Flipping one-shot library instruction: using Canvas and Pecha Kucha for peer teaching

Objective

This study sought to determine whether a flipped classroom that facilitated peer learning would improve undergraduate health sciences students'' abilities to find, evaluate, and use appropriate evidence for research assignments.

Methods

Students completed online modules in a learning management system, with librarians facilitating subsequent student-directed, in-person sessions. Mixed methods assessment was used to evaluate program outcomes.

Results

Students learned information literacy concepts but did not consistently apply them in research assignments. Faculty interviews revealed strengthened partnerships between librarians and teaching faculty.

Conclusion

This pedagogy shows promise for implementing and evaluating a successful flipped information literacy program.Keywords (Medical Subject Headings) Information Literacy, Educational Technology, Education, Distance/Methods, Teaching/Methods, Evidence-Based Practice/Education, Learning, Group Processes, Program Development, Humans, Libraries, Medical/EducationIn the short term, health sciences students utilize the information resources that librarians highlight during instruction. In the years after graduation, students demonstrate low levels of information literacy skills [1–3]. These low levels of retention likely result from the limited amount of time dedicated to guided practice during library sessions, which has been shown to be critical to learning [4]. In addition, few undergraduate curricula feature scaffolded instruction on evidence-based practice, where guidance of student learning is deployed progressively to promote stronger understanding of concepts. This raises the concern that many students may be unprepared for the rigors and expectations of graduate-level research. Consequently, health sciences librarians and educators have tested numerous methods for improving the effectiveness of information literacy and evidence-based practice instruction [5–7].Higher education has also seen a rise in the use of instructional technologies, such as increased use of video tutorials, web-conferencing tools, and learning management systems (LMSs). Such tools can enhance the effectiveness of face-to-face teaching by delivering time-of-need instruction that is available for future reference during the entire semester [8–11]. LMSs, such as Canvas or Blackboard, provide a virtual space where students take ownership of the learning process and create meaningful learning experiences for themselves and their peer learners [12]. Educators increasingly use these technologies to enable a flipped classroom model of instruction, in which the lecture and homework are reversed [13–15]. In older teaching models, a lecture occurs in the classroom, followed by exercises and applications of the information by students as homework. In the flipped model, students get the lecture-type information at home, then do exercises and applications in the classroom. This model allows instructors to move away from the traditional one-time lecture-based instruction and to incorporate active learning, which leads to better student performance for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students [16–18]. The flipped classroom model also accommodates the needs of diverse populations of learners by integrating peer learning and assessment [19, 20]. In contrast, traditional lecture-based approaches to information literacy have been shown to have limited effectiveness for promoting skill development and retention, and often rely on shallow, quantitative assessments to measure student learning [21]. Integrating library instruction strategically into the curriculum and using the flipped classroom model creates opportunities to use a greater variety of assessment tools at various points throughout the semester in order to conduct more meaningful assessment of student learning.Flipped classroom models have not been widely studied for health sciences students. This study aimed to determine whether a flipped classroom approach for upper-level undergraduate students in the health sciences would improve their abilities to find, evaluate, and utilize appropriate evidence for research assignments.     

Rural providers' access to online resources: a randomized controlled trial

Objective

The research determined the usage and satisfaction levels with one of two point-of-care (PoC) resources among health care providers in a rural state.

Methods

In this randomized controlled trial, twenty-eight health care providers in rural areas were stratified by occupation and region, then randomized into either the DynaMed or the AccessMedicine study arm. Study participants were physicians, physician assistants, and nurses. A pre- and post-study survey measured participants'' attitudes toward different information resources and their information-seeking activities. Medical student investigators provided training and technical support for participants. Data analyses consisted of analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired t tests, and Cohen''s d statistic to compare pre- and post-study effects sizes.

Results

Participants in both the DynaMed and the AccessMedicine arms of the study reported increased satisfaction with their respective PoC resource, as expected. Participants in both arms also reported that they saved time in finding needed information. At baseline, both arms reported too little information available, which increased to “about right amounts of information” at the completion of the study. DynaMed users reported a Cohen''s d increase of +1.50 compared to AccessMedicine users'' reported use of 0.82. DynaMed users reported d2 satisfaction increases of 9.48 versus AccessMedicine satisfaction increases of 0.59 using a Cohen''s d.

