1. Reference Interview Stages and Techniques 10/23/2012

2. Caveats… An interview is not always needed Confirmation is always needed Interviews can be non-linear Interviews can vary by channel (e.g., phone, email, chat) and by focus (e.g., research, instructional)

3. 4 Overarching guidelines  Quality: develop a shared understanding via scaffolding  Engagement: connect with the individual, not the question, via reflection on the interplay of the cognitive & affective  Comprehension: watch for signposts, don’t assume their use  Instruction: encourage self regulation through positive reinforcement

4. 7 Interview stages 1.Opening 2.Establishing the information need and user’s affective state 3.Confirming and clarifying the question 4.Conducting the search 5.Answering the question 6.Making sense of the answer 7.Closing the interview

5. 1: Opening  Affective momentum: 38% of computer use is frustrating  Mental model: expectations of the interaction rarely match exactly  Working memory: multi-tasking impairs and slows its use

6. 2. Establishing need & user state  Balance affective state with setting realistic expectations: mutual trust and respect develop from “politeness” and formality indicators; goal is harmony, not an identical match  Recognize intuitive judgments: abductive reasoning often replaces deductive/inductive reasoning as people make rapid-fire decisions based on intuition; don’t force explanations too early

7. 3. Confirm & clarify question  Re-stating question: classic technique well supported by question forms but needed particularly to denote respect and clarify relevance criteria  Monitor computer & info self-efficacy: initial reluctance to leave a comfort zone (e.g., Google) can relate to confidence levels

8. 4. Conduct the search  Information overload: avoid the data-dump approach unless invited; be ready to edit, condense, or segment information  Instructional need: 5 stages of cognitive apprenticeship; modeling, approximating, scaffolding, fading, generalizing  Agency and self-efficacy: use small cues to engagement and self-confidence

9. 5. Answer the question  Relevance criteria: visible and hidden found through reflective pauses; stopping rules  Cognitive dissonance: knowledge and belief structures tend to stabilize,

10. 6. Make sense of the answer  Evaluative integration of new information: threats emerge as information is processed  Asynchronous mental model adjustment: revisiting the original question can trigger concerns; using chat/email to return later can help

11. 7. Close the interview  Lack of closure: pro forma closures can destroy trust and interpersonal connection  Premature closure: ambiguous social norms and resenting time spent in processing options for using information

12. Insights?  Examples of scaffolding?  Examples of segmenting instructional information?  Examples of closure techniques?  Tales to share?