With a little help from our friends: peer support in literature searching Sarah Lewis, Clinical Librarian, Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust & Nia Roberts, Outreach Librarian, Oxford University Health Care Libraries

Presentation Outline  How and why the search skills group was set up  What happens before, during and after the group meets  Results of a survey asking participants to evaluate the search skills meetings  Future direction of the search skills group  Tips for anyone hoping to start a group

What is the search skills group?  A small group of librarians who individually tackle a set search question and then meet in an informal setting to discuss, reflect and share their approaches to the search  Meetings also reserve time to explore a topic related to literature searching  Meet 4 times per year  Thames Valley group started in 2003  Hampshire and Isle of Wight group started in 2007

Starting the search skills idea  Inspired by presentation at the 1st Clinical Librarian Conference – SearchTalk by librarians at Vanderbilt University  Impetus from local research community to develop literature search standards  Encouragement from SHA Library lead to improve search skills for accreditation

Search skills group ethos  Inclusive - open to all health library staff in local library network  Commitment  Participation  Relaxed, informal atmosphere  Peer support rather than led by expert- teacher

What do we do?  Setting the question – homework Run search on minimum 2 databases Select top 10 articles  Meeting – lasts 2.5 hours 1 st half – discussion of search question 2 nd half – experience sharing  Follow up – summarise results and search strategy to produce a meeting report

Examples of questions  Are there any studies to support a mental health needs assessment of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) group in Milton Keynes ?  Does preoperative nutrition benefit malnourished patients awaiting major abdominal surgery?  Can you find experience of how the following strategic management tools have been used in health setting – six sigma, balanced scorecard & stakeholder mapping?

Examples of experience sharing  Database top tips Cochrane, PubMed, Images MD…  Reports from training events Literature searching for systematic reviews, Lost in space…  Critical appraisal  Preparing guides & forms Literature Search Standards protocol, search request form…

Evaluation  Objectives How do people feel about the group? Is there a benefit in attending?  How we evaluated TVHLN - Questionnaire sent to all current and past members of the group 15/22 completed the evaluation Hants & IOW – short questionnaire given out at end of 1st meeting 9/9 completed the evaluation

Key findings - Demographics  Range of job roles Library managers, outreach / clinical librarians, enquiry librarians and 1 library assistant  Range of experience in health libraries From 1 week to 9 years or more  Range of experience in literature searching From occasional searchers to those who do 9 or more a month

Key findings - Expectations Why did you decide to attend search skills meetings? TVHIOW Improve search skills14/159/9 Peer support10/157/9 Participate in network8/155/9 Encouraged by someone else5/155/9 Did the 1 st meeting fulfil your expectations? Yes13/159/9 No2/150/9

Key findings - Participation I feel confident in contributing to the discussion Strongly agree3/15 Agree9/15 Partly agree and partly disagree2/15 Disagree0/15 Strongly disagree1/15 ‘It’s a friendly forum in which to discuss searches…’ ‘…I did need to do my homework before attending the meeting’

Key findings - Benefits I feel more confident in my literature searching skills? Strongly agree2/15 Agree7/15 Partly agree & partly disagree5/15 Disagree0/15 Strongly disagree1/15 ‘My knowledge and confidence have increased and I have been encouraged to think even more critically about my practice. Sharing is good!’ ‘…I had little experience of literature searching so it was reassuring to know I was doing it right…’

Key findings - Benefits ‘I think more about terminology’ ‘Not so much the strategy as the number and variety of resources used’ ‘I am much more concerned about finding out if the reader wants/needs a comprehensive search as the meetings tend to emphasize how varied the approach can be’ Has your approach to literature searching changed? Yes11/15No4/15

Key findings – Additional benefits  ‘There is a social as well as a professional aspect and networking is very useful…’  ‘…gained confidence in sharing ideas and discussion with colleagues’

Key findings - Barriers  In Thames Valley 4/15 have stopped coming to the meetings, and only 1 person has been to every meeting  Why? Lack of time – ‘Work overload Wiped out’ Staff shortages Location

Future direction  Development of HIOW group  Issue of timing and location of meetings  Increase range of topics for the second part of the meeting  Encourage more people to come along

Tips for setting up a search skills group  Good existing working relationships within the local library network  Identify a core group which is really committed to attending  Create a friendly, welcoming environment to encourage participation  Provide tea and biscuits!  Resources needed: flip chart, access to computer, data projector

More Information  Contact us  Website ha/libraries/search-skills-sub-group.html ha/libraries/search-skills-sub-group.html