Conclusion

Participants in the DynaMed arm of the study used this clinically oriented PoC more heavily than the users of the textbook-based AccessMedicine. In terms of user satisfaction, DynaMed users reported higher levels of satisfaction than the users of AccessMedicine.Keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Clinical Decision Support Systems, Computer-Assisted Decision Making, Decision Making, Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Status Disparities, Health Care Disparities, Information Divide, Information-Seeking Behavior, Medically Underserved Area, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Physicians, Public Health Nurses, Randomized Controlled Trial as Topic, Service Learning, Vulnerable PopulationsHealth care practitioners regularly seek to incorporate valid information into their evidence-based decisions. Electronic information resources now provide easy access to current health information and summarized forms of evidence to support clinical decision making.

Access effects on health care

Health care providers who are affiliated with well-funded institutions benefit from access to a variety of high-quality information resources to support their evidence-based practices. Practitioners who are not affiliated with academic health sciences centers rarely have access to these same resources due to prohibitively high licensing costs. Ely et al. report that not having access to easy-to-use, high-quality, current information can negatively affect sound clinical decision making. [1].Patients in Isaac et al.''s study who were admitted to hospitals that had access to an electronic evidence-based resource experienced reduced length of stay and lower risk-adjusted mortality rates for prespecified conditions [2]. That study was validated on a broader scale by a multicenter investigation on the utilization of information resources by practitioners [3].Primary health care practitioners who are not affiliated with academic health sciences centers, particularly those who practice in rural or remote areas, often articulate the need for increased access to health information resources. The authors'' literature search and review of 114 of the most relevant research articles about the information needs and information-seeking behavior of health care practitioners suggested that these professionals most value speed and accuracy. For example, they likely would prefer to use point-of-care (PoC) resources for quickly and accurately answering their clinical questions.

Desirability of point of care

PoC resources quickly guide physicians through the diagnosis, treatment, and management of commonly encountered clinical conditions. PoC resources can present compilations of highly authoritative, often evidence-based, information. Physicians can answer more questions and revise clinical decisions more often using these PoC resources [4]. Meanwhile, many health care practitioners still rely on textbooks familiar to them from their professional training programs, despite their potentially dated contents [5–14].

Limited access in rural New Mexico

A randomized controlled trial involving public health practitioners across the rural state of New Mexico reported many barriers in accessing valued information resources [15, 16]. In another study, researchers in New Mexico set out to determine and analyze information needs of health care practitioners who were not affiliated with an academic center. Fifty-one interviews of rural physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners showed both a need and desire for access to information resources [17].

Goals and hypothesis

This study sought to determine which rural health care providers found more useful in answering everyday clinical questions: electronic PoC DynaMed, which is more clinically oriented, or electronic PoC AccessMedicine, which consists primarily of a health sciences textbook collection. We hypothesized that free access to the explicitly clinical format of the PoC resource DynaMed would result in more extensive use than a baseline of zero over a six-month period than the electronic PoC textbook collection AccessMedicine. We felt this would be due to greater utility of DynaMed in clinical practice. We also predicted that clinicians using the clinically oriented PoC would express higher levels of satisfaction than those using the textbook-based PoC and that clinicians using these PoC resources would prefer using them over other information resources.     

