Section Eight

8.2 Todd, R.J. (1999). Utilization of Heroin Information by Adolescent Girls in Australia: A Cognitive Analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(1), 10-23.

In the discussion section, Todd suggests that when providing information to adolescents, we must understand how the cognitive effects of individual patrons will process the information received. That is, of course, the ideal situation but is very rarely ever able to be actualized. Parents and other guardians certainly have this luxury, as they are most likely to know what method best impact their children. Even teachers are at an advantage, because of the sheer repetition of dealing with the students. However, as librarians, we are more likely than not in a position where we must interact with several patrons. And while I am confident that we will be able to build trust with the patrons and know their names and some background (especially in a school setting), it is unlikely we will be able to know the best way to reach each individual child. Todd's suggestion is definitely something to strive towards, but not necessarily feasible in execution.

Something distinct that I discovered about Todd's model is the application of terms from the study participant's own mouths. Instead of framing his body of research around a preconceived notion of how he would develop this theory, he opted to create a theory based on pictures. During the course of the study, the girls would employ the word pictures to describe several different things, and it is from this that Todd gets the model. When a researcher is aware of what they wish to find in the data before even collecting it, no matter what results come back, the researcher will find something to support their hypothesis. Therefore, I find it advisable to conduct the research first, as Todd has showcased in this article.