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How would you answer this reference question if it came in to you?
"How do I make OxyContin?"
We received this question yesterday at the PLC Knowledge Centre from one of our patient clients. I'm wondering how others would handle this type of question.
I've came across a similar question from a patient on how to make a chemo. drug. Not so much from ethics perspectives, but I've found that it always helps to clarify with the client by understanding the context of the question, e.g. "What do you mean by "MAKE"? For chemo. drugs, there may be alternatives the client wants to find out because of serious side effects they experience, or in this case, he may be wondering whether there are any other OTC drugs for pain relief.
Try to stick with providing the information ABOUT it, if it is a real "make" question.
Taryn just reminded me of the 1990 reference article entitled "I Want to Find Out How to Freebase Cocaine or Yet Another Unobtrusive Test of Reference Performance."
In this article, the author explored how reference librarians answered this question and the ethical tangles we fall into. Find it here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J120v11n25_22#
I've came across a similar question from a patient on how to make a chemo. drug. Not so much from ethics perspectives, but I've found that it always helps to clarify with the client by understanding the context of the question, e.g. "What do you mean by "MAKE"? For chemo. drugs, there may be alternatives the client wants to find out because of serious side effects they experience, or in this case, he may be wondering whether there are any other OTC drugs for pain relief.
ReplyDeleteTry to stick with providing the information ABOUT it, if it is a real "make" question.
Taryn just reminded me of the 1990 reference article entitled "I Want to Find Out How to Freebase Cocaine or Yet Another Unobtrusive Test of Reference Performance."
ReplyDeleteIn this article, the author explored how reference librarians answered this question and the ethical tangles we fall into. Find it here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J120v11n25_22#