Li812 Grant Research

Online Retrieval of Grant Information Running head: ONLINE RETRIEVAL OF GRANT INFORMATION

Online Retrieval of Grant Information Dian Hauser Emporia State University

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Online Retrieval of Grant Information

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Online Retrieval of Grant Information This paper demonstrates the steps involved in answering a client's information needs using online sources. The search began with a questioner and his query. The client for this search was a middle-age man who wished to organically farm his newly bought property. He planned on being available for consults as the search progressed, but he was not going to be present during the actual search. He requested that the final search results be sent to his computer and that video clips as well as web sites were an acceptable information source. His knowledge of the search subject was minimal, though he did direct me to a key online site. The Pre-Search Reference Interview In interviewing the client, I found that he was interested in getting a grant from the Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Program (SARE) to do repairs on his land. He expressed confusion about the actual grant process: how to find out about it, how to write a proposal, and what project he would propose to get the grant. He mentioned a few potential ideas for a proposal but was unsure about what he would actually do. Therefore, he said he needed ideas on projects that the grant would fund. He mentioned that he could possibly use the grant for experimenting on how to stop erosion on a certain area of his property. I anticipated that we would consult throughout the process and information would be given to him verbally as the search progressed and online when the search was finalized. (Inside the Searcher's Mind p14)

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Selection of Information Sources The client had a complex question; he wanted information on where to find the Grant proposal page of the SARE site. He also wanted information on how to make the grant proposal, and on what would constitute a good proposal project. I took a moment to “aim”, as mentioned by Barbara Quint in her memorable tale of Wyatt Earp and his infallible shooting ability. (Quint (1991, May) p15) She was applying the metaphor to information searches and advising the searcher to have a search strategy before beginning the search. From the interview I devised a search statement: research SARE grants, proposal writing, grant project. All were then searched within the SARE site. Since I already knew that I wanted the SARE site, I used the Google search engine for the initial search. I typed in "SARE," without the quotation marks. This seemed a straight forward search. I was able to use the database within the site to get the all the information that the client requested. However, I also pursued another search for this client. While the SARE site was sufficient for answering the initial queries, circumstances created the need for an additional search. When I discovered that the deadline for application for a SARE grant had just passed, I immediately informed my client. He was disappointed that he couldn't apply for the grant this year, but decided that he still needed the information for next year. He asked if I would search for other grants that he could consider. For this second search, grants available to Kansas farmers, I did use various databases including Gale General Reference Center Gold, Lexis Nexis Academic, and Agricola. None of them had the information that I required. I finally used the meta search engine Dogpile, where I found only government loans to farmers. I contacted my client, who said that he wouldn't mind having this information. I was still hoping to find at least one grant with an open deadline for my

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client, so I went to the meta search engine Metacrawler and entered the search terms "agricultural databases." Within this site I found a link to the Organic Farming Research Foundation which had a grant with an open deadline. Search Strategies On the SARE database of projects (http://www.sare.org/reporting/report_viewer.asp), I limited the location field to North Central Region (which included Kansas). I then limited the “type” field to Farmer/Rancher projects and used keyword “erosion.” This search received 135 hits, which I wanted to narrow. I then imposed a limit by adding Kansas to the state field, keeping other search criteria the same. This returned 48 hits. On viewing these, I felt that more precise results were needed. I used the topics pull-down selection to come up with a controlled vocabulary, and found “soil management.” Using this term and “erosion,” I searched again. Results still weren’t satisfactory, so I used the Google search engine to look for vocabulary and came across "soil erosion." Using this term, I found some relevant hits. I noticed that intermixed with these were results that mentioned cattle and erosion caused by grazing. My client was not interested in this type of erosion, so I used a Boolean search, “soil erosion AND NOT graz*,” truncating to allow for the elimination of documents with the words “graze,” “grazes,” or “grazing.” For my search for information on grants not related to SARE, I used meta search engines as a starting point. As I had in the previous search, I used Boolean operators. I tended to start with a very broad search and limit as I proceeded. I followed Reva Basch’s philosophy that starting with a broad search gave you “a field of possibilities to begin with.” (Basch, 1993, p53) From this stating point, I refined my searches by the “successive fraction” method, whittling down to the most precise search results. I also delved into the invisible web by following links

