[Submitted by Ann Vyoral, June 1998, UT-Pan American campus]

Step 1: Receive Query

How many Super Bowls have the Green Bay Packers appeared in?

Step 2: Message Selection

Wanted Key Word(s): How (many)

Given Key Words: Green Bay Packers; Super Bowls; appeared

Step 3: Query Negotiation

Which "Green Bay Packers" are you referring to? The professional football team.

What is the Super Bowl? The championship game for the National Football League.

Do you want to know the Super Bowl years or just the total number of appearances? Both.

Do you need to know the number of contests they won, or simply how many they appeared in? I'd like

the scores if you can find them.

Step 4: Select Category of Answer-Providing Tool/Rationale

Almanac. The tools in this category provide wide-ranging factual information with an emphasis on currency. A popular culture phenomenon such as the Super Bowl is likely to be included in most general almanacs.

Step 5: Select Specific Title of Answer-Providing Tool/Rationale

The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1998. Mahweh, NJ: World Almanac Books, 1998. This was the most current general almanac available to me at the UTPA library. The other timely options appeared to be too limited in scope (e.g., a Texas almanac).

Step 6: Search Strategy

I looked alphabetically under "Super Bowl" in the general index; several pages numbers were listed. One of these pages, #45, only included information on the 1997 game which was won by the Packers. Page 782 had a picture of the 1997 game; at this point it seemed apparent that information about 1998 would not be included in this--or any other--almanac. Page 849 included a description of the team as well as the other years they'd won; however, no mention was made of any games they'd lost. On page 870 the final scores of all Super Bowl contests were listed (including the winning and losing teams). A brief scan of the scores indicated that the Packers had appeared in three contests--1967, 1968 and 1997--all of which they won.

It was still necessary to determine whether or not the Packers had appeared in the 1998 Super Bowl. An online reference source seemed promising in view of the need for currency. Selecting Reader's Guide Abstracts, I typed "Super Bowl" into the search box and received 278 hits. The second article from the top was titled, "Denver Broncos Beat Green Bay Packers for 31-24 Super Bowl Win"; it had been published in the February 9, 1998 issue of Jet. It was now apparent that the team had appeared in four Super Bowls, winning three of them.

Step 7: Translation of Language of the Answer-Providing Tool into Language of the Query

Imperfect match as I had to count the appearances--and wins--in two sources.

Step 8: Patron Satisfaction

The patron was satisfied with the answer.