Evidence Summary
Librarian-Led Information Literacy Training Delivered in Small Groups
Improved Medical Students’ Confidence in Their Ability to Use Evidence Based
Resources Effectively
A Review of:
McClurg, C., Powelson, S., Lang, E., Aghajafari, F., & Edworthy, S.
(2015). Evaluating effectiveness of
small group information literacy instruction for Undergraduate Medical
Education students using a pre- and post-survey study design. Health
Information & Libraries Journal. 32(2),
120-130. http://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12098
Reviewed by:
Elizabeth Stovold
Information Specialist, Cochrane Airways Group
St George’s, University of London
Tooting, London, United Kingdom
Email: estovold@sgul.ac.uk
Received: 19 Nov. 2015 Accepted: 18 Jan.
2016
2016 Stovold.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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Abstract
Objective – To assess the effectiveness of librarian-led
small group information literacy sessions, which were integrated into the
second year of a three-year undergraduate medical course.
Design – A pre- and
post-intervention survey questionnaire.
Setting – A large university in
Canada.
Subjects – A cohort of 160 second
year undergraduate medical students enrolled in the three-year programme of a
large university in Canada.
Methods – As part of the
redevelopment of the undergraduate three-year medical course, information
literacy skills in evidence based medicine were integrated into the seminar and
small group teaching programme. Every week for five weeks, 3 librarians each
visited 4 small groups of 15 students to deliver a 15-minute session as part of
a 2-hour long seminar led by practising physicians. The sessions did not
include a formal hands-on component, however, students were encouraged to try
out searches on their own devices. Each 15-minute session covered 3 learning
objectives, including how to use PubMed clinical queries, how to use MeSH, and
how to search for systematic reviews and guidelines.
A pre- and
post-intervention survey design was used to assess students’ perceptions of the
impact of these sessions. The students were asked to complete an online Survey
Monkey survey before and after the five week lecture block. The questions
covered resource selection, perception of barriers to finding evidence based
information, and the students’ confidence in using evidence based resources.
The data were analysed descriptively.
Main results – The pre-survey achieved
a 90% (144/160) response rate while the post-survey achieved a 75% (112/160)
response rate. The post-survey indicated an increase in the likelihood that
students would use Ovid MEDLINE, carry out a literature search, and consult a
librarian, with a decrease in those who would consult a print or online
textbook. There was limited change in the students’ confidence that they could
find answers quickly, but more of an increase in the proportion of students who
were confident they could find systematic reviews and guidelines, and use
search limits, PICO, and MeSH. Before the intervention, “knowing where to
search,” devising a search strategy, and retrieving too many results were all
thought to be obstacles by the students. After the small group training, students
considered these issues less of a problem.
The post-survey also
included an opportunity for the students to comment on their experience with
the programme overall. Of the 54 responses received, 34 identified the library
component as being the most important thing they had learned in the small group
part of the course.
Conclusion – The authors conclude
that integrating information literacy into the undergraduate curriculum as part
of the small group seminar series is effective. They suggest future directions
for research, such as a study to assess the impact of the training on specific
skills rather than student confidence and evaluations of other teaching
methods.
Commentary
Teaching and training
are key elements of the role of a librarian working in the health sector (Sen,
Chapman, & Villa, 2014). This study of an alternative method to a
traditional library-based session for delivering an information literacy
program to medical students was appraised using the ReLIANT tool (Koufogiannakis,
Booth, & Brettle, 2006). The study’s strength is its rationale and
reporting. The objective was explicitly stated and the study population was
clearly defined. Each small group contained the same number of participants and
they each received the same number of training sessions with a
faculty-supported librarian. The mode of delivery was described as engagement
and discussion. The learning objectives of each training session were presented
and were the same for each group. The authors used a pre- and post-intervention
survey design, which was appropriate to assess the short term outcomes that
were measured. The survey questions were based on previously published work,
and the full questionnaire was appended to the report to allow for
reproducibility.
Results were described
narratively and presented graphically as percentages to show the pre- and
post-intervention comparison. When
describing the results, the authors used language such as “significant change”
and “significant increase,” although no statistical significance tests were
reported. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the intervention,
however it was the students’ confidence in their ability to find and use
resources that was measured, rather than any quantifiable measure of the effect
of this method on skills. The authors of the paper recognise this as a
limitation, as well as noting that this is a three-year course therefore the
results may not be generalizable to a four-year medical program.
The study does not to
attempt to compare the integrated teaching method with a different teaching
model or control group, as Ilic, Tepper, and Misso (2012) did in their randomised
controlled trial comparing the effect of a formal literature searching workshop
with a control group who did not attend a workshop. As there is no control and
the outcomes measured are subjective rather than an objective assessment of
information literacy skills, the results should be interpreted with caution.
However, the integrated method did appear to be successful in improving the
students’ confidence with using evidence based resources, so other institutions
may wish to incorporate this approach into their own programmes as an
alternative to the traditional stand-alone library teaching session. They
should evaluate the effect of the intervention on students’ skills, and
directly compare it with other methods.
References
Ilic, D., Tepper, K., & Misso, M. (2012). Teaching
evidence-based medicine literature searching skills to medical students during
the clinical years: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 100(3),
190–196. http://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.100.3.009
Koufogiannakis, D., Booth, A., & Brettle,
A. (2006). ReLIANT: Reader’s guide to the literature on interventions
addressing the need of education and training. Library and Information Research, 30(94), 44-51. Retrieved from http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/271
Sen, B. A., Chapman, E., & Villa, R.
(2014). Working in the health information profession: Perspectives, experiences
and trends: the results of an EAHIL-funded 25th anniversary project.
In: Proceedings of the 14th
EAHIL 2014 Conference, Rome, Italy. Retrieved from http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/78521