Community perceptions and utilization of a consumer health center

The purpose of this study was to understand factors that may affect the usage of a consumer health center located in a public library. More specifically, the authors wanted to know what health resources are of interest to the community, what patrons'' perceptions of their experience at the center are, and finally, how staff can increase utilization of the center. In general, perceptions of the center were positive. The findings support that participants appreciate efforts to provide health information in the public library setting and that utilization could be improved through marketing and outreach.Problems with health literacy—one''s ability to obtain, process, and understand basic information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions 1, 2—significantly limit effective dissemination and understanding of relevant health information, especially among racial and ethnic minorities where health literacy challenges are pervasive 3–5. People with limited health literacy skills have higher medical costs and use an inefficient mix of medical services 3, 6–13. This compromises their health and is a major source of economic inefficiency in the US health care system. Efforts to address low health literacy may result in reductions of health inequities, decreased medical costs, and enhanced quality of life 14. However, efforts to promote health literacy that seek to empower individuals to understand health information and act in their own interest remain an underexplored pathway to improved health outcomes 9.The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) encourages libraries to reach out to low literacy groups in their surrounding communities to address literacy challenges 15–17. These actions have resulted in development of consumer health libraries, centers where patrons can get accurate and timely health information. Preliminary investigations of consumer health libraries have reinforced the value of these services 18, 19, but there is little information regarding the provision of similar services in other public settings.The Healthy Living and Learning Center (HLLC), located in a public library in Petersburg, Virginia, was established in 2012 to provide one-on-one assistance in accessing health information and community resources. According to 2010–2013 census data, 25% of Petersburg residents are below the poverty line 20. Localities surrounding the HLLC experience some of the most unfavorable health outcomes in Virginia 21. In addition, 16%–24% of citizens in the surrounding localities are illiterate 22.The public library setting provides an appropriate context to initiate consumer health centers outside of medical settings. Librarians are already being asked to meet consumer demands for health information 15–17, and the provision of accurate health information is a natural extension of the services that public libraries provide. The American Library Association reports that 62% of libraries report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities 23. According to a recent study from Pew, 35% of Americans 16 and older say they have used free Internet access points, 47% of whom have used these services to get health information 24. For a number of minorities, the public library is the only place they have Internet access 25. Thus, libraries not only remain a critical resource among the public, but may also have unique access to populations who are more vulnerable to health inequities.     

Outreach impact study: the case of the Greater Midwest Region

Objectives:

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact that funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Greater Midwest Region (GMR), has on member institutions'' ability to conduct outreach on behalf of NN/LM.

Methods:

The study employed both content analysis and survey methodologies. The final reports from select GMR-funded outreach projects (n = 20) were analyzed based on a set of evaluation criteria. Project principal investigators (n = 13) were then surveyed using the same evaluation criteria.

Results:

Results indicated that outreach projects supported by GMR funding improved access to biomedical information for professionals and the general public. Barriers to conducting outreach projects included time constraints or commitments, staffing, scheduling and absenteeism, inadequate space, and issues associated with technology (e.g., hardware and software, Internet connectivity and firewall issues, and creation and use of new technologies).

Conclusions:

The majority of project principal investigators indicated that their attempts to conduct outreach were successful. Moreover, most noted that outreach had a positive impact on professionals as well as the general public. In general, it seems that negative outcomes, as with most barriers to conducting outreach, can be mitigated by more thorough planning.

Highlights

• The provision of funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Greater Midwest Region (GMR), had a positive impact on an institution''s ability to conduct outreach.
• The provision of GMR funding to conduct health information outreach yielded positive outcomes.

Implications

• Regional offices should make efforts to accurately capture and record the impact that funding has on member institutions'' ability to conduct outreach.
• Many barriers to conducting outreach can be mitigated by more thorough planning.

The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by providing all US health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving the public''s access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health [1]. The National Library of Medicine''s (NLM''s) vision statement emphasizes the elimination of health disparities. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NLM both attempt to understand and eliminate health disparities between minority and majority populations [2]. One of NLM''s goals in trying to achieve elimination of health disparities is to improve access to affordable and easy-to-use health-related information [3]. It is thought that such a dissemination of knowledge will help solve health disparities [4]. Ultimately, NLM believes that improved access to health information will result in higher quality health care. This effort is served through research and community outreach. NLM supports some outreach directly through the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS), Office of Health Information Program Development (OHIPD), and extramural programs. In addition, NN/LM, which NLM administers, provides and supports outreach as part of NLM''s overall mission [5]. NN/LM places a primary emphasis on rural, minority, and other underserved populations [6].NLM was interested in evaluating NN/LM programs, and one of the key programs of the Greater Midwest Region (GMR) is its funding to support outreach in the region. NLM was also interested in promoting awareness among library school students about NLM and NN/LM and about the value of libraries doing outreach to underserved populations with the community. In September 2009, NN/LM GMR announced the availability of funds for a subcontract to a library school located in the region to assist with evaluating network programs. The GMR operates under a contract from NLM, providing network services to approximately 1,100 libraries and information centers in a 10-state region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). One of 8 regions in the NN/LM, the GMR conducts much of its outreach by offering subcontracts and awards to network members.Funding was offered to engage a group of students, under faculty guidance, to plan and implement a study that would determine the impact that GMR funding has on the ability of network members to perform outreach on behalf of NN/LM. The study was intended to be conducted in two phases: a planning phase, in which students were to develop an impact study proposal, and an implementation phase, in which students were to implement the study outlined in the proposal. The desired outcomes of the impact study included:

