Gathoni, Nasra

eCommons@AKU

eCommons@AKULibrariesJanuary 2010Information literacy for post graduate medicalstudents at the Aga Khan University (AKU),Kenya: a multidisciplinary approachNasra GathoniAga Khan University, nasra.gathoni@aku.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://ecommons.aku.edu/librariesPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsRecommended CitationGathoni, N. (2010). Information literacy for post graduate medical students at the Aga Khan University (AKU), Kenya: amultidisciplinary approach. AHILA12 Congress.Available at: http://ecommons.aku.edu/libraries/23INFORMATION LITERACY FOR POST GRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (AKU), KENYA:      A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHNasra GathoniLibrarian,                                                                           Aga Khan University (Kenya)AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ougadougou, Burkina Fasol describe the multidisciplinary approach to the development and implementation of information literacy for postgraduate medical students at the Aga Khan University, Kenya.l Describe the course objectives and structure.ObjectivesAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoInformation Literacyn The 21st century has seen the expansion of information technologies which have transformed the “manner in which information is stored, accessed, managed, conveyed and retrieved” (Philadelphia University, 2007). AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason Information Literacy is not just teaching students how to use the library but to develop 21st century information and technology competencies and the skills for lifelong learning. Information literacy (IL) is the “ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate and use it effectively” (American Library Association, 2000).Information LiteracyAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoWhy Information Literacy?n rapid technological change n proliferating information resources n uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information n Besides the information overload which the health providers need to deal with, the need for access to evidence based information is also a challenge AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason IT competencen Identifying variety of resources and their usefulness; n understand how to search databases using a structured approach; n comprehend methods used for storing and managing information Why Information Literacy?AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason To achieve a comprehensive information literacy course, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted. n This involved developing a 20 hour course that was to take place in the first quarter of 1st year and to encompass the following sections: Computer skills; information retrieval; and Reference Management (Endnote). n The different sections were respectively handled by the IT trainer, librarian and the research coordinator. n Clear objectives were developed to guide each section of the module.DevelopmentAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoCourse Objectivesn Apply the skills of computer technology in medical literature search, medical record keeping, and retrieval.n Apply computer techniques in searching for information.n Use computer technology to store and process research data.AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ougadougou, Burkina FasoCourse Structurel ICTl Information Retrieval (IR)l Endnote Reference Management SoftwareAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoICTn This course is a broad introduction to the use of computers as tools for creativity, communications and organizing information. n The assumption was: the students do not have  any previous computer experience, but even for those students who are already advanced computer users they will find activities to challenge them. n In addition to learning the technical fundamentals of computer use, the course is intended to build their skills in researching information and using technology to help them learn on their own and pass their new skills on to others.AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoICT Course Outlinen Identify the various parts of a computer system and what each does;n Identify major software applications packages and what they do i.e. MsWord, PowerPoint, Excel, Accessn Describe what capabilities Internet has, what a browser does, and be able to perform navigation over the worldwide web;n Perform the different Internet search methodologiesn Perform email tasks such as sending, receiving, and managing electronic mail;AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoInformation RetrievalObjectives:n Ensure effective and efficient information retrievaln Create awareness of available information resources n Encourage / promote use of Evidence Based ResourcesAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoInformation Retrieval (IR)n Develop information literacy§ Qualities of an information literate person§ Recognition that information is required§ Knows where to find information§ Knows how that information is organized§ Knows how to retrieve§ Will apply it for effective outcome.AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoIR Course OutlineUnit In Introductionn Searching (Manual)q Books / Journalsn Online searchingq Search engines and directoriesü Definitions / Differencesn Search techniquesn DatabasesUnit IIAdvanced search – Hands onn HINARIn Medlinen Cochranen Others- AKU Intranet, Library Portal, Library OPACAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEndnoten Endnote is one of the many reference management