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CONTRIBUTED PAPERS
1st Place: Impact
Caveats: the Growing Controversy Surrounding Journal Impact Factors.
Gregory Pratt, Ronald Hutchins, and Karen Kier, The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.
Resources: MEDLINE
and Science Citation Index databases. Current biomedical literature.
Methods: The MEDLINE
and Science Citation Index databases were searched to identify current
literature discussing the use of journal impact factors. Articles were
obtained and references in these articles reviewed to identify additional
relevant literature.
Brief Description:
Developed as a selection tool to aid in creating the Science Citation
Index, journal impact factors have existed for 40 years. Especially
during the most recent 5 years, they have become increasingly criticized,
both as a means of assessing the quality of research reported in scientific
journals and because of the growing variety of ways impact factors are
being used other than originally intended. Literature searches using
MEDLINE, the Science Citation Index, and manual methods identified over
20 articles, editorials, commentaries, and letters to the editor discussing
use and misuse of impact factors. These were reviewed and major ideas
synthesized.
Results/Conclusions:
A review of current biomedical literature on journal impact factors
demonstrates they are being questioned as indicators of quality in scientific
research and used for disparate purposes, such as assessing candidates
for tenure and allocating resources to research groups. Logical and
valid criticisms to these uses are being reported. With a more thorough
understanding of the controversies surrounding journal impact factors,
librarians in the health sciences can better advise and counsel their
users.
2nd Place: Effect
of Metasite Selection on the Quality of World Wide Web Information: A
Collection Development Approach to the Evaluation of Web-based Consumer
Health Information. Linda Hogan, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and
School of Library & Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,
PA.
Purpose: Determine
if there is a relationship between type of search engine and the quality
of Web-based information retrieved on a consumer health topic, using
hypercholesterolemia as an example. Compare certain types of metasites
as selection aids for consumer health information.
Setting/subjects:
Two general search engines, Lycos (relevance ranked) and Yahoo (hierarchical
classification), and two health portals, HealthAtoZ (relevance ranked)
and Healthfinder (hierarchical classification) were used to generate
a collection of Web sites (512) on the topic of cholesterol.
Methodology: Prospective,
causal-comparative. A multimodal approach was used to measure the quality
of this information.
Research Questions:
- How accurate
is Web-based information? (Experts evaluated the content collected
for this study using a scoring instrument based on the National Cholesterol
Education Program guidelines)
- How comprehensive
is this information on the topic of hypercholesterolemia? (MeSH was
used to index the Web sites and compare their relative subject coverage)
- What is the reading
level of this information? (Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid
Grade Level were used)
- What languages
are available to the reader?
- Is there a significant
difference in the quality of information (accuracy, subject coverage,
reading level, and language availability) retrieved by the four different
types of metasites?
Significance/Conclusion:
In addition to answering the five specific research questions above,
this study also addresses some of the most pressing questions raised
in the health sciences library community. Can the Web replace traditional
library holdings in answering consumer health questions? What collection
development standards should be used to guide choices of appropriate
Web sites for laypersons? This study also extends existing knowledge
about the assignment of controlled vocabulary terms (MeSH) to Web content.
3rd Place: Remote
Access to Electronic Resources: Impact on Use of the Physical Library
and Barriers to Change. Martha Earl, Preston Medical Library, University
of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, TN.
Purpose: To investigate
how remote access to electronic resources impacts use of the traditional
library and what barriers exist for remote users in effective utilization
of electronic resources; suggest service enhancements to improve use
of both physical and electronic resources.
Setting/subjects:
Teaching hospital in urban Tennessee with 3000 staff members.
Methodology: Needs
assessment survey in electronic formats.
Results: Respondents
using MDConsult and other electronic resources increased their use and
awareness of the physical library and its services for patient care,
research, current awareness, and continuing education. Barriers encountered
included difficulty logging onto the network, failure to understand
computer guides, lack of time, inability to locate the resource on the
web site, lack of knowledge concerning how to search the electronic
resources, lack of familiarity with the online titles and resources
available, diversity of search capabilities and interface characteristics,
and lack of knowledge regarding library services. The majority of respondents
accessed the resources from home.
Discussion/conclusion:
Remote users of electronic resources desire more support and training
from librarians in the use of these tools. By providing more targeted
support, librarians increase use of all knowledge-based information
tools among health professionals.
POSTERS
1st place: Interactive
HIV Prevention Education for Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis and Evaluation
Study. Mary Snyder, School of Library and Information Studies, College
of Professional Education, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX.
