The answer must, of course, vary.  If the person making the request has done
the proper background search and is now looking for unpublished or obscure
references then I think the request is perfectly reasonable and should be
honored.  Professional courtesy should certainly be extended to the
individual, and I am willing to extend this courtesy even further and assume
that the proper background research has, in fact, been done.
 
  If, on the other hand, I had reason to suspect that the request was part
of a scheme to avoid doing a thorough job in the research then a problem
exists that we must be concerned about.
 
cheers - and good luck to all working with this project
 
john
 
 
 
>Question of the Day:
>
>In an academic setting, it would seem that such a general query would be a
>perfectly reasonable and honorable request.  However, it is apparent from the
>request that it is being made in the framework of contracted, for profit
>cultural resource management.  In other words (i.e., in my words, as devil's
>advocate), the author is essentially asking for free advice to assist him in
>his financially compensated research.
>
>Is such a request inappropriate?  At what level does it become
>inappropritate? Or is this request simply reflecting the changing way we do
>archaeology in this country, i.e., shifting from an institutional to a
>contracted base?  Is there a fundamental difference?
>
>Respectfully,
>
>Mark C. Branstner
>Great Lakes Research Associates, Inc.
>
>
John Staeck         Of fate's oft horrendous games
Anthropology            each person is allotted to play
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