Dear Sir
Medical students today must master the skills of information literacy (Boumarafi 2010). The problem-based learning format has been shown to be an ideal environment for development of these skills, with medical librarian participation in these classes noted to be beneficial (Mi Citation2013).
Our group developed an electronic communication tool, the Literature Search Worksheet (LSW), for use between students and librarians in a problem-based learning class. The LSW was used to describe aspects of the student’s search such as choice of keywords, search engines, number of search steps and use of limits. Students provided examples of citations for review which were scored for accuracy, relevance and completeness. Students received librarian feedback via a comment box on the LSW that was returned to the student electronically. Student performance in the intervention group (n = 121) was measured longitudinally through student and librarian ratings of six literature searches. We also compared student performance on a single literature search against an historical control group (n = 109).
No differences were found between the control and intervention groups in citation completeness, quality of search strategy, or librarian or student ratings of search success. The percentage of complete citations did improve over time for the intervention group (p < 0.0001), the only measured parameter demonstrating benefit from the intervention.
The effort invested in the design of the LSW, librarian training and coordination with our information technology staff for distribution of the electronic communications was considerable. Additionally, student satisfaction survey comments demonstrated the curriculum was not popular with the students, citing the program had not helped them become more efficient searchers or use new library resources.
The librarians remained enthusiastic about the program and expressed a strong desire to continue their involvement in the course. Revisions suggested included face-to-face interaction with the students, rather than relying completely on electronic communication.
While this intensive use of resources did not prove to be an efficient method of achieving our goals, we continue to strategize to develop an information literacy program that will optimally utilize our medical librarians’ skills and challenge our students, effectively building skills that will serve them as life-long learners. Since the completion of the course we have transitioned to face-to-face educational time between students and librarians, which has been more positively received and will be assessed in future analyses.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Reference
- Boumarafi B. 2010. Electronic resources at the University of Sharjah medical library: an investigation of students' information-seeking behavior. Med Ref Serv Q 29:349–362
- Mi M. 2013. Renewed roles for librarians in problem-based learning in the medical curriculum. Med Ref Serv Q 30:269–282