life crisis, and offers a helpful interpretation according to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.
After checking the website of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association for definitions of mid-life crisis and finding no results, I turned to the search aggregator Clusty:
http://www.clusty.com
I searched for “mid-life crisis” definition (quotes included) and found the following site (the top result from my search) to be very helpful, including several definitions from different dictionaries as well as links to scholarly sources:
http://www.answers.com/topic/mid-life-crisis
Since you are an educator, I highly recommend checking with your school about getting access to some of the scholarly articles referenced on the page above. Those articles will give you more authoritative information, but Answers.com’s various definitions are a good starting point.
Finally, I turned to a site that I frequently turn to when searching for accessible but reliable medical information, WebMD. A search for “mid-life crisis” (in quotes) provided the following link among a list of results, and I think you will find the discussion critical to your question—Dan Jones, PhD, mentions that the term has never had a formal diagnostic definition but that it has garnered much attention from the medical community nonetheless:
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/midlife-crisis-opportunity
This link is quite long and could break, so here is a shortened
version for your convenience.
http://tinyurl.com/4nd8ub
I found the first source by searching the IPL’s Resources by Subject. I started at the home page:
http://www.ipl2.org/
I then clicked on Resources by Subject and searched for “psychology dictionary” in the search bar (no quotes needed). The first result was the Priory Psychiatry Glossary. I clicked on Search from the homepage, which took me to the following site:
http://www.priory.com/search.htm
I then entered mid-life crisis, and found the first result I included above. I trust this source based on its link from the IPL, and based on Priory’s reputation as a high-quality source of online medical journals:
http://www.priory.com/index.html
I used Clusty to search for more articles because I have had great experiences using this search aggregator. Clusty was founded by Carnegie Mellon scientists and it queries several web search engines. I wanted to make sure I found the best results, including some that a quick Google search may have missed. Information about Clusty can be found below:
http://www.clusty.com/about
Finally, I turned to WebMD to find an article that would make the discussion about mid-life crisis more accessible to your students. Written by Brunilda Nazario, MD, the article “Midlife Crisis: Transition or Depression?” is written in a way that may encourage your students to think critically about the topic and begin thinking of some points of debate.
I hope you find these sources helpful. From what I read in the above sources, it seems that the definition of mid-life crisis is hotly debated across the medical field, so I think it would be a great topic for a definitional argument paper. Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you need more information. Thanks again for using the IPL2!
Amount of Time Spent on Question: 1 hour 20 minutes
Sources consulted and strategies used (beyond the one used for the answer): To make sure I addressed both parts of the patron’s question, I needed to know what she meant by “definitional argument.” I did a quick Google search for “definitional argument” and found a definition on a website provided by Kean University: http://www.kean.edu/~cnelson/classes/documents/definition.html. This gave me a better idea of what sort of sources I needed to look for—I would need to come across different definitions of midlife crisis or arguments against a certain definition. I also searched for definitions of mid-life crisis in a few DSM sites, found via a Google search for DSM disorders and then links from the Wikipedia page. These searches didn’t return any useful results. I found a few useful articles through a Google search for “mid-life” crisis definition (quotes where inserted) but wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, so I turned to Clusty (and explained my reasons for choosing this search aggregator in my response to the patron).
Critique of question (including level of satisfaction with the answer I provided): I was surprised to find that there was no formal definition of mid-life crisis, but I think I found a variety of sources (and from a variety of search engines or resources) that are quite helpful in answering the patron’s question. I tried to include a few scholarly but accessible definitions, and was hesitant to include the link to Answers.com but in the end I was convinced that the links to scholarly articles and reliable websites make it a great source to include.
Anything I would do differently in the future: In this case, I don’t think I would have done much differently. Perhaps there is a better search engine or aggregator than Clusty, and I didn’t find many great results through a simple Google search. I wasn’t completely happy with the information I found on Priory, but wanted to include it based on its link from the IPL and the fact that the patron submitted a question to the IPL. However, I may need to get over this urge to turn to the IPL’s Resources by Subject first if I want to find the best, most comprehensive sources.
Reaction
Many times throughout this project, I thought about how my interaction with the patron who submitted the question would differ through other mediums of communication. The opportunity for follow-up is an essential part of reference services, but difficult to achieve through e-mail. At several times during my overall experience, I wondered whether the patron was satisfied with my answer and I kept thinking about the questions even after I felt I provided a satisfactory answer (or list of potentially helpful sources). After answering seven questions, I feel I have a better idea of where e-mail reference fits into the future of all reference services, and I even thought of ideas to improve this type of service along the way.
According to the IPL’s guidelines, we (the library students providing answers through the IPL) are discouraged from frequently e-mailing the patron to clarify their question or to ask whether certain sources will be useful to them. Although there are fields available for the patron to fill in more information, such as whether the answer to their question is needed for school and what sources they have consulted up to this point, in many cases the patron left these areas blank. If I were helping the patron via online chat or in-person, I would feel more comfortable asking minor clarifications such as what other sources they have examined or for what purpose they need this information. From my own experiences as a library patron, I was always glad to be asked follow-up questions and found it a helpful part of the librarian’s process of guiding me through searches, sources and finally useful results.
Insight into how the patron felt about the sources I provided would have been helpful both during my search and after I provided an answer. This can be measured in more ways than just follow-up questions. If I were conducting a chat service, I may have access to tools that show the patron the steps I am taking throughout the search process. I view collaboration between librarians and patrons as a crucial aspect of providing reference service, since I consider it a primary goal to help the patron feel more comfortable and confident in conducting their own search after the reference experience has ended. Insight doesn’t necessarily have to be communicated through words—during an in-person reference interview, facial cues and the patron’s body language are indispensable to gauging the success of the interview.
I believe e-mail reference has its time and place—although I saw many questions relating to school assignments, I don’t think the IPL is always appropriate for this type of question. For school assignments in particular, I would feel more comfortable providing assistance through chat or in-person services, since assignments can be very rigid in terms of the types of sources considered acceptable. I think the most useful applications of e-mail reference services include cases where the patron has already consulted many sources and may need help in finding an authoritative source where results previously found have offered conflicting information. I don’t think e-mail reference could ever replace more traditional means; rather, I view e-mail reference as another tool in a user’s arsenal—they may need a hammer for one task, but for other needs, that tool wouldn’t help them accomplish the task.
In considering how my experience with e-mail reference will influence my future job in information services, it helps to measure my progress throughout the seven questions I answered and the quality of my responses. In the beginning, I used very basic tools such as a standard Google search or wasting much time looking for something very specific through the IPL’s resources. As I became more experienced with complex searches, I had to reconcile my skills with methods that would be user-friendly for the patron to replicate my search strategy. By the end of this project, the time I was spending on each question hadn’t shortened considerably but I felt much more confident in knowing where to look and how to structure my response to the patron. This will be useful helping me organize my thoughts and search strategies in future correspondences with patrons, through e-mail and more traditional means.
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