An evaluation of the effectiveness of information literacy training for undergraduate midwives to improve their ability to access evidence for practice

Lalor, J. G., Clarke, M. and Sheaf, G. (2012) An evaluation of the effectiveness of information literacy training for undergraduate midwives to improve their ability to access evidence for practice. Nurse Education in Practice, 12 (5). pp. 269-272. ISSN 14715953 (ISSN)

Abstract

Background: Several authors have suggested that computer skills should be taught within the undergraduate curriculum. In this paper, the focus is mainly on the results of an examination of midwifery students' search strategy in response to a specific question undertaken before and after training session in the first, second and third years of the undergraduate programme. Methods: The intervention allocated 16 h of library-based instruction over the first three years of the programme focussing specifically on the skills required to utilise electronic resources effectively. Following ethical approval by the university, 108 undergraduates took part from 2008 to 2011. Results: The data obtained from the search history files were categorised as either poor, fair or good. The primary analyses compared the pre and post-instruction categories in each year, within each student, with a comparison of each student's post-instruction category one year and the pre-instruction category the following year. The data indicated that the sessions in the first and second years of the programmes resulted in improvements in the ability to search, with less improvement in third year. Conclusions: As with any complex intervention, it is not possible to tease out which elements of the session were most beneficial. We will try to identify ways in which midwifery students' search skills could be strengthened further. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Documents
2704:1090
[thumbnail of Lalor et al 2012.pdf]
Preview
Lalor et al 2012.pdf

Download (104kB) | Preview
Information
Library
Statistics

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View Item