• What did the institutions accomplish with the NN/LM funding?
• What outcomes did the institutions report from their NN/LM-funded outreach projects?
• What changes have been made in their institutional programs as a result of the funding they received?
• What lessons did the institutions learn through implementation of their NN/LM-funded outreach projects
• What changes would the institutions recommend to NN/LM about their funding programs?

The School of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of Kentucky received an outreach impact study award from NN/LM GMR in the fall of 2009 for its project, “Learning By Doing: Engaging LIS Students in an Outreach Impact Study.” Project funds were used to provide scholarships to support student participation.     

Standards for vision science libraries: 2014 revision

Objective:

This Association of Vision Science Librarians revision of the “Standards for Vision Science Libraries” aspires to provide benchmarks to address the needs for the services and resources of modern vision science libraries (academic, medical or hospital, pharmaceutical, and so on), which share a core mission, are varied by type, and are located throughout the world.

Methods:

Through multiple meeting discussions, member surveys, and a collaborative revision process, the standards have been updated for the first time in over a decade.

Results:

While the range of types of libraries supporting vision science services, education, and research is wide, all libraries, regardless of type, share core attributes, which the standards address.

Conclusions:

The current standards can and should be used to help develop new vision science libraries or to expand the growth of existing libraries, as well as to support vision science librarians in their work to better provide services and resources to their respective users.The Association of Vision Science Librarians (AVSL)—whose more than 150 members represent ophthalmology, optometry, and industry libraries throughout the world—has defined standards for its libraries since 1976 1–3. AVSL recommends that vision science libraries (VSLs) have at least one active member in AVSL. Standards for this very specialized area of library service have evolved owing to the work of librarians who, since 1937, have been developing and refining standards for their libraries 4. The standards reported here reflect the changes that have taken place during the decade and a half since the last edition of these standards were published. Changes include recommended staffing and technology, and the addition of a section addressing online access to information.AVSL convened a task force to first evaluate whether a standards revision was needed. Once it was agreed to do so, the task force guided the process of the revision, which included member surveys and discussions at meetings over the span of two years.The standards are intended to provide qualitative information such as appropriate staffing levels and collection scope, which can be used to evaluate existing vision science libraries or to develop new vision science libraries. In addition, these libraries should reflect the purpose and mission of the institution to which each belongs, and each library should have policies in place that outline the various areas to support the education, research, and patient care information needs of their institutions.     

Mapping the literature of health education: 2006–2008

Objectives:

The study updates Schloman''s 1997 study, “Mapping the Literature of Health Education.” The authors identify an updated list of core health education journals and determine the coverage of these journals by electronic indexes.

Methods:

Citations from four source journals for the years 2006 to 2008 were analyzed using the established methodology of the “Mapping the Literature of Allied Health Project.” The cited journals were divided into three zones of productivity by using Bradford''s Law of Scattering.

Results:

There were 19,907 citations in 602 source articles. Journal articles were the most commonly cited format type. Of the 1,896 journal titles cited, 20 (1.1%) made up the core journals. Together, the fields of medicine, health education, and psychology accounted for 85.0% of the journals in the core. Self-citation was found to be a common practice in the source journals. Scopus had the broadest journal coverage of the indexes examined.

Conclusions:

The results of this study provide a new picture of the health education literature: The volume has grown significantly, cites older materials, and relies less on sexual health journals and more on psychology journals.

Highlights

• Three of the four health education journals in this study showed a statistically significant increase in the number of journal articles published since 1993.
• The majority of core journals in the field are from medicine (35.0%), health education (30.0%), and psychology (20.0%), with the largest change in core journal make-up being an increase in psychology journals.
• Scopus provided the most thorough coverage of the cited journals, followed by MEDLINE, Social Sciences Citation Index, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text.

