Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jul;101(3):213-7.
doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.101.3.011.

The impact of library instruction: do first-year medical students use library resources specifically highlighted during instructional sessions?

Ryan S Rafferty  1
Affiliations

The impact of library instruction: do first-year medical students use library resources specifically highlighted during instructional sessions?

Ryan S Rafferty. J Med Libr Assoc. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: The research sought to determine if first-year medical students consulted and cited resources specifically highlighted during library instructional sessions.

Methods: Students attended a library resources instructional session. Resources that pertained to the students' assignment were demonstrated and discussed. The students created a report including citations from relevant literature. The citations were analyzed and categorized as: a resource discussed at the instructional session, a resource found on the course LibGuide, a library resource, course material, or some other resource. All citations were subcategorized as print or electronic.

Results: Three years (2008-2011) of data analyzing 2,983 citations showed that 49.55% of all citations were from resources discussed during library instructional sessions; 21.86% came from resources with links on the course LibGuide; 77.51% were from library resources; and 90.68% came from electronic resources.

Conclusion: Students cited resources specifically highlighted during library instructional sessions for their assignments. The percentage of all citations coming from resources highlighted during the instructional sessions or found on the course LibGuide indicates that library instruction had an impact on the students' work.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average percentage of total citations in student reports by category* * n = 2,983 citations in 118 reports; citations could be counted in more than 1 category.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dykeman A, King B. Term paper analysis: a proposal for evaluating bibliographic instruction. Res Strateg. 1983 Win;1(1):14–21.
    1. Kohl DF, Wilson LA. Effectiveness of course-integrated bibliographic instruction in improving coursework. RQ. 1986 Win;27(2):206–11.
    1. Hovde K. Check the citation: library instruction and student paper bibliographies. Res Strateg. 2000;17(1):3–9.
    1. Davis PM, Cohen SA. The effect of the web on undergraduate citation behavior 1996–1999. J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol. 2001;52(4):309–14.
    1. Davis PM. The effect of the web on undergraduate citation behavior: a 2000 update. Coll Res Lib. 2002 Jan;63(1):53–60.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources