Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (Journal)
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Social Networking Tools for Informal Scholarly Communication Prove Popular for Academics at Two Universities
No full textObjective – To investigate the adoption, use, perceived impact of, and barriers to using social networking tools for scholarly communication at two universities.
Design – Cross-institutional quantitative study using an online survey.
Setting – Academics working in the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences at two universities: one in Europe and one in the Middle East.
Methods – An online survey was devised based on a previous survey (Al-Aufi, 2007) and informed by relevant research. The survey was piloted by 10 academics at the 2 participating universities. Post pilot it was revised and then circulated to all academics from similar faculties at two universities. Three follow up emails were sent to both sets of academics. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed using ANOVA tests.
Main Results – The survey achieved a 34% response rate (n=130). The majority of participants were from the university based in the Middle East and were male (70.8%). Most of the responses were from academics under 40 years of age. The use of notebooks was prevalent at both universities. “Notebooks” is used as a term to describe laptops, netbooks, or ultra-book computers. The majority reported use of social networking tools for informal scholarly communication (70.1%), valuing this type of use. 29.9% of respondents reported they do not use social networking tools for this purpose. Barriers were identified as lack of incentive, digital literacy, training, and concerns over Internet security. Among the non-users, barriers included low interest in their use and a perceived lack of relevancy of such tools for scholarly communication. The types of tools used the most were those with social connection functions, such as Facebook and Twitter. The tools used the least were social bookmarking tools. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test indicated that there was no significant difference at the 0.05 level between the use of social networking tools at both universities, with the exception of using tools to communicate with researchers locally and with publishers at one of the universities.
Both universities use tools for communication with peers and academics internationally. The responses were mainly positive towards the perceived usefulness of social networking tools for informal scholarly communication.
Conclusion – The authors conclude that despite the small sample of the community of academics investigated, there is a general trend towards increasing use and popularity of social networking tools amongst academics in the humanities and social sciences disciplines. As technology advances, the use of such tools is likely to increase and advance among academics. The authors point to pathways for future research including expanding the methods to include interviews, focus groups, and case studies. Another angle for research of interest is interdisciplinary differences in the use of prevalent tools such as Facebook and Twitter
Demographic Variables Are Associated with Differing Perceptions of a Broad Range of Public Library Benefits
No full textObjective – To determine the frequency and nature of perceived beneficial outcomes of public libraries on individuals, and to identify demographic differences in these perceived outcomes.
Design – Self-administered, online questionnaire asking respondents to rate the frequency of benefits they received from public libraries in 22 areas of life including education, work, and business; everyday activities; and leisure activities.
Setting – United States of America.
Subjects – 1010 respondents from 49 states: 50% female, 76% white, 55% urban or suburban.
Methods – Correspondence analysis was used to visualize relationships between demographic variables and perceived outcomes. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify structures among the outcomes and summarize data into three core dimensions: everyday activities and interests; reading and self-education; and work and formal education. Multiway ANOVAs were used to test the significance of demographic differences on perceived outcomes.
Main Results – The most highly ranked areas of perceived benefits were reading fiction and non-fiction, self-education during leisure time, interest in history or society, and health. Outdoor activities, exercise, and sport ranked the lowest. Respondents in younger age groups reported benefits in “education and work,” as did ethnic minorities and people with lower household incomes. “Everyday life” benefits were reported by male, suburban, White, middle-income respondents. “Reading and self-education” benefits were reported by high-income, older age groups, White, and female respondents. Two demographic groups did not correspond to any benefit categories: those who did not graduate high school and those over age 65.
Conclusion – There are significant differences among demographic groups in how the benefits of public libraries are perceived, and these demographic differences have implications for program planning, marketing, and outreach in public libraries. Specifically, libraries should work to increase and improve service to less-advantaged groups, including low-income earners and ethnic minorities, and make available more services and resources relevant to older people
Individuals with Chronic Conditions Want More Guidance from Health Professionals in Finding Quality Online Health Sources
No full textObjective – To explore how and when individuals with chronic health conditions seek out health information online, and the challenges they encounter when doing so.
Design – Qualitative study employing thematic analysis.
Setting – Urban Western Australia.
Subjects – 17 men and women between 19 and 85 years of age with at least 1 chronic health condition.
Methods – Participants were recruited in late 2013 at nine local pharmacies, through local radio, media channels, and a university\u27s social media channels. Participants were adult English speakers who had looked for information on their chronic health condition(s) using the Internet. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with each participant, audio recorded, and transcribed. The transcripts were coded in QSR Nvivo using two different processes – an initial data-driven inductive approach to coding, followed by a theory driven analysis of the data.
