Asking the Right Questions
Getting the best answers always means asking the right
questions. This article is a
continuation of several I have written on research and searching for
answers. The cases I mention are based
on events (except for when I say it is from a TV show), but I have taken
dramatic license to make a story.
In order to ask the seek
answers one must do research into the topic and come up with the best
questions. When watching TV news shows, Face the
Nation or Meet the Press, the preparation of the host and the other
journalists is very evident. The host
had spent many hours investigating and preparing for the few minutes the guests
are on the screen. In contrast students
come to the library reference desk and ask, “Do you have a book? or ”Can I rent
a book?” I could answer, “yes, I have a
book” or “no, we don’t rent books” and be totally correct. I answered the text of the question, but did
not give the information they needed. To
give them what they need, I need to ask them to clarify their needs. They need
to tell me the title of the book or a subject they are investigating. If the book is for a class and the student
know the title, it is easy to find out whether we have the book or not.
A student asked, “Can you turn on the Internet?”
I was puzzled and asked, “Are you able to login with your ID
and password.”
Student replied, “Yes, but the computer still won’t work.”
I walked over to the
computer and found the power was off. I
pushed power on button and it came on.
The student was then able to login.
A few minutes later the student asked for help when the site would
accept her input. Since the site was for
a personal reason and not school or library connected, I couldn’t help. I said that I don’t know anything about the
site and she would have to call the company’s support line. The student said that the library secretary
helped her before. That was an insult to
the librarians. We have no secretaries. I don’t think anyone in the entire college
has that job title or description.
“My teacher told me I need two books and two peer-reviewed
articles for my paper,” is frequent request from students. First, I hate the idea that “peer-reviewed”
is a standard for selecting an article. While
some research universities say that “peer-reviewed” is the gold standard for research,
I humbly disagree. If the peer-review is
rigorous in the medical or scientific field, this is reasonable. The editors
can’t know everything and someone needs to check to be sure the authors are on
track and not making up data and conclusions.
I have been the reviewer of “scholarly” articles, that were poorly
conceived, poorly written, and not ready for publication. Since I was a volunteer, I could not spend
the time to edit. I had no ability to
judge if all the facts were correct. I
had the opinion that if the written text is unclear, I could not trust the
evidence or experiment to be done well.
I also edited a newsletter for my local librarian
group. Since every article was reviewed
by at least two librarians, I called it “peer-reviewed.”
The teacher should have showed the students (or asked for
librarian help) how to choose appropriate sources for the topic. The students need to learn the bias and
limitations of books, newspapers, magazines and academic journals.
If the student has not chosen a topic or has such a general
topic that a search will get tens of thousands of hits, I refer them to Opposing
Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints
is a database with a list of popular topics and editor chosen articles. It is a good starting point for beginning English
or speech classes. Students can look at
the choices and find a small number of articles to start with. Instead of 43,4533 hits for “gun control”
when searching the catalog, the student find 3-10 articles that can be perused
and read.
Some students are very secretive with their search. I saw a puzzled student looking in the stacks
and I offered help. She had been looking
in the artifact card catalog. I
explained the card catalog had not been maintained for more than 20 years and
the cards there didn’t represent our collection. I offered help. She said that she wanted a law book. I asked what area of law she wanted to
research. She said it was for her
sister. I said that I needed to know
more so that I could direct her to the right books. I showed her the KF section and said this was
law of the United States and KFI is the law of Illinois. I told her that I needed to know what jurisdiction
to further help her. Was this a federal
issue, state or local issue? Did she
want the statute or a book about the issue?
She said “child custody.”
Right away I knew this was not an issue that one could just
look up in a book. If the search was
academic, I could guide her to books and articles about the topic. If this was
case based, the person needs to talk to an expert who can find the answer in
her situation. The student ran out of
time and had to go to class. Support groups and legal websites have lots of
great information on child custody issues.
With further interaction I could have done a better job of pointing her
to a way to find out the answer or at least a better question.[1] As a librarian, I can’t give legal advice.
I mentioned the about search to a lawyer and he said that
clients sometimes want instant answers.
The clients want the lawyers to work magic and remedy the situation, but
forget there is a good reason to consult and expert. In the latest issue of Time magazine
(July 24, 2017) Heather Gerken, Dean of Yale University Law School wrote,
In law schools, we don't just teach
our students to know the weaknesses in their own arguments. We demand that they
imaginatively and sympathetically reconstruct the best argument on the other
side.[2]
This is really how all serious research should be conducted.
While science and humanities scholars don’t face adversaries in court, they do
face conflicting opinions and data. I
teach that scholarship is a search for the truth. One must use triangulation –
read and use multiple sources, understand the context, and use experience and common
sense to figure out the truth of the situation.
The case my lawyer friend told me about involved a plaintiff
(the client) who wanted to evict a sub-letting tenant from their
apartment. The apartment was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and was in subsidized housing. The rent agreement did not allow subletting. Subletting was subject to financial and legal
penalties. The plaintiff and family had
gone to the Catskills for the summer and sublet until the end of September. When questioned by my friend’s partner, the client
did not tell the whole story. The client
did not say why the rental was for the month of September. My friend knew something was fishy because
Hasidic couples from Williamsburg would not stay in the Catskills past Labor
Day. On or before Labor Day everyone
would return to the city for school and work.
Because the lawyer knew some of the background and context, he knew what
questions to ask the client. The client
called the subletter a squatter and wanted him out. The opposing attorney
produced an ad in Yiddish for the apartment offering to sublet. The client had no case or grounds to evict,
because subletting was not allowed.
In a case from the TV show Blue Bloods,[3] Detective Danny
Reagan was on a jury for a murder trial.
He was the only one not voting guilty.
He knew that that physical evidence did not match the “eye witness”
account. The jury was hung and the prosecution scheduled a new trial. Danny was assigned the case. The original defense attorney wanted the
defendant to take a plea of guilty.
Since he was innocent, the defendant dismissed that attorney and plead
innocent. Danny questioned the so-called
“eye witness” and tried to understand her story by visiting the crime scene. The
pieces did not fit. The triangulation of
testimony, physical evidence, and professional expertise told Danny something
was wrong. Eventually Danny put the
pieces together and found the connection between the “eye witness” and victim. She was a former lover and killed him out of
jealous anger. If Danny’s first question would have been “Did you kill the victim,”
she would have said an emphatic, “No.” He used his expertise to figure out the
right sequence of questions to make sure the truth was told.
This is an example of doing research to enable one to ask
the best questions. A student coming to
the library does not always know the best questions. Once the librarian or teacher helps formulate
the best questions, the research can proceed.
[1] The web site FindLaw is one
starting page. The page for child
custody is: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-law/illinois-child-custody-laws.html
The site has links to the law and other
information on the subject. They do
recommend seeing an attorney to decide the best course of action.
Another helpful site is from the Illinois Legal Aid Online web site: https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/getting-custody-child
Another helpful site is from the Illinois Legal Aid Online web site: https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/getting-custody-child
[2] Reference for the print
edition: Gerken, Heather. “One campus arena where free speech is not up for
debate: law schools.” Time, July 24, 2017 p. 20. Reference for online
version: Gerken, Heather. “Dean of Yale Law School: Campus Free Speech Is Not
Up for Debate” http://time.com/4856225/law-school-free-speech/?iid=sr-link1,
July 13, 2017; retrieved July 16, 2017.
[3] Justice Served season
4 episode 8 originally aired Nov. 13, 2013.
Posts
