ArticleBMC medical education2011
Why not just Google it? An assessment of information literacy skills in a biomedical science curriculum.
Article in BMC medical education, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- What makes a doctor a scholar: a systematic review and content analysis of outcome frameworks.BMC medical education · 2016Pooled it
- Physiotherapists' Use of Web-Based Information Resources to Fulfill Their Information Needs During a Theoretical Examination: Randomized Crossover Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- A randomized controlled pilot trial comparing the impact of access to clinical endocrinology video demonstrations with access to usual revision resources on medical student performance of clinical endocrinology skills.BMC medical education · 2013Trial
- Assessment of pharmacy students' engagement in using national e-learning resources: a study from a public university in Saudi Arabia.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Digital literacy across disciplines scale for medical students: development, validation, and analysis.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Cross-platform analysis of atrial fibrillation scientific videos: using composite index and a basic assessment scale.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Investigating the role of internet-based educational application in the dental sciences.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Google Images Search Results as a Resource in the Anatomy Laboratory: Rating of Educational Value.JMIR medical education · 2022Article
- What every researcher should know about searching - clarified concepts, search advice, and an agenda to improve finding in academia.Research synthesis methods · 2021Article
- Accuracy and Quality of Educational Videos for Elbow Physical Examination: A Search from the Earliest Year until October 2018.The archives of bone and joint surgery · 2021Article
- Implementation and evaluation of a self-directed learning activity for first-year medical students.Medical education online · 2020Article
- Information Retrieval and Awareness about Evidence-Based Dentistry among Dental Undergraduate Students-A Comparative Study between Students from Malaysia and Finland.Dentistry journal · 2020Article
- Which academic search systems are suitable for systematic reviews or meta-analyses? Evaluating retrieval qualities of Google Scholar, PubMed, and 26 other resources.Research synthesis methods · 2020Article
- Students' Experiences of Seeking Web-Based Animal Health Information at the Ontario Veterinary College: Exploratory Qualitative Study.JMIR medical education · 2019Article
- Mobile learning in dentistry: challenges and opportunities.British dental journal · 2019Article
- Inoculating a New Generation: Immunology in Medical Education.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Article
- Information literacy instruction for pharmacy students: a pharmacy librarian reflects on a year of teaching.Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA · 2019Article
- Accuracy and readability of cardiovascular entries on Wikipedia: are they reliable learning resources for medical students?BMJ open · 2015Article
- Electronic resources preferred by pediatric hospitalists for clinical care.Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA · 2015Article
- Wikipedia--challenges and new horizons in enhancing medical education.BMC medical education · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFew issues in higher education are as fundamental as the ability to search for, evaluate, and synthesize information. The need to develop information literacy, the process of finding, retrieving, organizing, and evaluating the ever-expanding collection of online information, has precipitated the need for training in skill-based competencies in higher education, as well as medical and dental education.
methodsThe current study evaluated the information literacy skills of first-year dental students, consisting of two, consecutive dental student cohorts (n = 160). An assignment designed to evaluate information literacy skills was conducted. In addition, a survey of student online search engine or database preferences was conducted to identify any significant associations. Subsequently, an intervention was developed, based upon the results of the assessment and survey, to address any deficiencies in information literacy.
resultsNearly half of students (n = 70/160 or 43%) missed one or more question components that required finding an evidence-based citation. Analysis of the survey revealed a significantly higher percentage of students who provided incorrect responses (n = 53/70 or 75.7%) reported using Google as their preferred online search method (p < 0.01). In contrast, a significantly higher percentage of students who reported using PubMed (n = 39/45 or 86.7%) were able to provide correct responses (p < 0.01). Following a one-hour intervention by a health science librarian, virtually all students were able to find and retrieve evidence-based materials for subsequent coursework.
conclusionsThis study confirmed that information literacy among this student population was lacking and that integration of modules within the curriculum can help students to filter and establish the quality of online information, a critical component in the training of new health care professionals. Furthermore, incorporation of these modules early in the curriculum may be of significant value to other dental, medical, health care, and professional schools with similar goals of incorporating the evidence base into teaching and learning activities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.