Health educators
maintain that consistent, explicit, multisensory messages are imperative
for effective communication for behavior change. Experts also recommend
rigorous evaluation of resources as an essential part of successful
educational interventions. This poster presents results from a meta-analysis
of interactive HIV prevention programs designed for use with adolescents
in clinical and educational settings. Results of randomized and non-randomized
controlled educational interventions published in the professional literature
during 1995-2000 are analyzed to measure differences in outcomes for
media-based HIV prevention programs. Using meta-analysis to synthesize
study outcomes, this project evaluates interventions for safety, quality,
utility, and reliability by measuring and comparing the effects of traditional
and electronic approaches. Studies not meeting criteria for meta-analysis
will be assessed using the evaluation template developed by the Science
Panel for Interactive Health Communication (1999). Findings will be
compared to a previous meta-analysis of interventions tested from 1985-1994
in order to analyze differences in outcomes resulting from increased
use of web-based education. The results of the study have implications
for the identification, selection, evaluation, and dissemination of
multimedia health programs targeting at-risk groups as well as for the
development of evidence-based practice in health sciences librarianship.
2nd place: Analysis
of Journal Usage-Electronic and Print. Timothy C. Judkins, Jeffrey
Perkins, and Carmen White, UT Southwestern Medical Center Library, Dallas,
TX.
This study analyzed
use of three journals (Cell, Journal of Biological Science and Science)
for a one-month period of time, to see if data supported the hypothesis
that electronic access to journals reduces the number of photocopies
made. During the month of March 2001, electronic uses of the three journals
were collected from local and publisher websites and use (i.e., reshelving)
of print volumes was counted; the age of the print volumes reshelved
was recorded. A low ratio of newer to older print volumes being reshelved
would support the hypothesis, while a high ratio of newer to older print
volumes would not support the hypothesis. The study also compared electronic
use to print use (i.e. reshelving) of the three journals for the month
of March 2001.
3rd place: Impact
of Articles Reporting Research on the Value of
Medical Library Services to Clinical Care. Pamela J. Sherwill-Navarro,
Health Sciences Center Library, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
and Addajane L. Wallace, Medical Library, Halifax Medical Center, Daytona
Beach, FL.
Objective(s): This
study evaluates the impact of specific articles reporting research providing
evidence of the value of health sciences library services (including
Medline) as an element of quality health care. This information will
provide insight into the value and influence of medical librarianship
research both within and outside the field.
Data Sources/Selection:
Search retrieval from a Medline search performed May, 2001 using simple
MESH terms for the utilization of library services and the quality of
healthcare, decision making, treatment outcome or hospital costs was
used to select articles. Articles selected reported research, were related
to clinical care and had been published for at least 5 years.
Data Extraction:
A list of articles citing each of the selected articles was generated
using the ISI Web of Science® (Institute for Scientific Information)
and results transferred to ProCite databases for analysis.
Results: research
in progress; derived by context and content analysis, the results will
show the types and publication patterns of articles that cited the selected
research articles as well as the way the information was used by the
authors. Initial results show that the selected articles evidence a
high impact factor. All are cited at a greater frequency than either
the average library science article published the same year or the average
article published in the same journal that year.
Conclusions: research
in progress; conclusions will include ways medical librarianship research
is used by other authors, both within and outside the field; and compare
the impact of research published in journals directed to various audiences.
Honorable Mention:
Hits or Misses: Tracking Web-Based Instructional
Material. Justin Robertson and Sarah Murray, University of South Alabama,
Biomedical Library, Mobile, AL.
Purpose: This poster
will detail the points of access of web-based instructional materials
in order to determine their effective placement on the library web page.
Setting/participants:
The USA Biomedical Library is a medium-sized health science library.
With expanding distance education, the library'shomepage provides outreach
to students who don't have the same opportunity for face-to-face instruction
as onsite users.
Methodology: We
are creating instructional pages for the web. To find the most beneficial
placement, we are creating duplicate pages and linking to them from
different areas of the homepage. By examining the statistics, we hope
to find out what sections of our homepage our users are accessing most
often.
Results: This is
an ongoing process to expand the homepage and determine the best access
points to particular pages. We want to increase the interactive, self-instructional
aspect of our homepage. The increased use of the Internet by distance
education, traditional students, and faculty has cut down on the number
of library visits. We hope these pages will supplement traditional library
instruction for all users. As the homepage becomes an essential library
tool we need to examine its use to improve design.
Honorable Mention:
Model Methodology: Librarians' Toolbox for Core
Journal Selection. Carolyn K. Bridgewater, Pauline O. Fulda, Kathryn
E. Kerdolff, and Hanna K. Kwasik, Louisiana State University Health Sciences
Center Library, New Orleans, LA.; Julie H. Schiavo, Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center Dental Library, New Orleans, LA.
The poster demonstrates
the cooperative effort of the LSUHSC-New Orleans librarians, of creating
a model methodology for selecting core journals in a subject specialty.
The methodology was developed as part of the librarians' participation
in the Core Public Health Journals Project sponsored by the Public Health/Health
Administration Section of MLA. Using the methodology, the librarians
compiled a core list of journals in the Maternal and Child Health subject
area of a Public Health curriculum. The selection methodology can easily
be replicated in other subject areas.
The poster will
highlight
- Planning Meeting
- Resources
- Title-Compilation
- Evaluation Criteria
- Subject Specialists
Reviews
- Final Product
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