Implications

• Reference librarians should instruct users on more sophisticated ways to manage the growing volume of the health education literature.
• Collection development librarians may need to purchase and retain older materials to support health education research.
• Librarians should purchase and direct patrons to a variety of databases to completely cover the literature of medicine, health education, and psychology.

     

Mapping the literature of health care chaplaincy

Objective:

This study examined citation patterns and indexing coverage from 2008 to 2010 to determine (1) the core literature of health care chaplaincy and (2) the resources providing optimum coverage for the literature.

Methods:

Citations from three source journals (2008–2010 inclusive) were collected and analyzed according to the protocol created for the Mapping the Literature of Allied Health Professions Project. An analysis of indexing coverage by five databases was conducted. A secondary analysis of self-citations by source journals was also conducted.

Results:

The 3 source journals—Chaplaincy Today, the Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, and the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling—ranked as the top 3 journals in Zone 1 and provided the highest number of most frequently cited articles for health care chaplaincy. Additional journals that appeared in this highly productive zone covered the disciplines of medicine, psychology, nursing, and religion, which were also represented in the Zones 2 and 3 journals. None of the databases provided complete coverage for the core journals; however, MEDLINE provided the most comprehensive coverage for journals in Zones 1 and 2, followed by Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ATLA. Self-citations for the source journals ranged from 9% to 16%.

Conclusions:

Health care chaplaincy draws from a diverse body of inter-professional literature. Libraries wishing to provide access to journal literature to support health care chaplaincy at their institutions will be best able to do this by subscribing to databases and journals that cover medical, psychological, nursing, and religion- or spirituality-focused disciplines.

Highlights

• Health care chaplaincy is a broadly inter-professional field that draws from and contributes to medical, nursing, psychological, and religion or spirituality literature.
• Two of the three source journals were sponsored by professional chaplaincy organizations.
• Journals and books were cited with almost equal frequency.

Implications

• For full coverage of the health care chaplaincy literature, librarians should consider searching in databases beyond MEDLINE, for example, CINAHL and Academic Search Complete, to assure comprehensive coverage.
• Health care chaplaincy researchers and educators considering publication will find the study useful for identifying relevant journals from related disciplines.

     

Our words,our story: a textual analysis of articles published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association/Journal of the Medical Library Association from 1961 to 2010

Purpose:

This lecture explores changes in the medical library profession over the last fifty years, as revealed by individual word usage in a body of literature.

Methods:

I downloaded articles published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association between 1961 and 2000 to create an electronic corpus and tracked annual frequency of individual word usage. I used frequency sparklines of words, matching one of four archetypal shapes (level, rise, fall, and rise-and-fall) to identify significant words.

Results:

Most significant words fell into the categories of environment, management, technology, and research. Based on word usage changes, the following trends are revealed: Compared to 1961, today''s medical librarians are more concerned with digital information, not physical packages. We prefer information to be evidence-based. We focus more on health than medicine. We are reaching out to new constituents, sometimes leaving our building to do so. Teaching has become important for us. We run our libraries more like businesses, using constantly changing technology. We are publishing more research articles.

Conclusions:

Although these words were chosen by individual authors to tell their particular stories, in the aggregate, our words reveal our story of change in our profession.The Janet Doe Lecture on the history or philosophy of medical librarianship: I will warn you right now that you will get very little philosophy out of me today, for two reasons. First, my predecessor T. Scott Plutchak, AHIP, was a philosophy major, and I knew that a zoology major like myself could not compete with that. Second, “philosophy” in many Janet Doe lectures is actually a strong personal viewpoint of medical librarianship—what it is or what it should be. I do collection development, where things change so much and so rapidly that I have not had time to develop a strong viewpoint like many of my Doe predecessors. Like most of my collection development colleagues, I''m just trying to survive day to day. That tends to create a very pragmatic attitude. If I believe in anything strongly, it is that I believe I''ll have another cookie.Without philosophy, I am left with history. And here I will echo the complaint of many Doe lecturers by stating that I have a severe lack of historical research skills. I became painfully aware of this lack as I read previous Doe Lectures, such as David Kronick''s 1980 lecture 1. Kronick was a true scholar, with a doctorate in librarianship. We honor him to this day with the Medical Library Association''s (MLA''s) David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship. In his Doe Lecture, Kronick quoted H. Curtis Wright''s “The Oral Antecedents of Greek Librarianship,” Francis Bacon, and the fifteenth-century Abbot Johannes Trimethius. In contrast, later in this speech, I will quote the Talking Heads.While I am totally unqualified for traditional historical research, that still leaves informal, or personal, history. Although I am old enough to be in my anecdotage, I just do not have many interesting stories to tell. And as Thomas Basler, FMLA, told us in his 2008 Doe Lecture, there are no more giants. While I met some of those giants, I did not know them, and I certainly do not have any stories to tell about them. I suppose I could tell stories about some of the taller than average individuals I have met in my career, but that does not sound very exciting.     