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within consecutive databases. In fact, I was only able to find my last search result on farm grants using this method. I was able to get very good information about the search strategy process from Arleen N. Somerville's article The pre-search reference interview-A step by stop guide. (Somerville, 1982 p35) Presentation of Results to Client and Client Evaluation In preparing the presentation for the client, I was guided by Amelia Kassel, who said that "presentation is everything." She also stated that, "A high-quality deliverable is much more than pretty. It's functional, because organizing results into an easy-to-use document saves the client time." (Kassel, 2002, p43) The patron had wanted his search results presented in an easy to understand form, and had desired to have the information emailed to him. In keeping with Kassel's statement, I attempted to make my final report as efficient and constructive as possible. I arranged the search results in a sequential order, with the basics of what the SARE grant was, how one could apply, and how to go about the actual writing of the grant. I then gave an example of grant projects which the SARE foundation had selected to advise interested persons. Finally, within this section of the client report, I created a link to projects that had been awarded grants, and that also were also in my client's interest area. Because the deadline for the SARE grant applications for 2007 had just ended, and with my client’s approval, I also gave him other options to follow. These options were in the form of government farm loans and a grant for organic farmers. Links to these sources were in their own section of the report. Each section of the report was clearly labeled so that the client could proceed easily through what had been a confusing miasma before the information had been researched and organized. The client had wanted information found on the web and all the web sites that I found

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had been hyperlinked so that the client could immediately use the information that I emailed to him. I was able to get my client's feedback as he inspected the information that I had emailed to him. Somerville mentioned that the "librarian should review the printout with the user so he understands the procedure used, can read the printout, is able to decipher the references...and knows how to find his references." (Somerville, 1985, p35) While I felt that my report was easy to understand, it was useful for the client to have me explain the layout of the information to him. He was impressed with the organization of the materials and explained that seeing the information presented in a logical way, made the process of applying for the grant seem much less overwhelming. He also enjoyed the fact that the web sites were hyperlinked and he could immediately begin to get the information when he was ready to take on this project. I expressed regret that there was so little information to be had on grant funding for farmers. But he replied that he wasn’t surprised by this fact, as there weren’t a lot of farm grants “out there.” Although he had missed the deadline for one of these grants, he was philosophical about this and said he would have all this great information that he could use to prepare for the following year’s grant application. He also liked the fact that there were video clips on grant writing. I asked the client if there was anything that he would have had me do differently. He replied that “the receiver of the deliverables found them very satisfactory.” I had been explaining some of the terms I'd encountered in my research.

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Conclusion Searching does gets easier the more you do of it. I did not have an easy time with this search, possibly because it was so specific. Also, I hadn’t been informed by the client that the search for other grant opportunities besides the SARE grant would likely be unfruitful. As explained in Shaver’s “Jahari Window adapted for online research,” I was searching “blind.” There was not in that the limited availability of grants for farmers was known to the client, but not to me, as the searcher. (Shaver, Hewison, & Wykoff, 1985, p.239). A more thorough second interview with the client would have exposed this fact and saved me much frustration. In conducting this “real life” client information search, I came to realize that despite (and possible because of) its stringent demands upon the searcher, DIALOG had many positive qualities. I began to see the value of “ordered sets.” Although, I didn’t use DIALOG in this search, and don’t see it in my future. I now view it with some respect.

Online Retrieval of Grant Information References Basch, R. (1993, September). Secrets of the super searchers: planning search strategies. Online, 17(5), 52-58. Kessel, A. (2002). Value-added deliverables: rungs on the info pro’s ladder to success. Searcher, 10(11), 42-53. Quint, B. (1991, May). Inside a searcher’s mind: the seven stages of an online search – Part I. Online, 15(3), 13-18. Shaver, D. B., Hewison, N. S., & Wykoff, L. W. (1985). Ethics for online intermediaries. Special Libraries, 76(Fall), 238-245. Sommerville, A. N. (1982, February). The pre-search reference interview: a step by step guide. Database, 5(1), 32-38.

Appendix

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Online Retrieval of Grant Information Search Results Presented to Client The SARE Grant Proposal How to Apply for a SARE Grant http://www.sare.org/ncrsare/apply.htm How to Write a Proposal for a SARE Grant and How to Write a Winning Proposal http://www.sare.org/grants/howto.htm Writing SARE Grant Proposals (Video Clips) http://sarevideos.notlong.com Grant Information Specific to Farmers http://www.sare.org/coreinfo/farmers.htm SARE Grant Projects Sample farmer/rancher projects http://www.sare.org/publications/highlights.htm Examples of SARE projects dealing with soil erosion http://www.sare.org/reporting/report_viewer.asp Other Options Besides the SARE Grant The Organic Farming Research Foundation Grant http://ofrf.org/ Government Farm Loan Sites Farm Loan Program http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=landing Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Loans and Grants for Agriculture and Rural Kansas http://www.ksda.gov/kansas_agriculture/content/237

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