Effect of search experience on sustained MEDLINE usage by students.

PURPOSE: While educators agree that medical students should learn to use MEDLINE for clinical application, there is a lack of consensus on an optimal level of exposure to this resource during training that will result in sustained usage. This study sought to identify the level of search experience (1) to increase the odds that the student searcher will continue to search MEDLINE in the absence of search assignments, and (2) to make an appreciable difference in the odds of retrieving items of relevance from the MEDLINE database. METHOD: Search frequencies of MEDLINE via the PaperChase interface by 184 fourth-year students (class of 1992) at the University of Michigan Medical School were analyzed using the log cross-product technique. The students were required to take the Comprehensive Clinical Assessment, an examination that included a search assignment, as they entered their fourth year of medical school. Their levels of MEDLINE use and their retrieval performances before the examination were compared with those achieved during the subsequent five months as fourth-year medical students. RESULTS: For those who searched an average of at least once a month during their first three years of medical school, there was a 7.38:1 chance that they would conduct three searches per month in the fourth year, compared with those who searched less frequently. The odds of retrieving at least one item of definite relevance were 8.27:1 for those who had searched at least one and one-half times per month before the search assignment. CONCLUSION: Searching once a month through the first few years of medical school provided an experience level that improved the odds that a student would continue to search MEDLINE: Data indicated that a history of a minimum of 1.5 online sessions per month increased the odds of retrieving relevant items to 8.27:1. Implications for educational strategy are clear.

Factors affecting students' use of MEDLINE.

MEDLINE search transcripts by a class of third-year medical students were analyzed. The 184 students were divided into three groups according to their search experience in terms of the number of sessions logged at the time of a search assignment. A strong relation was found between the level of search experience and the frequency of use in the subsequent 5 months. Over 80% of the students were able to retrieve a few useful items for an emergency clinical situation. More experienced searchers were able to retrieve more relevant items than less experienced searchers. However, no relation was found between search effectiveness and clinical knowledge as indicated by two scores derived from the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Clinical Assessment examination and Part II of NBME. Similarly, clinical knowledge also did not appear to relate to MEDLINE search experience. More exposure to MEDLINE during medical school could play an important role in developing effective literature searching skills for lifelong learning, which is essential for today's health professionals.

Automation of internal library operations in academic health sciences libraries: a state of the art report.

A survey of automated records management in the United States and Canada was developed to identify existing on-line library systems and technical expertise. Follow-up interviews were conducted with ten libraries. Tables compare the features and availability of four main frame and four minicomputer systems. Results showed: a trend toward vendor-supplied systems; little coordination of efforts among schools; current system developments generally on a universitywide basis; and the importance of having the cooperation of campus computer facilities to the success of automation efforts.

National rankings as a means of evaluating medical school library programs: a comparative study.

A comparative study was undertaken to assess the reasons for the low rankings received by George Washington University Medical Center library in the Annual Statistics for Medical School Libraries in the United States and Canada. Although internal studies showed the library was successfully satisfying user needs and meeting its primary objectives, the rankings, which include the traditional measures of quality used by accrediting bodies, indicated the contrary. Three hypotheses were postulated to account for the discrepancy. In a matched group of similar libraries: (1) the rankings of an individual library would differ from the national rankings; (2) clustering the variables would change the rankings; and (3) libraries with similar staff size would tend to rank in the same quartile in service and resource variables. All hypotheses were invalidated. Further tests led to the conclusion that the Annual Statistics and other traditional measures of quality are inappropriate and inaccurate methods for evaluating library programs, since they only measure resource allocations and not the effectiveness of those allocations. Alternative evaluation methods are suggested.