Rigor and reproducibility instruction in academic medical libraries.

Background: Concerns over scientific reproducibility have grown in recent years, leading the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to require researchers to address these issues in research grant applications. Starting in 2020, training grants were required to provide a plan for educating trainees in rigor and reproducibility. Academic medical centers have responded with different solutions to fill this educational need. As experienced instructors with expertise in topics relating to reproducibility, librarians can play a prominent role in providing trainings, classes, and events to educate investigators and trainees, and bolstering reproducibility in their communities. Case Presentations: This special report summarizes efforts at five institutions to provide education in reproducibility to biomedical and life sciences researchers. Our goal is to expand awareness of the range of approaches in providing reproducibility services in libraries. Conclusions: Reproducibility education by medical librarians can take many forms. These specific programs in reproducibility education build upon libraries' existing collaborations, with funder mandates providing a major impetus. Collaborator needs shaped the exact type of educational or other reproducibility support and combined with each library's strengths to yield a diversity of offerings based on capacity and interest. As demand for and complexity of reproducibility education increases due to new institutional and funder mandates, reproducibility education will merit special attention.

Piloting a long-term evaluation of library data workshops.

BACKGROUND: Over four years of hosting library data workshops, we conducted post-workshop evaluation of attendees' satisfaction with the workshops but not longer-term follow-up. To best allocate library resources and most effectively serve the needs of our users, we sought to determine whether our data workshops were impactful and useful to our community. This paper describes a pilot project to evaluate the impact of data workshops at our academic health sciences library. CASE PRESENTATION: We surveyed individuals who signed up for data workshops between 2016 and 2019. Surveys included open-ended and multiple-choice questions, with the goal of having participants describe their motivations for taking the workshop(s) and how they ultimately used what they learned. An analysis of responses using the Applied Thematic Analysis model indicated that the workshops had an impact on the respondents, although the strength of our conclusions is limited by a relatively low response rate. CONCLUSIONS: Survey results indicated that our workshops impacted how researchers at our medical center collect and analyze data, supporting the conclusion that we should concentrate our educational efforts on providing skills-based workshops. The low response rate and time-consuming nature of the analysis point toward several improvements for future evaluation efforts, including better tracking of workshop attendees, a shorter survey with fewer open-ended questions, and survey implementation within one year of the workshop date.

Excel for data visualization in academic health sciences libraries: a qualitative case study.

BACKGROUND: Data visualization is a growing topic of discussion and area of educational programming in health sciences libraries. This paper synthesizes information on eight institutions' experiences in offering Excel-focused data visualization workshops with the goal of providing an overview of the current state of educational offerings in this area. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted by phone and email with librarians at institutions that offer Excel-focused workshops, which were identified by reviewing the websites of Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries members and the 2019 Medical Library Association annual meeting program. RESULTS: Librarians from six institutions were interviewed, online class materials from one institution were reviewed, and information from the author's institution was included, resulting in a total of eight institutions. Educational offerings in Excel-focused data visualization ranged from one workshop to five workshops in a series, which typically first presented information for beginners and then progressed to more advanced data visualization skills. Regarding motivations for offering these workshops, librarians stated that they were committed to providing instruction in software programs that were already familiar to users. Workshop evaluations, when available, were generally positive. DISCUSSION: Because of its widespread availability and usage, Excel offers a compelling opportunity for providing hands-on data visualization instruction in health sciences libraries.

Imaging Quantification of Glenoid Bone Loss in Patients With Glenohumeral Instability: A Systematic Review.

To listen to the podcast associated with this article, please select one of the following: iTunes, Google Play, or direct download. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to determine the most accurate imaging techniques to measure glenoid bone loss in anterior glenohumeral instability through a systematic review of existing literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We performed a comprehensive literature search of five databases for original research measuring glenoid bone loss at radiography, CT, or MRI, using prospective or retrospective cohort, case-control, or cadaveric study designs up to January 2018. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool aided qualitative assessment of the methods. Data extraction included results, index test interobserver agreement, and accuracy analysis. RESULTS. Twenty-seven studies (evaluating 1425 shoulders) met inclusion criteria after full-text review by two independent readers. Glenoid bone loss was assessed, comparing several index tests to nonimaging (n = 18 studies) and imaging (n = 11) reference standards. Compared with arthroscopic or cadaveric measurements, 2D CT was accurate in six of seven studies (86%), 3D CT was accurate in eight of 10 studies (80%), 2D MRI was accurate in five of seven studies (71%), 3D MRI was accurate in four of four studies (100%), and radiographs were accurate in zero of four studies (0%). Best-fit circle methods (glenoid width or Pico surface area) were the most common and both were accurate (86-90% and 75-100%, respectively) using CT and MRI. Studies had good external validity (78%). Most risk for bias arose from patient selection and reference standards. Only two studies reported sensitivity and specificity, both comparing CT to arthroscopy using different bone loss thresholds (20% and 25%). CONCLUSION. CT and MRI (2D or 3D) accurately measure glenoid bone loss in anterior shoulder instability, but radiographs do not. Best-fit circle measurement techniques are reliable and accurate. Current literature about glenoid bone loss is heterogeneous, and future studies should focus on diagnosis of clinically relevant glenoid bone loss.

