Initial Interview

Interview Construction
The entire third period Psychology class met in a computer lab in the IMC library. My client was unaware that he was going to be working with me, but he was very easy-going and had no problem with it. Since I am going into school media where they push the notion of not being " the sage on the stage, [but being] the guide on the side,"* I decided to let the client do most of his searching independently. I observed the searching strategy and offered suggestions to improve his skills.

Results
Chronological Listing of Search Steps

• Client opened browser to the high school's web page and navigated to the library site.
• He then connected to EBSCOhost and selected a variety of databases (Masterfile, Academic Search Premier).
• The client entered the search terms: porn, harmful with no results.
• He narrowed it down to porn.
• I interjected and suggested that he limit his results to full text and peer-reviewed journal articles.
  
• I then introduced him to term truncation and suggested the search terms: "sex* offen*" and porn.
  
• This did not get many results, and the few that came back were false drops. I suggested that we should try another set of search terms, but he instead felt the databases were the problem and logged out.
• He then opened JSTOR, which Mrs. Rosenberg discussed before the searching began.
  
• We limited the database results to only within the psychology discipline.
• The user retried porn and rape and brought back only one hit.
  
• This hit represented the opposite point of view, suggesting that porn is harmful. We decided to keep this article, because he has to be aware of the other side to prepare for his debate. The article also included key words we had not conceived previously.
  
• I suggested we switch to books, as he still had to find at least one book on the subject. We looked through the OPAC and found one title that seemed relevant: Porn and Sexual Violence.
  
• By area scanning, I found two other titles for the client: Opposing View Points: Pornography by editor Helen Cothran and Pornography in America: A Reference Handbook by Joseph W. Slade.
  
• While the client resumed searching online databases, I flipped through the references of Pornography in America. As a result, I found a citation complete with abstract that detailed exactly what the user needed for his paper/debate.
  
• I suggested he look in multiple databases and seek the article through various fields, such as title keyword and author. We found one article by the same author, but not on the desired subject.
• I took over the searching temporarily and logged into the Rutgers network.
  
• I exhaustively searched numerous databases, checking various fields, to no luck. To say the least, it was a very frustrating experience.
  
• We moved on to another article from the book that was not as relevant, but still worked. This was not in the Rutgers system either.
  
• Ultimately we tried another database, SIRS. The client supplied the search terms "pornograph?" and then I tweaked it by suggesting "porn? and violence."
• Results brought back the latter journal article that was somewhat relevant.
  
• We decided to retry the first article from the book, to no avail.
  
• Lastly, we attempted to use ProQuest with the search term "pornography."
  
• I suggested we narrow the search down within "sex crimes," but we did not find anything by the time he had to leave.
  

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* I have tried to find an originating source for this, but it seems to be ubiquitous and on a vast array of teaching instruction sites. I am therefore unable to pinpoint exactly who I should cite.