Background: Book clubs consist of groups of people reading and discussing the same books. Some book clubs are organized by public librarians. A far smaller number of health sciences librarians are involved with coordinating book clubs. Objectives: This case report employed a survey and phone interviews to determine why a book club kits program organized by health sciences librarians did not generate more enthusiasm. Lessons Learned: The investigators found that direct phone interviews rather than a survey elicited the needed information. Many public libraries, particularly those in rural areas, are directed by people not even possessing a Master’s degree in library or information science. Strategies for promoting use of the book club kits to these public librarians required different approaches. Conclusions: Through a deeper understanding of rural public librarians' circumstances and needs, the investigators gained new insights on how health sciences librarians might possibly reach public librarians more effectively.
In Part One of this column, the different types of data were discussed. Understanding the type of data is essential to interpreting them. If the type of data isn’t correctly identified, it’s not possible to answer some fundamental questions accurately. One of these fundamental questions is “what’s the average value?” This is often the building block for more advanced statistical tests. In statistical terms, this question is asking us for the central tendency of the data. The central tendency is a single value that represents the midpoint of the data set. It tells us what is “average” or “normal” in the data set. There are three different ways to measure central tendency: mode, median, and mean. The measure chosen will depend on the type of data and the distribution of that data.
Objectives: Citations do not always equate endorsement, therefore it is important to understand the context of a citation. Researchers may heavily rely on a paper they cite, they may refute it entirely, or they may mention it only in passing, so an accurate classification of a citation is valuable for researchers and users. While AI solutions have emerged to provide a more nuanced meaning, the accuracy of these tools has yet to be determined. This project seeks to assess the accuracy of scite in assessing the meaning of citations in a sample of publications. Methods: Using a previously established sample of systematic reviews that cited retracted publications, we conducted known item searching in scite, a tool that uses machine learning to categorize the meaning of citations. scite's interpretation of the citation's meaning was recorded, as was our assessment of the citation’s meaning. Citations were classified as mentioning, supporting or contrasting. Recall, precision, and f-measure were calculated to describe the accuracy of scite's assessment in comparison to human assessment. Results: From the original sample of 324 citations, 98 citations were classified in scite. Of these, scite found that 2 were supporting and 96 were mentioning, while we determined that 42 were supporting, 39 were mentioning, and 17 were contrasting. Supporting citations had high precision and low recall, while mentioning citations had high recall and low precision. F-measures ranged between 0.0 and 0.58, representing low classification accuracy. Conclusions: In our sample, the overall accuracy of scite's assessments was low. scite was less able to classify supporting and contrasting citations, and instead labeled them as mentioning. Although there is potential and enthusiasm for AI to make engagement with literature easier and more immediate, the results generated from AI differed significantly from the human interpretation.
Purposes: In this article, we describe two methods to evaluate database content coverage, illustrating their use with the example of evaluating databases for coverage of medical education literature. Method names: Though several methods for evaluating database content coverage have been described, the two used herein, referred to as the reference list search method and the journal method, use traditional librarian skills and tools and can be used across a variety of topic areas. Description: In this paper, we describe two approaches to evaluating database coverage. For each method, we use the example of evaluating databases for their coverage of medical education literature. In the reference list search method, we search for references from comprehensive reviews or bibliographies to determine their presence in databases. In the journal method, we describe the indexing status and coverage of key publications in databases. Strengths: These methods use established librarian skills and tools and can be applied to a wide variety of topics. Limitations: The results of each method depend on the quality and comprehensiveness of the original source material: comprehensive reviews and bibliographies for the reference list search method and publication lists for the journal method.
Congratulations to the award-winning research papers and posters from MLA/SLA ’23 Hybrid Meeting held in Detroit, Michigan! The MLA Research Caucus is pleased to announce the winners for best research papers and posters presented at the MLA/SLA 2023 Hybrid Meeting.
The Taubman Health Sciences Library (THSL) at the University of Michigan established the Research Data Core Team (Data Team) to raise awareness and educate people about the new Data Management & Sharing Policy released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This was accomplished with an initial outreach phase, followed by an engagement phase.Outreach was launched by updating a LibGuide with information about the new policy, creating a slide for digital screens, and producing a short video. For the engagement phase, a presentation was created to review the policy’s main points, emphasizing that a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan needed to be included in grant applications.Throughout the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 semesters, the Data Team facilitated eight presentations, two workshops, and two office hours. Increased LibGuide views peaked at 1,873 in January. The Data Team anticipates continuing outreach and engagement after seeing how the NIH responds to the first DMS Plans.
Introduction: Previous studies have found that only 21.8% to 28% of abstracts presented at the annual Medical Library Association (MLA) conferences are later published as journal articles. What motivates health sciences librarians to take the next step in publishing and disseminating their work? This study will answer the following questions: 1) Are librarians presenting at MLA conferences more motivated to publish due to internal motivational factors (e.g., “to build a professional reputation for myself”), external motivational factors (e.g., “I am expected to participate in research for my job”), or a mix of both? 2) Do motivations for publication differ between academic and hospital librarians? 3) Do motivations for publication differ between those who published in peer-reviewed journals and those who published in other venues? Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the team surveyed first authors of abstracts presented at the MLA conferences in 2012 and 2014 to determine if they later published their work in any full-text format. If they did publish, the team asked authors where their work was published and the primary and secondary reasons for pursuing publication. The reasons for publication included internal and external motivational factors identified from the library science literature. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences in motivation. Results: One hundred and sixty one authors responded to the survey, and of these, 49 authors reported that they had published their abstract(s). Fifty-one percent (n=25) of respondents selected only internal motivational factors, 18.4% (n=9) selected only external motivational factors, and 30.6% (n=15) reported a mix of both. The author found no statistically significant differences between hospital and academic librarians, or those who published in peer-reviewed journals versus other venues. Discussion: Findings indicate that librarians who chose to publish their work after presenting at annual MLA conferences are primarily motivated to publish due to internal factors. Interventions designed to encourage MLA presenters to publish their work should consider ways to cultivate presenters’ internal motivation.
