Current research

Compiled by Sophie Regalado

Maggio LA, Bresnahan M, Flynn DB, Harzbecker J, Blanchard M, Ginn D. A case study: using social tagging to engage students in learning Medical Subject Headings. *J Med Libr Assoc.* 2009 Apr;97(2):77–83. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2670207.

In exploring new ways of teaching students how to use
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), librarians at Boston
University's Alumni Medical Library (AML) integrated so-
cial tagging into their instruction. These activities were in-
corporated into the two-credit graduate course "GMS MS
640: Introduction to Biomedical Information," required for
all students in the graduate medical science program.
Hands-on assignments and in-class exercises enabled librai-
ans to present MeSH and the concept of a controlled vocab-
ulary in a familiar and relevant context for the course's
Generation Y student population and provided students the
opportunity to actively participate in creating their educa-
tion. At the conclusion of these activities, students were sur-
veyed regarding the clarity of the presentation of the MeSH
vocabulary. Analysis of survey responses indicated that 46%
found the concept of MeSH to be the clearest concept pre-
sented in the in-class intervention.

Golder S, Loke YK. Search strategies to identify information on adverse effects: a systematic review. *J Med Libr Assoc.* 2009 Apr;97(2):84–92. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2670220.

**Objectives:** The review evaluated studies of electronic data-base search strategies designed to retrieve adverse effects data for systematic reviews. **Methods:** Studies of adverse effects were located in 10 databases as well as by checking references, hand-searching, searching citations, and contacting experts. Two reviewers screened the retrieved records for potentially relevant papers. **Results:** Five thousand three hundred thirteen citations were retrieved, yielding 19 studies designed to develop or evaluate adverse effect filters, of which three met the inclusion criteria. All three studies identified highly sensitive search strategies capable of retrieving over 95% of relevant records. However, one study did not evaluate precision, while the level of precision in the other two studies ranged from 0.8% to 2.8%. Methodological issues in these papers included the relatively small number of records, absence of a validation set of records for testing, and limited evaluation of precision. **Conclusions:** The results indicate the difficulty of achieving highly sensitive searches for information on adverse effects with a reasonable level of precision. Researchers who intend to locate

studies on adverse effects should allow for the amount of re-
sources and time required to conduct a highly sensitive
search.

Shearer BS, Klatt C, Nagy SP. Development of a new academic digital library: a study of usage data of a core medical electronic journal collection. *J Med Libr Assoc.* 2009 Apr;97(2):93–101. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2670205.

**Objectives:** The current study evaluates the results of a previously reported method for creating a core medical electronic journal collection for a new medical school library, validates the core collection created specifically to meet the needs of the new school, and identifies strategies for making cost-effective e-journal selection decisions. **Methods:** Usage data were extracted for four e-journal packages (Blackwell-Synergy, Cell Press, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, and Science Direct). Usage was correlated with weighted point values assigned to a core list of journal titles, and each package was evaluated for relevancy and cost-effectiveness to the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSU COM) population. **Results:** The results indicated that the development of the core list was a valid method for creating a new 21st century, community-based medical school library. Thirty-seven journals are identified for addition to the FSU COM core list based on use by the COM, and areas of overlapping research interests between the university and the COM are identified based on use of specific journals by each population. **Conclusions:** The collection development approach that evolved at the FSU COM library was useful during the initial stages of identifying and evaluating journal selections and in assessing the relative value of a particular journal package for the FSU COM after the school was established.

Wilkinson A, Papaioannou D, Keen C, Booth A. The role of the information specialist in supporting knowledge transfer: a public health information case study. *Health Info Libr J.* 2009 Jun;26(2):118–25. PMID 19490150.

**Objectives:** To create research bulletins for public health pro-
fessionals that support knowledge transfer and evidence-based
practice. **Methods:** The methodology for the bulletins comprises
five stages: scoping the topic, searching for relevant literature,
selecting and obtaining relevant articles, assessing the quality of
articles including evidence grading, producing a comment on
quality and implications for practice, and writing the research
bulletin. An ABC — applicability, brevity, and clarity — is
considered at each stage to ensure that bulletins meet the
needs of their intended audience. **Results:** Nine research bulletins have been produced on a range of health promotion topics. Bulletins are distributed to Welsh health professionals and are available online. The bulletins have developed since their inception to incorporate evaluation and feedback. Most significant among these developments has been introduction of an Implications for Practice section to promote uptake of research. **Conclusions:** Research bulletins support busy health professionals in evidence-based practice by assigning a level of evidence, highlighting implications for practice, and providing a comment on quality. The bulletins further develop the extended role for information professionals in knowledge transfer and dissemination.

Randell R, Mitchell N, Thompson C, McCaughan D, Dowding D. From pull to push: understanding nurses' information needs. *Health Informatics J.* 2009 Jun;15(2):75–85. PMID 19474221.

Electronic access to research information for health professionals is a key component in developing evidence-based health care. As nurses take on extended roles and work more autonomously, it is assumed that they will take increasing advantage of these technologies. However, little is known about the decisions that nurses make and the information needs that arise within the context of those decisions. This article presents an analysis of 410 nurse-patient consultations and interviews with 76 primary care nurses, and explores nurses' information needs and their use of electronic information tools. The findings suggest that, if we wish to encourage nurses to use research information in clinical practice, we need to move from "pull" to "push" technology.

Koopman A, Kipnis D. Feeding the fledgling repository: starting an institutional repository at an academic health sciences library. *Med Ref Serv Q.* 2009 Summer;28(2):111–22. PMID 19384712.

In 2005, the Scott Memorial Library at Thomas Jefferson University started an institutional repository (IR), the Jefferson Digital Commons (JDC) (http://jdc.jefferson.edu/). Originally intended as a showcase for faculty scholarship, it has

evolved to serve also as a university press for original journals and newsletters, and as an institutional archive. Many lessons have been learned about marketing techniques, common IR issues, and advantages of an IR for a library. IR recruitment has come to be viewed as yet another form of collection development and has been integrated into all forms of the Library's outreach. Jefferson's academic health sciences environment has proven similar to other academic environments on issues of acceptance and participation.

Spitzer S. Better control of user Web access of electronic resources. *J Electronic Resour Med Libr.* 2009 Apr;6(2):91–100.

A Web portal is a convenient way to allow access to electronic resources. However, for a large, geographically dispersed, and mobile user population, it can be difficult to track users' access of the system. Legal liability and the need for valid usage statistics make it important to limit access to legitimate users. The combination of proper access logging and the use of open source software allow the matching of user names to geographic locations. By analyzing geography-based usage patterns, suspicious activity can be identified and corrective actions taken. This paper describes how these techniques were used at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) to better control and monitor user access.

Kraft MA. If you build it they will come: experiences with electronic journal usage in a community hospital library. *J Hosp Librarian.* 2009;9(2):164–76.

South Pointe Hospital is a community hospital that originally had few electronic resources available. This article describes how the library gradually acquired an electronic journals collection that started with just two titles and grew to a list of over 6000 titles, including open access publications. The journals' online usage statistics were used to justify and increase the library budget, which enabled the library to purchase more titles as journal infrastructure software. Even though the collection had been created, it must be maintained and promoted; this article briefly discusses the need for education and promotion of the resources.