How developing a point of need training tool for evidence synthesis can improve librarian support for researchers

Abstract

Medical and health sciences librarians who are involved in evidence synthesis projects will know that systematic reviews are intensely rigorous, requiring research teams to devote significant resources to the methodological process. As expert searchers, librarians are often identified as personnel to conduct the database searching portion and/or are approached as experts in the methodology to guide research teams through the lifecycle of the project. This research method has surged in popularity at our campus and demand for librarian participation is unsustainable. As a response to this, the library created self-directed learning objects in the form of roadmap to assist researchers in learning about the knowledge synthesis methodology in an expedient, self-directed manner. This paper will discuss the creation, implementation and feedback around our educational offering: Systematic & Scoping Reviews: Your Roadmap to Conducting an Evidence Synthesis.