Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

Abstract

Introduction:The extent to which health sciences librarians are engaged in research is a little-studied question. This study assesses the research activities and attitudes of Medical Library Association (MLA) members, including the influence of work affiliation.Methods: An online survey was designed using a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions and distributed to MLA members. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis, and significance testing. The authors used statistical tools and categorized openended question topics by the constant comparative method, also applying the broad subject categories used in a prior study. Pearson's chi-square analysis was performed on responses to determine significant differences among respondents employed in three different institutional environments.Results: Analysis showed that 79% of respondents read research articles at least once a month; 58% applied published research studies to practice; 44% had conducted research; 62% reported acting on research had enhanced their libraries; 38% had presented findings; and 34% had authored research articles. Hospital librarians were significantly less likely than academic librarians to have participated in research activities. Highly ranked research benefits, barriers, and competencies of health sciences librarians are described.Conclusions: Findings indicate that health sciences librarians are actively engaged in research activities. Practice implications for practitioners, publishers, and stakeholders are discussed. Results suggest that practitioners can use published research results and results from their own research to affect practice decisions and improve services. Future studies are needed to confirm and extend these findings, including the need for intervention studies to increase research and writing productivity.

What we talk about when we talk about medical librarianship: an analysis of Medical Library Association annual meeting abstracts, 2001–2019

“…The survey topic included terms that were seemingly related to decision making, like assess and determine, implying that a primary motivation of librarians who undertook research was to make improvements to systems and services. This aligned with Lessick et al's study of health sciences librarians, who considered research to be "very important" for "guidance in evaluating, improving, and initiating new library collections, services, and operations" [3].…”

“…The number of hospital librarians' presentations at MLA annual meetings have consistently been much lower than that of academic librarians. Lessick et al found in 2016 that hospital librarians were significantly less likely than their health sciences academic counterparts to engage in research activities, present research at conferences, or write research articles [3]. However, many hospital librarians are very active participants in MLA.…”

“…JMLA and other journals serve as platforms for professional discourse and preserve the scholarship of the profession. However, research suggests that librarians are more likely to present at a conference than publish a peer-reviewed article [2,3]. Librarians receive regular calls for submissions from local and national conferences, and each MLA annual meeting needs hundreds of presentations for several days' worth of meeting content.…”

The publication fate of abstracts presented at the Medical Library Association conferences

“…Some institutions will not provide financial support to attend conferences unless the attendee is presenting [ 16 ]. Presenting may be seen as more attainable than publication; surveys consistently show that librarians are more likely to present at a conference than publish a paper [ 11 , 15 , 17 ]. Librarians may consider their conference presentation as the “final product” or, similarly, they may not consider a peer-reviewed article as their “primary desired research output” [ 6 , 17 , 18 ].…”

“…In other cases, there could be a lack of organizational structure or incentives that encourage publication. A survey of MLA members found that librarians working in hospitals were less likely to present at a conference or publish a paper compared to academic health sciences librarians, especially those pursuing tenure [ 11 ]. Differences in who publishes and what gets published can result in publication bias and limit whose voices are heard.…”