How to Ask Reference Questions I

If the student wants to know:

How do I ask reference questions at the Thammasat University Library?

Our answer might be:

It helps to get an efficient reply if the librarian knows as much as possible about the research project or academic assignment. So it is good to have precise information.

Rather than just mentioning the general subject matter, it is always useful to know definite and distinct details about the project in question. For example, the student might possibly ask a general question, such as:

I am researching food in Thailand.

Naturally that is a big subject, but the librarian’s advice would be most useful if the student went on to give a very detailed description of the exact subject matter being researched:

I am a third year student and for my class in marketing at the Thammasat Business Schoool, need to prepare a five page oral presentation on the history of the ete Boran ice cream company in Thailand, especially the development, manufacture, and sales strategy of the flavors Nom Chompu, Tub Tim Krob, and Khao Niao Dam Pueak.

In this way, the librarian knows a lot about what is needed, and also what is not needed, to help the student develop the research project.

The student may ask:

Is it necessary to say what I plan to do with the data once I find it?

The reply would be:

That can also be of practical use, since if the goal is only to write an abstract or paragraph, instead of an entire thesis or full-length research paper, the amount of detailed information needed would be different. To send the librarian in the right direction with an idea of how much data is needed is a good way to start any request for research assistance.

Sometimes we might hesitate about telling anyone else, except an ajarn, about the details of a research project because we might think they would not be interested, or perhaps they do not need to know, or just because it may take some time to do so. Yet being thorough in describing what the aim of a research assignment is, will certainly help a reference librarian give the most relevant advice. The more exactly the project is described, the clearer the advice can be about how to find the necessary data. How many pages must be written, for example? What class is the assignment for? It is possible that the librarian has helped other students in the past with comparable assignments for the same class. Mention if this is for an undergraduate or graduate course, and for what year.

The student may want to know:

Should I bring anything with me when I speak to a reference librarian?

Our response could be:

Since every student has a phone, it is always possible to take notes or images with that, but it might also be helpful to have a tablet or even a traditional pen and paper, since it may prove useful to write down advice or ideas given by the reference librarian.

The student might ask:

Is there anything I should prepare before going to speak to a reference librarian?

The answer could be:

If the subject matter has some unusual or difficult terms, it might be good to be sure to know how to explain what they mean, since the librarian may not have specialized knowledge in each individual field. This can help later on, since in a thesis or academic research project, it is often necessary to explain and define complex terms and concepts so that non-specialist readers will understand them. Students are accustomed to using specialized terms and abbreviations in classrooms with ajarns, but they may forget that the world outside is not always familiar with these terms. So defining them to librarians can be a helpful exercise, preparing us to better explain our work to the rest of the Kingdom.

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