Evidence-based medicine for consumers: a role for the Cochrane Collaboration

Quality of health information on the Internet has been a concern since health information first began appearing on the Web. Evidence-based medicine tools, traditionally intended for physicians, may benefit consumers as they participate in making health care desisions. This article describes a rationale for Cochrane reviews as an evidence-based medicine tool for consumers. The Cochrane Collaboration, a global force for systematic literature reviews, has strict procedures for developing literature reviews. Criteria for Cochrane reviews are compared with critical evaluation skills commonly taught to consumers regarding the use of Websites. The Cochrane Collaboration''s Consumer Network has established a separate Website, with review synopses written for an audience of consumers. Suggestions for further research into consumer use of the Cochrane Library and consumer involvement with the Cochrane Collaboration are discussed.People who access health information are likely to play an active role in their health care [1]. Access to health information empowers consumers by enabling them to (1) make more knowledgeable choices in self-care, (2) more intelligently discuss medical conditions and treatments with their doctors, (3) educate themselves regarding good health practices, and (4) learn about the health care system. If access to information is to help consumers achieve better health, quality of accessible information must be considered by information producers and consumers. This paper identifies a rationale for evidence-based medicine for consumers, introduces the quality-control work of the Cochrane Collaboration, and explores consumer involvement in the Cochrane Library, relative to critical evaluation models.     

Mapping the core journals of the physical therapy literature

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to identify (1) core journals in the literature of physical therapy, (2) currency of references cited in that literature, and (3) online databases providing the highest coverage rate of core journals.

Method:

Data for each cited reference in each article of four source journals for three years were recorded, including type of literature, year of publication, and journal title. The journal titles were ranked in descending order according to the frequency of citations and divided into three zones using Bradford''s Law of Scattering. Four databases were analyzed for coverage rates of articles published in the Zone 1 and Zone 2 journals in 2007.

Results:

Journal articles were the most frequently cited type of literature, with sixteen journals supplying one-third of the cited journal references. Physical Therapy was the most commonly cited title. There were more cited articles published from 2000 to 2007 than in any previous full decade. Of the databases analyzed, CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for Zone 1 2007 publications.

Conclusions:

Results were similar to a previous study, except for changes in the order of Zone 1 journals. Results can help physical therapists and librarians determine important journals in this discipline.

Highlights

• More cited references were published in the last eight years studied than in any previous full decade.
• Physical Therapy, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (APMR), and Spine were the most frequently cited titles. Previous studies found APMR to be the most cited journal.
• CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for the most commonly cited titles, with MEDLINE and EMBASE providing the best coverage for the next group of titles.

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

     

An availability study of electronic articles in an academic health sciences library

Objectives:

The purposes of this study were: to determine the number of articles requested by library users that could be retrieved from the library''s collection using the library catalog and link resolver, in other words, the availability rate; and to identify the nature and frequency of problems encountered in this process, so that the problems could be addressed and access to full-text articles could be improved.

Methods:

A sample of 414 requested articles was identified via link resolver log files. Library staff attempted to retrieve these articles using the library catalog and link resolver and documented access problems.

Results:

Staff were able to retrieve electronic full text for 310 articles using the catalog. An additional 21 articles were available in print, for an overall availability rate of nearly 80%. Only 68% (280) of articles could be retrieved electronically via the link resolver. The biggest barriers to access in both instances were lack of holdings and incomplete coverage. The most common problem encountered when retrieving articles via the link resolver was incomplete or inaccurate metadata.

Conclusion:

An availability study is a useful tool for measuring the quality of electronic access provided by a library and identifying and quantifying barriers to access.

