1. What was the user's initial question?

Example: I want to find articles on cost estimation and construction management. Articles like you find in the journals: Journal of Management and Journal of Construction Engineering Management.

2. What additional information did you ask from the user?

3. What was the thought process you used to recommend a database? Please be as specific as possible.

Example: As soon as he asked the question I knew it was a multidisciplinary database question and that I would probably be recommending more than one database. My first thoughts were to recommend one engineering and one business database, most likely Compendex and ABI Inform. First, though, I wanted to see where these journals he mentioned were indexed. I knew the second one was an American Society of Civil Engineers journal - which would be indexed in Compendex. The first one I looked up in Ulrich's and sure enough, it is indexed in ABI Inform.

4. What did you recommend to the user? Why?

Example: I recommended Compendex and ABI Inform and explained that his research is multidisciplinary in terms of what the databases cover. I also showed him the Ulrich's pages and explained that any of a number of databases could work and that if he didn't have success with these two, he could try some of the other ones. I also told him that if he wasn't finding anything to stop by the desk again (he was going to start searching right away) and we would dig a little further.

5. Did it satisfy the user's need for a database(s)?

Example: Yes - he found some articles he could use for his project.

6. Any other thoughts about your recommendation to the user relevant to a database discovery tool?

Example: Yes - It must be possible to select more than one subject area at a time in order to cover these multidisciplinary areas.