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? . . _____
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F. Quality of Presentation:
19. Originality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
20. Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
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G. Writing Style
21 Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
22. Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
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Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Word choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Word usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Does one idea logically follow another ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Sentence variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Are contractions spelled out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Does the student avoid “etc."? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Does the student avoid weak connectives like “however”? _____ ______
Cliches (not desirable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Neatness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
Are pages numbered except for the cover sheet?. . . . . . . . _____ ______
Are section headings used?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
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? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
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OTHER COMMENTS THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED IN THE CALCULATION OF YOUR
GRADE: Check the course policies.