Main Results – Three major themes emerged: trust, patient activation, and relevance. Many of the participants expressed trust both in health professionals and in the efficacy of search engines like Google. However, there was uncertainty about the quality of some of the health information sources found. Searching for information online was seen by some participants as a way to feel more empowered about their condition(s) and treatment, but they reported frustration in finding information that was relevant to their specific condition(s) given the volume of information available. Low health literacy emerged in participant interviews as an intrinsic barrier to effective online searches for health information, along with low patient motivation and lack of time. The many extrinsic barriers identified included difficulty determining the quality of information found, the accessibility of the information (e.g., journal paywalls), and poor relationships with health care providers.
Conclusion – Individuals look for online health information to help manage their chronic illnesses, but their ability to do so is influenced by their levels of health literacy and other external barriers to effective online navigation. Consumers may prefer to receive recommendations from health professionals for high quality health websites rather than training in how to navigate and identify these resources themselves
Eysenbach, Tuische and Diepgen’s Evaluation of Web Searching for Identifying Unpublished Studies for Systematic Reviews: An Innovative Study Which is Still Relevant Today
No full textA Review of:
Eysenbach, G., Tuische, J. & Diepgen, T.L. (2001). Evaluation of the usefulness of Internet searches to identify unpublished clinical trials for systematic reviews. Medical Informatics and the Internet in Medicine, 26(3), 203-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14639230110075459
Objective – To consider whether web searching is a useful method for identifying unpublished studies for inclusion in systematic reviews.
Design – Retrospective web searches using the AltaVista search engine were conducted to identify unpublished studies – specifically, clinical trials – for systematic reviews which did not use a web search engine.
Setting – The Department of Clinical Social Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Subjects – n/a
Methods – Pilot testing of 11 web search engines was carried out to determine which could handle complex search queries. Pre-specified search requirements included the ability to handle Boolean and proximity operators, and truncation searching. A total of seven Cochrane systematic reviews were randomly selected from the Cochrane Library Issue 2, 1998, and their bibliographic database search strategies were adapted for the web search engine, AltaVista. Each adaptation combined search terms for the intervention, problem, and study type in the systematic review. Hints to planned, ongoing, or unpublished studies retrieved by the search engine, which were not cited in the systematic reviews, were followed up by visiting websites and contacting authors for further details when required. The authors of the systematic reviews were then contacted and asked to comment on the potential relevance of the identified studies.
Main Results – Hints to 14 unpublished and potentially relevant studies, corresponding to 4 of the 7 randomly selected Cochrane systematic reviews, were identified. Out of the 14 studies, 2 were considered irrelevant to the corresponding systematic review by the systematic review authors. The relevance of a further three studies could not be clearly ascertained. This left nine studies which were considered relevant to a systematic review. In addition to this main finding, the pilot study to identify suitable search engines found that AltaVista was the only search engine able to handle the complex searches required to search for unpublished studies.
Conclusion –Web searches using a search engine have the potential to identify studies for systematic reviews. Web search engines have considerable limitations which impede the identification of studies
Prison Library Services in Croatia Need Improvement to Meet International Standards of Universal Rights to Access
No full textA Review of:
Šimunić, Z., Tanacković, S.F., & Badurina, B. (2016). Library services for incarcerated persons: A survey of recent trends and challenges in prison libraries in Croatia. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 48(1), 72-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0961000614538481
Objective – To compare the status of prison libraries in Croatia to prior studies and ultimately, to guidelines for prison library services (Lehmann & Locke, 2005). Two research questions were asked: 1) How are Croatian prison libraries organized and managed? and 2) What kind of library collections and services are offered to incarcerated persons in Croatia?
Design – Quantitative survey.
Setting – 23 Croatian prison libraries.
Subjects – Persons in charge of prison libraries.
Methods – A paper survey was mailed to all 23 Croatian prisons in 2013. The survey consisted of 31 questions grouped into 3 categories: general library information, management of the library, and use. Analysis provided descriptive statistics.
Main Results – Twenty-one responses (91%) were received. For the 10 institutions providing data on library holdings size, the numbers ranged from 450 to 6122, but per capita figures were not possible to calculate as no responses provided prison population size. Most (65%) maintained an entry book for new acquisitions, while one library kept a card catalogue. Half performed collection assessment on an annual basis.
While all but 1 of the prisons had libraries, most (16 of 20) reported that funding was not provided on a regular basis; 13 had space allocated specifically for library purposes, but none were staffed by trained librarians, instead using prison staff or prisoners. Only two libraries practised regularly-scheduled collection development, with half acquiring materials solely through donations resulting in limited topical coverage. All collections included monographs, but only around 25% carried newspapers, magazines, music, or videos. While use of the libraries was high, most responses reflected severely limited educational, rehabilitative or cultural programming and access to the internet, and lack of space for collections and reading purposes.
Conclusion – Libraries in Croatia fail to meet international standards for staffing, collections, and services. Recommendations for immediate improvement are made, including legislative advocacy and funding, improved public library involvement, and the creation of national standards aligned with international standards