softwares available in the marketn These section combines a hands-on introduction to the EndNote program and the creation of bibliographies in documents with practical tips and techniques.AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEndnote Course Outlinen Familiarity with the basics of the EndNote program n Ability to work with EndNote and Microsoft Word to create bibliographies n Ability to download references from electronic journal databases into EndNote n Ability to effectively use  the Cite While You Write (CWYW) EndNote feature AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoScheduleWEEK ONE WEEK TWOMON TUE WED THURFRID MON TUE WED THUR FRID26 27 28 29 30 2 3 4 5 6GROUP AI-RetrievalTheoryManual searchOnline searchSearch techniquesSearch strategies4–5pm = 1hrI-RetrievalHands-onHINARIMEDLINE4–5pm= 1hrI-RetrievalHands-onMEDLINE(Clinical Queries for Evidence Based Medicine)4–5pm = 1hrFREEDAYI-RetrievalHands-onCochraneAKU IntranetPortal Evaluation4–5pm= 1hrICTIntroductionMs Word4-5 =1hrICTMs ExcelMs PPT4-5 =1hrICTMs AccessInternet/WWW4-5 =1hrFREEDAYEndnoteIntroductionCreating a libraryCWYW4-5 =1hrGROUP BICTIntroductionMs Word4-5 =1hrICTMs ExcelMs PPT4-5 =1hrICTMs AccessInternet/WWW4-5 =1hrFREEDAYEndnoteIntroductionCreating a libraryCWYW4-5 =1hrI-RetrievalTheoryManual searchOnline searchSearch techniquesSearch strategies4–5pm=1hrI-RetrievalHands-onHINARIMEDLINE4–5pm= 1hrI-RetrievalHands-onMEDLINE(Clinical Queries for Evidence Based Medicine)4–5pm= 1hrFREEDAYI-RetrievalHands-onCochraneAKU IntranetPortalEvaluation4–5pm = 1hrAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason Number of computers n Allocated time (mainly in the evening)n Time limitation – ensure adequate coverage of topics in the allocated timeChallenges during the implementationAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEvaluation feedbackThe evaluation feedback is limited to the Information retrieval section. q At the end of the IR course an evaluation questionnaire was given to all the residents to complete. q The questionnaire used both closed and open ended questions. q The closed ended questions were in the form of intensity questions used to measure the strength of the respondents feeling or attitude on a particular topic/statement. q The questionnaire applied the likert scale using questions in the form of statements and the respondents were to choose one of the several degrees provided about each statement. The degree ranged from strong approval to strong disapproval.  AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEvaluation FeedbackStronglyagreeAgree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagreeNoResponse1 The session was useful / relevant to my needs 11 5 1 - - -2 The time allocated was adequate 3 4 8 1 13 The session was well structured 4 12 1 - - -4 The session was pitched at the right level 6 10 - 1 - -5 The facilities provided were good 2 11 3 - - 16 The support material was clear 6 10 1 - - -7 The support material was useful / relevant 11 6 - - - -8 The session improved my knowledge of literature searching 12 59 The session improved my database searching skills 9 8 - - - -10 I feel more confident about my ability to carry out a literature search in the future8 7 1 111 Overall the session was worthwhile 11 6AHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEvaluationResponse to the open ended question: What did you find most useful about the course?q How to retrieve information based on the referencesq Introduction to Medline as a databaseq Improved Pubmed / Medline searchingq Searching the medical databases and getting the relevant information without wasting timeq Extend to which Medline can be manipulatedq Useful for researchq Being able to search for journals / relevant informationq Hands on approachq Very useful in demystifying the concept of search enginesq Gave a template/map to assist in retrieving online informationq “I liked the way the class was kept together in doing the exercises therefore allowing us to learn from each other through different mistakes made and how to go about handling them. This should be encouraged”q Ability to limit hits to most relevantq The contents and exercisesq Improving database searching skillsq Clarification of search engines and databasesAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoEvaluationResponse to open ended question:Do you have any further comments about the course?q Online tutorial would be usefulq Very relevant although time allocated was short and inadequate for proper integration of principlesAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason Today information literacy is considered a major focus for librarians particularly those in the academic environment. Librarians should however not teach information literacy in isolation.n A multidisciplinary approach to information literacy ensures that the full spectrum of information, communication and technology is achieved.ConclusionAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Fason This approach also ensured that the objectives of the ICT course were realised as the 3 departments involved brought in the appropriate expertisen This approach has been well received by the medical students at the Aga Khan University.ConclusionAHILA12 Congress     October 11- 15, 2010                   Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Information literacy for post graduate medical students at the Aga Khan University (AKU), Kenya: a multidisciplinary approach

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Information literacy for post graduate medical students at the Aga Khan University (AKU), Kenya: a multidisciplinary approach

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