Background: Open Educational Resources (OER) are rising in popularity at higher education institutions to help combat high textbook costs. To date, little research has been published discussing the impact of OER in the health sciences context. This comparative case study seeks to fill this gap. Experience: The article shares OER programs and advocacy efforts at three institutions, including a brief history of OER work, barriers and failures, current successes, and future directions at each institution. Discussion: All three institutions are making efforts in OER outreach and advocacy, informed and impacted by their institutional community. Two institutions have an OER grant with increasing submissions from health sciences faculty. OER work is completed by one librarian at two of the institutions, while the third completes the work through a committee of stakeholders from across the institution. All cases include OER advocacy and outreach through library workshops and working to establish faculty partnerships. Barriers at all three institutions include a lack of time and funds to dedicate to finding or developing OER. Unique barriers include a desire to work with for-profit companies, concerns over disadvantaging students on their qualifying exams, and the sustainability of institutional efforts in OER. Takeaways: Libraries are uniquely situated to support faculty and staff as they incorporate OER into their practices. While health sciences faculty are typically slower to adopt OER, once they do take this step, they become strong advocates for open practices, the librarian, and the library.
Health humanities, a growing field combing humanities and health sciences, aids healthcare students and providers in self-reflection, empathy, personal well-being, communication skills, and observational skills. Developing these skills is important for students as they form their professional identity. Graphic medicine (comic narratives that involve health topics) is one way to integrate health humanities into the classroom. I investigated how reading a graphic medicine novel enhances undergraduate nursing students' empathy and self-reflection skills. LGBTQIA+-focused efforts on campus informed my selection of the graphic medicine book First Year Out: A Transition Story by Sabrina Symington. With no LGBTQIA+-focused nursing course available, the community health practicum course provided a suitable setting and supportive instructors for this study.
In Northwest Ohio, the sun is beginning to shine, or at least peek through the clouds, on
Background: In 1974, the United States passed the Research Act, which required creating and implementing guidelines for conducting research on humans and animals. In 1978, universities and hospitals created Institutional Review Boards for reviewing and approving research protocols in the United States. Objectives: This article will define and explain the components of a research protocol, research team member roles and responsibilities, pre-protocol submission training requirements, and provide suggestions for improving how researchers obtain research approval. Lessons Learned: The author failed to provide all the required information before collecting Informed Consent to prospective participants for four different study protocols. Conclusions: Obtaining research approval is necessary for most study designs. It is a complex and frequently tedious process, but obtaining approval gives research studies greater credibility.
This article is a description of using a heatmap technique to study how patrons use different spaces in a health sciences library at a large, urban research university. Objective: This method is used to identify preferred seating locations within the library. Approach: This method involves counting where patrons are situated in the library at different times of the day, at different times of the year, and using that data to generate heat maps. Data type(s) used: The data consisted of locations and counts of patrons around the library at different time points. Strengths: Provides a granular look at space use in the library. Limitations: It is difficult to know why patrons prefer different sections of the library.
Description: The Delphi method is a process used to arrive at a group opinion or decision by surveying a panel of experts. The method was developed in the 1950’s and 1960’s by the RAND Corporation and since then has been used in many fields, including library and information science. During a Delphi study, selected experts respond to several rounds of questionnaires, and the responses are aggregated and shared with the group after each round. A Delphi study relies on the idea that collective group responses are superior to individual responses. Purposes: Originally the Delphi method was created as a systematic, interactive forecasting method relying on a panel of experts. Since then, Delphi studies have been used for many purposes: creating policy, establishing guidelines, and identifying trends.
The MLA Research Caucus is pleased to announce the winners for best research papers and posters presented at the MLA 2022 Hybrid Meeting. Thank you to all the judges who volunteered their expertise to help select these deserving awardees both in the pre-judging phase and during the conference.
Librarians usually aren’t statisticians. Most of us haven’t taken a statistics course and might not feel comfortable talking about things like p-values and confidence intervals. At the same time, most of us also want or need to know that results are “real.” Whether we’re assessing our own programs and services, conducting research, or reading scientific articles, it’s helpful to understand some of the basics of statistics. This series in “The Research Mentor” column will guide you through the process of identifying the data type, choosing a statistical test, and interpreting the results, but it is not meant to be comprehensive or conclusive. Whenever possible, it’s best to find a trained statistician who you can consult with about your specific project.
Objectives: The intent of this project was to explore the impact of a small, collaborative gaming experience among undergraduate students on student attitudes and beliefs about Interprofessional Education (IPE). Methods: Health sciences librarians at two state universities used a low-tech, collaborative board game to facilitate small, in-person group gaming. The authors used an adapted version of the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS), a validated instrument that measures the four domains of the 2011 IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, as a pre/post assessment of the impact of the gaming experience. Results: While anecdotal evidence indicated that playing a collaborative board game had an impact on the participating students, there was no statistically based evidence that collaborative board games increases positive or negative attitudes about IPE and interprofessional collaborative practice. Conclusions: More student participation is required for statistical significance, recruiting students and ensuring that students have enough time to complete the game play is key to future possible success.