The "Data Visualization Clinic": a library-led critique workshop for data visualization.

BACKGROUND: The authors' main university library and affiliated academic medical center library sought to increase library programming around data visualization, a new service area for both libraries. Additionally, our institution is home to many researchers with a strong interest in data visualization but who are generally working in isolation of one another. CASE PRESENTATION: This case study describes an innovative workshop, the "Data Visualization Clinic," where members of our library's community bring in data visualization projects such as figures in papers, projects hosted online, and handouts and receive constructive feedback from a group of peers. The authors detail the process of hosting a clinic and the feedback that we received from participants. CONCLUSIONS: The "Data Visualization Clinic" offers a viable workshop to leverage expertise of library users and build the library's reputation as a hub of data visualization services without heavy investment in infrastructure like special monitors or coding skills. That said, it faces the challenge of relying on the participation of the broader community, which is often pressed for time. The event can also serve as an opportunity for researchers who have an interest in data visualization to meet and network.

A new hat for librarians: providing REDCap support to establish the library as a central data hub.

BACKGROUND: REDCap, an electronic data capture tool, supports good research data management, but many researchers lack familiarity with the tool. While a REDCap administrator provided technical support and a clinical data management support unit provided study design support, a service gap existed. CASE PRESENTATION: Librarians with REDCap expertise sought to increase and improve usage through outreach, workshops, and consultations. In collaboration with a REDCap administrator and the director of the clinical data management support unit, the role of the library was established in providing REDCap training and consultations. REDCap trainings were offered to the medical center during the library's quarterly data series, which served as a springboard for offering tailored REDCap support to researchers and research groups. CONCLUSIONS: Providing REDCap support has proved to be an effective way to associate the library with data-related activities in an academic medical center and identify new opportunities for offering data services in the library. By offering REDCap services, the library established strong partnerships with the Information Technology Department, Clinical Data Support Department, and Compliance Office by filling in training gaps, while simultaneously referring users back to these departments when additional expertise was required. These new partnerships continue to grow and serve to position the library as a central data hub in the institution.

Improving data collection, documentation, and workflow in a dementia screening study.

BACKGROUND: A clinical study team performing three multicultural dementia screening studies identified the need to improve data management practices and facilitate data sharing. A collaboration was initiated with librarians as part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) informationist supplement program. The librarians identified areas for improvement in the studies' data collection, entry, and processing workflows. CASE PRESENTATION: The librarians' role in this project was to meet needs expressed by the study team around improving data collection and processing workflows to increase study efficiency and ensure data quality. The librarians addressed the data collection, entry, and processing weaknesses through standardizing and renaming variables, creating an electronic data capture system using REDCap, and developing well-documented, reproducible data processing workflows. CONCLUSIONS: NLM informationist supplements provide librarians with valuable experience in collaborating with study teams to address their data needs. For this project, the librarians gained skills in project management, REDCap, and understanding of the challenges and specifics of a clinical research study. However, the time and effort required to provide targeted and intensive support for one study team was not scalable to the library's broader user community.

Data Day to Day: building a community of expertise to address data skills gaps in an academic medical center.

BACKGROUND: The New York University Health Sciences Library data services team had developed educational material for research data management and data visualization and had been offering classes at the request of departments, research groups, and training programs, but many members of the medical center were unaware of these library data services. There were also indications of data skills gaps in these subject areas and other data-related topics. CASE PRESENTATION: The data services team enlisted instructors from across the medical center with data expertise to teach in a series of classes hosted by the library. We hosted eight classes branded as a series called "Data Day to Day." Seven instructors from four units in the medical center, including the library, taught the classes. A multipronged outreach approach resulted in high turnout. Evaluations indicated that attendees were very satisfied with the instruction, would use the skills learned, and were interested in future classes. CONCLUSIONS: Data Day to Day met previously unaddressed data skills gaps. Collaborating with outside instructors allowed the library to serve as a hub for a broad range of data instruction and to raise awareness of library services. We plan to offer the series three times in the coming year with an expanding roster of classes.