Integrating an Informationist Into Graduate Education: Case Study With Preliminary Results

An informationist taught, consulted, and mentored graduate students enrolled in a graduate research project course in Health Informatics. An observational cohort study was conducted to determine the effect of an early (first term) and continued (subsequent term) exposure of course-integrated instruction, individual consultations, information resource mentoring, and educational collaboration partnership on the development of information literacy, research skills, and integrative competencies in graduate students. Student progress was assessed by survey, class performance, and faculty feedback. The course-integrated lectures, consultations, mentoring, and educational partnership between the informationist and academic advisors increased the students’ course performance, information literacy, and research skills in graduate students.     

Open Educational Resources (OER) and Textbooks: Opportunities for Academic Libraries

Librarians have a role in working with faculty to provide low-cost alternatives to textbooks. Open educational resources (OER) are an alternative to textbooks in college courses, but there can be barriers to using OER. Are students successful in OER courses? Do faculty see librarians as collaborators in designing courses using OER? What are some alternatives to OER that libraries and library consortia can take advantage of to make college more affordable for students? The following articles address these issues, and the work of the following authors can benefit all types of academic librarians as they contemplate their role in the OER world.     

Use of an Audience Response System in an Evidence-Based Mini-Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Since 2002, library faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine have taught third-year medical students how to retrieve the best evidence from MEDLINE to address their clinical questions. In preparation for their Neurology, Medicine, and Psychiatry clerkships, students attended a review of evidence-based medicine principles and techniques for searching the literature. The session was team-taught by two faculty members, one from the Internal Medicine department and the other from the Library. The librarian reviewed important MEDLINE principles for constructing a good subject search and applying appropriate evidence-based filters. During the clerkships, students were asked to generate clinical questions arising from their patient encounters, searched MEDLINE for the best evidence, critiqued the results, and then applied them back to their patients' care. Library faculty provided individualized feedback on the student searches. A follow-up session two months later reinforced MEDLINE principles, used student searches as examples, and extended the discussion to other evidence-based, point-of-care resources. To add to the interactivity of the follow-up sessions, librarians used an audience response system to measure students' understanding of literature retrieval techniques and to gauge student preferences for information seeking on clinical topics. Overall, the sessions have been well-received by the students.     

A validated search assessment tool: assessing practice-based learning and improvement in a residency program

Objective:

The objective of this study was to validate an assessment instrument for MEDLINE search strategies at an academic medical center.

Method:

Two approaches were used to investigate if the search assessment tool could capture performance differences in search strategy construction. First, data from an evaluation of MEDLINE searches from a pediatric resident''s longitudinal assessment were investigated. Second, a cross-section of search strategies from residents in one incoming class was compared with strategies of residents graduating a year later. MEDLINE search strategies formulated by faculty who had been identified as having search expertise were used as a gold standard comparison. Participants were presented with a clinical scenario and asked to identify the search question and conduct a MEDLINE search. Two librarians rated the blinded search strategies.

Results:

Search strategy scores were significantly higher for residents who received training than the comparison group with no training. There was no significant difference in search strategy scores between senior residents who received training and faculty experts.

Conclusion:

The results provide evidence for the validity of the instrument to evaluate MEDLINE search strategies. This assessment tool can measure improvements in information-seeking skills and provide data to fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies.

Highlights

• The University of Michigan MEDLINE Search Assessment tool can be used to assess search skills in residency education.
• Five elements were identified as critical elements in the development of an effective MEDLINE search strategy: inclusion of all search concepts, appropriate use of Medical Subject Headings, appropriate use of search limits, successful combination of all concepts, and search efficiency.

Implications

• This validated assessment tool can serve as an effective means to measure improvements in residents'' information-seeking skills and provide data to fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies.

     

A multidisciplinary approach to information and critical appraisal instruction

The formulation of clinical decisions based on evidence requires the ability to locate information and evaluate it critically. A ten-week critical appraisal course for third-year medical students, taught cooperatively by library and Department of Medicine faculty, integrates education in the selection, evaluation, and application of information to patient care. The course is distinctive in that information management skills are taught by a multidisciplinary team in a problem-based format as part of the compulsory medical curriculum. Medical faculty provided instruction in reading and evaluating research methodology, as well as statistical analyses in published reports, using clinical scenarios and related journal articles at weekly sessions. Library faculty provided instruction in locating pertinent research on a sample clinical problem using standard printed and computerized indexes and local library resources, and presented criteria for selecting the most useful and significant works from those retrieved. Library faculty also met individually with students to provide instruction in online literature searching. Based on formal evaluation and informal feedback, the course was well received; it effectively presents the literature search as an integral part of critical appraisal of the medical literature and of the clinical decision-making process.     

Online Searching on Selected Business Databases for Management Aspects of Health Care

Reference librarians developed an assessment tool to determine if formal classroom instruction on the use of PDAs benefits medical students. The questionnaire on PDA concepts and skills, designed to assess both comfort level and self-described skill level, was administered to students before and after a mandatory hands-on PDA class. Of 105 students surveyed, 90 (85.7%) felt the class was immediately beneficial. Mean scores on all questions increased from pre-session to post-session. Score increases were statistically significant (p < .05) for almost all questions, demonstrating to faculty, students, and instructors that the PDA class is beneficial, necessary, and should remain mandatory.     