Highlights

• Lack of holdings, including access to recent articles restricted by embargoes, was the most common barrier to locating full text, accounting for over 90% of all identified problems.
• Availability rates for electronic articles varied by year of publication and by the database in which the OpenURL request originated.
• Link resolver error rates varied widely based on the source of the request and frequently resulted from incomplete or inaccurate metadata.

Implications

• An availability study is an inexpensive, practical tool for assessing the quality of electronic access to journal articles.
• The results of an availability study can help libraries identify barriers to access and thereby allocate limited resources to areas that will provide the most benefit to users.
• Link resolvers might be more accurate if the quality of metadata in OpenURLs was improved and the behavior of full-text targets was standardized.

A user who attempts to access an electronic article expects the process to be seamless: click a link or two, and the article appears. Unfortunately, this process is not always so simple. Many factors can prevent users from retrieving an article, including:

• Collection and acquisition problems: The library may not subscribe to the desired journal, or the article and/or journal may be unavailable for some other reason.
• Cataloging and holdings problems: The journal may be cataloged or indexed incorrectly, or the library''s holdings data may be wrong.
• Technical problems: Problems may occur with the journal provider''s site or the library''s proxy server.

While many libraries use link resolvers to make it easier for users to retrieve articles, these can introduce additional points of failure. The resolver might not be configured correctly, the knowledgebase (database of library journal holdings) might include incorrect information, or article metadata from the source database might be incomplete or incorrect.At the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Library, users occasionally complained about access problems. These complaints provided anecdotal information about barriers to access, but library staff needed more solid data on which to act: How often were users able to retrieve a desired article? What problems did they encounter in the process, and how often did these problems occur? An availability study was conducted to answer those questions.First described by Kantor [1], an availability study is a method for evaluating how well a library satisfies user requests and identifying barriers to satisfying those requests. An availability study consists of the following steps:

1. gather actual user requests (or simulate them)
2. try to fill those requests using the same tools and methods a user would use
3. record what happens
4. analyze the results

     

Infectious diseases citation patterns: mapping the literature 2008–2010

Objectives:

The research identified the publication types and ages most frequently cited in the infectious diseases literature and the most commonly cited journals.

Methods:

From 2008–2010, 5,056 articles in 5 infectious diseases journals cited 166,650 items. Two random samples were drawn: one (n = 1,060) from the total set of citations and one (n = 1,060) from the citations to journal articles. For each sample citation, publication type and date, age of cited item, and inclusion of uniform resource locator (URL) were collected. For each item in the cited journal articles sample, journal title, publication date, and age of the cited article were collected. Bradford zones were used for further analysis.

Results:

Journal articles (91%, n = 963) made up the bulk of cited items, followed by miscellaneous items (4.6%, n = 49). Dates of publication for cited items ranged from 1933–2010 (mean = 2001, mode = 2007). Over half (50.2%, n = 483) of cited journal articles were published within the previous 5 years. The journal article citations included 358 unique journal titles.

Discussion:

The citations to current and older publications in a range of disciplines, heavy citation of journals, and citation of miscellaneous and government documents revealed the depth and breadth of resources needed for the study of infectious diseases.

Highlights

• Literature on infectious diseases is multidisciplinary, encompassing medical specialties, public health, and the medical sciences.
• Infectious disease publications cite journal articles more than 90% of the time. Cited journal articles greatly range in age at citation: more than a quarter were over 10 years old.
• Infectious disease citation patterns resemble clinical medicine citation patterns more than public health citation patterns.

Implications

• Infectious disease professionals need access to general medicine titles as well as infectious disease, immunology, virology, microbiology, and public health literature.
• Librarians serving infectious disease researchers and practitioners should provide access to older materials, especially journal back files, to support the cyclical needs of their patrons.

     

Retraction policies of top scientific journals ranked by impact factor

Objective

This study gathered information about the retraction policies of the top 200 scientific journals, ranked by impact factor.

Methods

Editors of the top 200 science journals for the year 2012 were contacted by email.

Results

One hundred forty-seven journals (74%) responded to a request for information. Of these, 95 (65%) had a retraction policy. Of journals with a retraction policy, 94% had a policy that allows the editors to retract articles without authors’ consent.

Conclusions

The majority of journals in this sample had a retraction policy, and almost all of them would retract an article without the authors’ permission.