A 5-star system for rating the quality of information based on DISCERN

Objective: To develop an explicit scheme for calculating a 5‐star quality rating for consumer health information, and to test if there is good agreement be tween this and the final DISCERN quality question. Design: A sample of 15 consumers and health professionals rated 26 health information leaflets covering a broad range of conditions and treatments using two new 5‐star‐rating schemes and the existing DISCERN final quality rating. Each scheme is based on the 15 DISCERN criteria, but the 5‐star schemes provide more explicit methods for summarizing overall quality. The level of agreement between the three different rating systems was compared using Kappa scores with quadratic weights. Participants were also asked to complete a brief questionnaire that was designed to elicit their views on using a visual summary of the quality of health information. Results: The level of agreement between each 5‐star‐rating system and the existing DISCERN quality rating question was high (kappa = 0.86, 95% CI 0.83–0.89 in both instances). Seventy‐seven per cent of the sample preferred the second star‐rating scheme, and 80% reported they would use such a scheme. Conclusion: Assigning a single quality score using an explicit scoring scheme (represented by stars) based on answers to the DISCERN questionnaire is a reliable and valid way of rating consumer health information.     

Classroom dialogue and digital technologies: A scoping review

This article presents a systematic scoping review of the literature focusing on interactions between classroom dialogue and digital technology. The first review of its type in this area, it both maps extant research and, through a process of thematic synthesis, investigates the role of technology in supporting classroom dialogue. In total, 72 studies (published 2000–2016) are analysed to establish the characteristics of existing evidence and to identify themes. The central intention is to enable researchers and others to access an extensive base of studies, thematically analysed, when developing insights and interpretations in a rapidly changing field of study. The discussion illustrates the interconnectedness of key themes, placing the studies in a methodological and theoretical context and examining challenges for the future.     

Using Scopus to Study Researchers’ Citing Behavior for Local Collection Decisions: A Focus on Psychology

In recent years, the University of Houston has engaged in a campus-wide effort to raise the university to Tier-One status. The initiative has led to a significant increase in faculty's research output in the field of psychology. This dynamic change inspired the Psychology Librarian and Collection Coordinator to embark on a citation analysis to investigate two questions: how has faculty been using information for their research and how does the library's collection meet the research needs of faculty? In addition to reporting these findings, the article also describes how to use features in Scopus to simplify the data collection process.     

‘Evidence’ within local authority decision making

Michael Cook looks at the role of an embedded Public Health Information Specialist highlighting the ways the core evidence, information and knowledge skills are used to progress Public Health activity in local government settings. Acknowledging the current pandemic, he explores how COVID‐19 has dominated all aspects of health and social care, and outlines how evidence services have work within these complex Public Health systems to lead the local response and recovery efforts.     

The role of culture in program improvement

In this article, we draw on work in three Head Start programs over three years to consider how “culture” plays a role in program improvement. Through close attention to discourse we attempt to show how culture takes shape through dynamic interactions in particular contexts, constituting identities, structuring social relations, and privileging particular forms of knowledge. We argue for the importance of illuminating the forces that shape our lives and bringing our own ideologies to conscious awareness, in order to become actors in our social milieus. Articulation between general mandates and local needs and goals would then entail ongoing dialogue in a “culturally situated model of school/program effectiveness” (Fuller & Clarke, 1994, p. 121).