Haynes R B, Ramsden M F, McKibbon K A, Walker C J
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1991 Oct;79(4):377-81.
The effect of introducing user fees on the frequency and quality of MEDLINE searching with GRATEFUL MED by physicians in clinical settings was tested. After training and free use (prior study), consenting participants were randomly allocated to pay searching costs (pay group) or continue without fees (no pay group). Fifty-nine physicians participated. Among the prior study's frequent searchers, the pay group searched at less than one third of the rate of those assigned to no pay. For less frequent searchers in the prior study, only 48% of those assigned to pay did any searches, compared with 85% for the no pay group (P = 0.006), and for those who did search, their frequency was almost half. However, there was no significant difference in the quality of searches; both groups demonstrated about equivalent recall (P = 0.77), but significantly lower precision (P = 0.03) than for the librarian's independent searches. Similarly, there was no difference in the proportion of searches affecting clinical decisions for the two groups. Thus, imposing user charges for online searching in clinical settings after a period of free use adversely affects searching quantity, but not quality. MEDLINE providers should consider whether user fees will undermine its benefits.
测试了在临床环境中，向使用GRATEFUL MED进行MEDLINE检索的医生收取使用费对检索频率和质量的影响。在培训和免费使用（前期研究）之后，同意参与的受试者被随机分配为支付检索费用（付费组）或继续免费检索（非付费组）。59名医生参与了研究。在前期研究中的频繁检索者中，付费组的检索率不到非付费组的三分之一。对于前期研究中的不频繁检索者，付费组中只有48%的人进行了检索，而非付费组为85%（P = 0.006），并且对于那些进行检索的人来说，他们的检索频率几乎减半。然而，检索质量没有显著差异；两组的召回率大致相当（P = 0.77），但与图书馆员独立检索相比，精确率显著更低（P = 0.03）。同样，两组中影响临床决策的检索比例没有差异。因此，在一段免费使用期后，对临床环境中的在线检索收取用户费用会对检索数量产生不利影响，但不会影响质量。MEDLINE提供商应考虑用户费用是否会损害其益处。
