Amaneh Dadashi, Vahideh Zarea Gavgani, Sakineh Hajebrahimi, Mina Mahami-Oskouei
{"title":"Comparing the performance of librarians and medical specialists in retrieving clinical evidence: an observational study.","authors":"Amaneh Dadashi, Vahideh Zarea Gavgani, Sakineh Hajebrahimi, Mina Mahami-Oskouei","doi":"10.1080/02763869.2025.2471886","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Access to precise and reliable scientific evidence is one of the fundamental principles of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in clinical decision-making processes. Medical librarians, by employing advanced search and information retrieval techniques, play a pivotal role in accessing such evidence. This observational study compared the search and evidence retrieval behaviors of two groups: Medical librarians and medical specialists familiar with EBM and systematic reviews. The study population consisted of 40 participants (20 medical librarians and 20 medical specialists), whose performance in retrieving the best available evidence from credible sources was evaluated using two distinct clinical scenarios. A researcher-developed checklist was created in accordance with the Guidelines for Evaluating Evidence-Based Search Strategies and was utilized to assess the search performance of participants. The findings revealed that medical librarians employed structured search strategies and were more successful in retrieving accurate evidence. They consistently utilized structured search strategies, field-specific search tools, and narrowing techniques in all cases. In contrast, medical specialists spent less time on searches and exhibited a greater tendency to use natural language terms in their search queries. medical specialists did not systematically employ controlled vocabulary or place keywords in specific fields, such as titles, keywords, or abstracts. In conclusion, librarians' expertise in accessing the best available evidence underscores their crucial role in supporting medical specialists in obtaining and implementing evidence, thereby improving the quality and reliability of evidence-based practices in healthcare settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":39720,"journal":{"name":"Medical Reference Services Quarterly","volume":" ","pages":"169-186"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical Reference Services Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2025.2471886","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/5/19 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Access to precise and reliable scientific evidence is one of the fundamental principles of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in clinical decision-making processes. Medical librarians, by employing advanced search and information retrieval techniques, play a pivotal role in accessing such evidence. This observational study compared the search and evidence retrieval behaviors of two groups: Medical librarians and medical specialists familiar with EBM and systematic reviews. The study population consisted of 40 participants (20 medical librarians and 20 medical specialists), whose performance in retrieving the best available evidence from credible sources was evaluated using two distinct clinical scenarios. A researcher-developed checklist was created in accordance with the Guidelines for Evaluating Evidence-Based Search Strategies and was utilized to assess the search performance of participants. The findings revealed that medical librarians employed structured search strategies and were more successful in retrieving accurate evidence. They consistently utilized structured search strategies, field-specific search tools, and narrowing techniques in all cases. In contrast, medical specialists spent less time on searches and exhibited a greater tendency to use natural language terms in their search queries. medical specialists did not systematically employ controlled vocabulary or place keywords in specific fields, such as titles, keywords, or abstracts. In conclusion, librarians' expertise in accessing the best available evidence underscores their crucial role in supporting medical specialists in obtaining and implementing evidence, thereby improving the quality and reliability of evidence-based practices in healthcare settings.
期刊介绍:
This highly acclaimed, peer-reviewed journal is an essential working tool for medical and health sciences librarians. For those professionals who provide reference and public services to health sciences personnel in clinical, educational, or research settings, Medical Reference Services Quarterly covers topics of current interest and practical value in the areas of reference in medicine and related specialties, the biomedical sciences, nursing, and allied health. This exciting and comprehensive resource regularly publishes brief practice-oriented articles relating to medical reference services, with an emphasis on user education, database searching, and electronic information. Two columns feature the Internet and informatics education.