Freshman Overconfidence and Library Research Skills: A Troubling Relationship?

This study focuses on the relationship between freshman college students’ self-reported confidence level in library research and their actual library research skills. A demographic survey and skills test were administered to 377 freshmen at East Carolina University in their first-semester English composition classes. The article addresses two research questions: What is the correlation between freshman students’ self-reported confidence level and tested skills? Do other factors such as age, gender, high school grades, or previous library instruction have an impact on students’ confidence level or skills? Results examine implications for library instruction.     

Information intervention in the pharmaceutical sciences

Professional guidelines state that higher-order thinking skills are a desirable outcome of pharmacy education. In this context, courses in pharmaceutics at the University of Southern California are taught in a learner-centered manner that requires use of chemical reference sources and interpretation of physicochemical information for drug molecules. To facilitate these activities, a librarian worked with faculty to design a class on reference sources and primary literature. Students believed the librarian instruction was beneficial. After the intervention, faculty fielded fewer information-related questions and the librarian received more sophisticated questions. The class emphasizes the importance of collaboration between librarians and faculty in achieving these results.     

Community Partners' Assessment of Service Learning in an Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Course

This assessment explored community partners' perceptions of service learning in a required communication course. Semi-structured interviews revealed that community partners believed that students were providing needed and valuable service, students were learning about the community, and students were learning through their application of course skills in an applied context. However, community partners also felt that students were unaware of or did not care what they should be learning, that faculty contact was rare or nonexistent, and that community feedback opportunities were rare and undervalued by faculty. Results suggest specific improvements necessary in service learning assignment design.     

Integration of information literacy into a revised medical school curriculum

The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California's newly revised Year I-II curriculum integrates information literacy components based on the AAMC's medical informatics objectives throughout the two-year continuum. Students are required to participate in various components taught by librarians from the Norris Medical Library including (1) an information skills workshop, (2) a yearlong literature search project, and (3) an evidence-based medicine resources workshop. Critical appraisal of literature also is included in the curriculum to ensure that the students are familiar with the various research study designs. Librarians also provide resources to assist students in researching learning issues related to cases presented in the curriculum. To encourage the faculty mentors to serve as good models of information users, librarians offer brief training sessions on information resources to faculty.     

A two-year experience teaching computer literacy to first-year medical students using skill-based cohorts

Because it is widely accepted that providing information online will play a major role in both the teaching and practice of medicine in the near future, a short formal course of instruction in computer skills was proposed for the incoming class of students entering medical school at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The syllabus was developed on the basis of a set of expected outcomes, which was accepted by the dean of medicine and the curriculum committee for classes beginning in the fall of 1997. Prior to their arrival, students were asked to complete a self-assessment survey designed to elucidate their initial skill base; the returned surveys showed students to have computer skills ranging from complete novice to that of a systems engineer. The classes were taught during the first three weeks of the semester to groups of students separated on the basis of their knowledge of and comfort with computers. Areas covered included computer basics, e-mail management, MEDLINE, and Internet search tools. Each student received seven hours of hands-on training followed by a test. The syllabus and emphasis of the classes were tailored to the initial skill base but the final test was given at the same level to all students. Student participation, test scores, and course evaluations indicated that this noncredit program was successful in achieving an acceptable level of comfort in using a computer for almost all of the student body.     

Accounting Students,Library Use,and Information Competence: Evidence From Course Syllabi and Professional Accounting Association Competency Maps

A syllabus study was conducted to gain insight into the library use expectations of faculty for undergraduate accounting students. The findings were compared to the professional competencies articulated by Canadian professional accounting association competency maps, and there was an expectations gap. All three competency maps referred to a set of professional skills that, when mapped to the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, were equivalent to information competence, yet the majority of courses taught required very little library use. This study contributes to the literature as the first to map the ACRL's standards to Canadian professional accounting association competencies.     

Information literacy and library attitudes of occupational therapy students

Information literacy, often described as a person's ability to effectively find and evaluate answers to questions using a variety of information resources, is of particular importance to health care workers. This paper presents the results of an information literacy survey presented to occupational therapy (OT) students at Thomas Jefferson University during a series of required class activities. Also described are the authors' activities with the faculty and courses at Jefferson. The survey was made available to first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year occupational therapy students along with nursing students and pharmacy students. The survey is designed to identify research habits, skills, and preferences. Results confirm some commonly held perceptions about searching skills of young adults and an interesting dichotomy in students' learning habits. The paper concludes with a discussion of recommendations to OT faculty and librarians on how to improve information literacy education. The survey can be obtained by contacting the authors.     

Advancing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Skills in First Year College Students

ABSTRACT

This article provides a case study of recent curriculum development in a freshman skills program which integrates critical thinking and English composition as linked courses at Gonzaga University. Known as “thought and expression” courses, this block of courses, which also includes speech communication, can be taken by students separately or in a linked cohort with the same twenty students in each class. In linked courses, faculty are generally aware of each others' course topics and assignments, and they meet to discuss student progress and look for opportunities for curriculum integration. In this case study, library faculty were included in the instructional team, and information literacy skills that relate to critical thinking were integrated into the goals of the critical thinking and English composition courses. Faculty involved in the courses believe that integrating library skills into course goals adds coherence to the curriculum; it also helps students to achieve the developmental goals of the learning community created by this course model.     

Don't they teach that in high school? Examining the high school to college information literacy gap

College librarians express concern over incoming students' information literacy skills and lack of skills preparing them for college-level research. However, it is unclear whether information literacy skills are not being taught at the high school level, whether they are not being retained or transferred as students move on to college, or whether there is a disconnect between the skills taught in high school and those expected of incoming college students. This study explores these questions through a set of parallel surveys sent to a national sample of high school and college librarians. Findings suggest that high school and college librarians agree on the importance of most skills though they vary in their emphasis on their importance, and that information literacy skills are being taught in high school but do not seem to transfer to college. The paper concludes with suggestions for increased communication and collaboration to bridge the high school to college transition.     

Spanning the Distance:

Distance education is increasingly familiar in higher education, and librarians grapple with ways to effectively reach students who are geographically distant from the main campus and from each other. Although technology has increased access to library resources for many students, using the various systems often poses real obstacles. This paper describes a team-taught research/writing class for adult students who are geographically dispersed across the state. The course is taught in a traditional face-to-face classroom for one weekend and the remainder of the course is conducted over a computer conferencing system. Computer conferencing can supplement and extend human contacts between students and faculty. Linfield College's (Oregon) research/writing class is described, and pros and cons of computer conferencing are discussed.     

Perceptions of Faculty about Information Literacy Skills of Postgraduate Engineering Students

Purpose: This study identifies perceptions of faculty about the current level of information literacy (IL) skills of engineering students in higher education in Pakistan. It may help to design better IL programs for the tertiary level students. Methodology: The study used ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology as the basis to assess these perceptions. Teachers of the National University of Science & Technology (NUST), who were teaching engineering students of postgraduate level, were selected as population. A structured questionnaire was sent to 113 faculty members and the response remained 80 percent. Paired samples t-test was used for data analysis through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings: Research indicates that faculty perceived IL skills of their PhD level students higher than those of MS level students. Originality: The term “Information literacy” is yet new on the Pakistani library scene. Regarding perceptions of faculty about information literacy skills of their students so far no study has been carried out in Pakistan. This study will help to identify existing IL skills of Pakistani students of university level, their requirements and how these requirements can be best fulfilled.     

Faculty Expectations and the Adult Learner: Some Implications for Reference

Summary

In addition to the normal difficulties encountered when returning to the academic environment, adult students are expected to use a library that may be very different from the one they have used earlier. While some teaching faculty recognize that these students may need additional help to effectively use the library, others do not. This study investigated faculty expectations for adult students and the academic library. The majority of faculty surveyed believe students need instruction to develop familiarity with library resources and technology. Furthermore, the faculty are willing to work with librarians to ensure students gain these skills.     

Developing health information literacy: a needs analysis from the perspective of preprofessional health students

Objective:

The research identified the skills, if any, that health preprofessional students wished to develop after receiving feedback on skill gaps as well as any strategies they intended to use to address these gaps.

Methods:

A qualitative approach was used to elicit students'' reflections on building health information literacy skills. First, the students took the Research Readiness Self-Assessment instrument, which measured their health information literacy, and then they received individually tailored feedback about their scores and skill gaps. Second, students completed a post-assessment survey asking how they intended to close identified gaps in their skills on these. Three trained coders analyzed qualitative comments by 181 students and grouped them into themes relating to “what skills to improve” and “how to improve them.”

Results:

Students intended to develop library skills (64% of respondents), Internet skills (63%), and information evaluation skills (63%). Most students reported that they would use library staff members'' assistance (55%), but even more respondents (82%) planned to learn the skills by practicing on their own. Getting help from librarians was a much more popular learning strategy than getting assistance from peers (20%) or professors (17%).

Conclusions:

The study highlighted the importance of providing health preprofessional students with resources to improve skills on their own, remote access to library staff members, and instruction on the complexity of building health literacy skills, while also building relationships among students, librarians, and faculty.

Highlights

• After receiving feedback on skill gaps, most preprofessional health students intend to develop their information literacy skills.
• Some students report that a trip to the library is a barrier to using library resources.
• Students see the need to build their information evaluation skills, knowledge of citations and plagiarism, and library skills, which they differentiate from Internet skills.
• Students are more likely to identify librarians as sources for assistance in finding information than faculty or peers after receiving individual feedback explaining the role of libraries and library staff members.

Implications

• Students'' health information competencies can be built through assessment and feedback that reveals skill gaps, highlights misconceptions, and offers ideas on how to improve.
• Access to professionally designed self-study resources is needed for students who intend to develop health information competencies on their own.