Volume 20, Number 3, 2025

EN:

Objective – This research project makes use of a large dataset of directly solicited positively framed student feedback on virtual library instruction in order to 1. Identify potential improvements to instructional instrument, and 2. Create method for using positively framed student feedback for instructional improvement.

Methods – Research team used content analysis to tag student responses using a rubric based on learning objectives and structure of instructional instrument. Tags were analyzed to identify patterns and categorize student-identified research skills.

Results – An interpretive lens based on concepts from survivorship bias was used to highlight frequency differences between student identified skills and learning objectives. Gaps were identified between expected range of outcomes and actual range of outcomes, highlighting potential areas of instructional instrument that could be improved or given greater emphasis to ensure retention.

Conclusion – A survivorship bias lens combined with a large dataset and a structured set of learning outcomes can make directly solicited positively framed feedback into a tool for instructional improvement.

EN:

Objective – Health professions students are awash in large quantities of information, often conflicting, as they learn their professions. In order to navigate this information, librarians often engage with these students, usually in their didactic phase of education; however, the way students use information clinically may not be the same as the way they learn to do so in the classroom. This study investigated the information practices and experiences of health professions students early in the clinical phase of their education, in order to answer the following research questions: What are the information practices of health professions students at the transition to clinical education? How do these students understand how their practices have developed over their education?

Methods – A purposive sample of learners from six health-focused professional programs participated in individual in-depth interviews, created timelines, and completed follow-up diary entries. The data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results – Students’ information practices are characterized by three themes. They are motivated to build competency to provide patient care; they operate in dual roles as student and clinician; and they navigate ambiguity, uncertainty, and doubt. They were able to describe the way they experienced information, problems they solved, and the development over time. Taken as a whole, this describes student experience with information as a method of making meaning from previous experience and learning with a focus on applying what they know and learn to improve patients’ lives and health.

Conclusion – Insight into these students’ practices, including affective and social domains of practice, can inform librarian-led instruction and outreach within health professions and other professional programs. Linking education about information to students’ motivations to provide excellent patient care and their desire to operate scientifically in a world of doubt may provide more relevant instruction, leading to transference of learning to new environments.

EN:

Objective – The objective of the study was to investigate how first-year undergraduate students in a general education communication course engaged with government information sources in their academic research. The study examined the frequency, types, and access points of cited government information, as well as patterns in secondary citations and topic-based variation, to identify implications for library instruction, discovery systems, and collection strategies.

Methods – For the study, the researchers analyzed citations from persuasive papers submitted by 136 students across 14 course sections. A total of 1,704 citations were reviewed, of which 124 were identified as government information sources. A classification scheme was developed to code citations by source type, government level, agency, and access point. Researchers also conducted a secondary citation analysis to identify where students referenced government-produced content through nongovernmental sources and categorized papers by topic to assess variation in government information use.

Results – Government sources constituted 7.3% of all citations, with 45.3% of students citing at least one government source. Most cited materials came from U.S. federal agencies, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress. Students predominantly accessed government sources through open Web sources, with minimal use of library databases and materials. The types of government sources most commonly cited were webpages, press releases, and reports. An additional 201 secondary citations referenced government information indirectly. Citation patterns varied by topic, with higher engagement in papers on government, immigration, and environmental issues.

Conclusion – The findings suggest that even without explicit instruction or assignment requirements, undergraduate students demonstrated baseline awareness and independent use of government information sources. However, their reliance on open Web access and secondary references highlights gaps in discovery, evaluation, and access. Instructional support could enhance students’ ability to locate and critically engage with more complex and authoritative government documents. Beyond instruction, the findings inform strategies for enhancing discovery, improving visibility, and promoting balanced access to government information.