A study of clinical questions posed by hospital clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of complementary research studies on the behaviors of hospital clinicians in asking clinical questions and the relationship between asking of questions, outcome of information searches, and success in problem solving. METHODS: Triangulation in research methods--a combination of mailed questionnaires, interviews, and a randomized controlled study--was employed to provide complementary views of the research problems under study. RESULTS: The survey and interviews found that clinical problems (concerned mainly with therapy and equipment or technology) were expressed as statements rather than questions (average number of concepts = 1.7), that only slightly more than half (higher for doctors) of problems could be solved, and that the majority of clinical questions were not well formed. An educational workshop however improved clinicians' formulation of questions, but the use of structured prompting was found to improve building of hypotheses in the doctors' group without training. The workshop also improved satisfaction with the obtained information and success in problem solving. Nonetheless, for both the experimental and control groups, more structured and complete questions or statements did not mean higher success rates in problem solving or higher satisfaction with obtained information. CONCLUSION: The triangulation methods have gathered complementary evidence to reject the hypothesis that building well-structured clinical questions would mean higher satisfaction with obtained information and higher success in problem solving.     

专题：科技信息的开发获取（一）[张晓林编委组织]

科技信息的开放获取已成为影响学术信息交流与科学发展的重大问题，深刻地影响到科技政策、科技支撑环境发展战略和科技信息服务模式。一大批科学家、科研机构和许多国家的科学管理与科研资助机构，都积极地推动科技信息的开放获取。他们或者制定开放获取政策、要求或鼓励科研人员提供科研成果的开放获取，或者支持开放出版期刊，或者建立机构开放存储库、支持本机构科研成果开放获取。通过这一系列的措施，科学界希望能够促进科研成果不受限制地广泛传播和自由获取、以及促进科研成果通过公共机制长期可靠保存和利用，以保障科技知识资产的国家保护和科研机构的知识资产管理。     

Research trends and collaborations by applied science researchers in South African universities of technology: 2007–2017

This paper analyses the publication patterns of researchers in the field of applied sciences at Universities of Technology in South Africa. Aspects investigated include publications in SCOPUS-listed journals; number of citations and countries of publication. Collaborative research patterns at national and international levels were also investigated. A bibliometric analysis approach was followed using SCOPUS as the main source of data and analysing the articles published in selected applied science disciplines. Results show that researchers in the field of applied sciences in universities of technology have increased their number of publications over the past 10?years and are also working in conjunction with other researchers both nationally and internationally. The analysis is an important addition to the field in South Africa which helps in measuring how institutions are positively responding to government incentives in research. The results are also important to information professionals who are increasingly playing an important role in research impact assessments.     

Narrative Persuasion in a New Media Environment: The Impact of Binge-Watching and Second-Screening

The study explored the role of second-screen use and binge-watching in moderating entertainment education (EE) effects. A pretest/posttest experiment of 273 viewers of East Los High measured the effects of exposure to three subplots, concerning alcohol abuse, abortion, and immigration. The effect of identification with characters on change in attitudes was significantly moderated by second-screen use and binge-watching. In particular, second-screening tended to enhance the positive impact of identification; whereas, among respondents who binge-watched the show, the effects of identification were weaker.     

Nullis in Verba: Advancing Research through Transparency and Openness

Nullis in verba was chosen as the motto of the Royal Society, as it embodied the culture of transparency and collaboration that were the hallmarks of the Royal Society and of the scientific method it promoted. Communication, using the tools of the day, was essential to this community of scientists as they created and shared new knowledge. Almost three hundred years later, libraries continue to advance principles relating to the importance of collaboration and transparency. This two-part article series, published jointly in International Information and Library Review and Technical Services Quarterly explores notions of transparency and collaboration in research and how these ideas are impacting the world of librarianship – from information creation, organization and access perspectives.     

Setting a Non-Agenda: Effects of a Perceived Lack of Problems in Recent News or Twitter

The mere perception that news has given certain problems more coverage can lead the audience to assume that those problems are more important. Given that the news media, at times, obsesses over relatively trivial matters, and given that the audience is increasingly able to filter media exposure, it is worth asking what happens when audience members perceive that recent media coverage has not emphasized any very important problems. In such cases, audience members might assume that any problems facing the nation must not be particularly important. We explicate this attitude of political complacency, test whether perceived media agendas lacking important problems can influence it, and explore whether complacency helps explain political disengagement. We also explore whether these effects generalize beyond news, to new media gatekeepers such as Twitter. Two experiments tested effects of a perceived absence of important problems in recent news or Twitter content. In the case of news, but not Twitter, this increased complacency in both studies. Study 2 added a no-exposure control and found that effects on complacency were driven by the cueing of nonproblem stories, not by the absence of problem story cues. Both studies validated complacency as a predictor of political disengagement.