SERACHING SKILLS TRAINING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH Experiences from information Competency course B. Niedźwiedzka, K. Czabanowska Information Studies Department Institute of Public Health CM UJ, Kraków, Poland

Features of Information Age and Knowledge Society information smog in health care field wealth of information of bad or unknown quality Information Fatigue Syndrome increasing sophistication of research methods growing independence of information users Requirements of evidence based health care

How to select ? How to manage ? How to evaluate ? How information is produced and disseminated? What are the appropriate inf. tools? How to process?

To respond to Information Age demands information skills teaching has to transform into information competency teaching

Competency = knowledge + skills

Balance shifted skills knowledge skills

Information competency current knowledge of information sources ability to develop a strategy of information seeking search skills Ability to assess the quality of information source critical appraisal skills based on knowledge of research methods understanding of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information

Information Competency credit course, 2nd year undergraduate. Content: Evidence based health care (principles, history of paradigm, rules of conduct) Scientific journals (peer review, rankings, impact factor, open access publishing) Electronic sources of information Grey literature Problems of information quality (quality of sources, quality of research, quality of internet sources

Information Competency credit course, Content: Searching of databases ( Medline, EMBASE, CINAHIL, Cochrane Library, OECD, Science Citation Index, etc.) Organizations which generate, procure, evaluate and disseminate research information (i.e. R&D, HTA Agencies, Cochrane Collaboration) Systemic and organizational developments for evidence based practice

Information Competency credit ourse, Content: Problems of dissemination of information/innovations Managers and policy-makers as information users and their responsibility for facilitating dissemination and uptake of information Evidence-friendly organization Critical appraisal of publications Abstracting and summarizing Rules of writing research papers

The general goal of the course is to: widen basic knowledge of information production, disemination and use rather then to master skills Search skills = 1/3 of total teaching

Examples of methods group work: developing strategy of information seeking lectures on: scientific communication factors influencing dissemination of evidence practical exercises in: quality assessment of information sources structural abstracting and summarising

Organisation of teaching Research Methods Course work on a research project Final written assignment Information competency training

Effects of IC training educates professionals who are concious and carefull information users increases understanding of factors affecting production dissemination and uptake of innovation promotes implementation of research culture in health policy making and in health care institutions

Effective IC teaching qualified instructor - information specialist (not = computer specialist) fully integrated with subject curriculum credited mix of teaching methods possibly close collaboration with subject teachers Proved and recommended ! liaison with Research Methods course