Pao M L, Grefsheim S F, Barclay M L, Woolliscroft J O, Shipman B L, McQuillan M
School of Information and Library Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1092.
Acad Med. 1994 Nov;69(11):914-20. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199411000-00014.
While educators agree that medical students should learn to use MEDLINE for clinical application, there is a lack of consensus on an optimal level of exposure to this resource during training that will result in sustained usage. This study sought to identify the level of search experience (1) to increase the odds that the student searcher will continue to search MEDLINE in the absence of search assignments, and (2) to make an appreciable difference in the odds of retrieving items of relevance from the MEDLINE database.
Search frequencies of MEDLINE via the PaperChase interface by 184 fourth-year students (class of 1992) at the University of Michigan Medical School were analyzed using the log cross-product technique. The students were required to take the Comprehensive Clinical Assessment, an examination that included a search assignment, as they entered their fourth year of medical school. Their levels of MEDLINE use and their retrieval performances before the examination were compared with those achieved during the subsequent five months as fourth-year medical students.
For those who searched an average of at least once a month during their first three years of medical school, there was a 7.38:1 chance that they would conduct three searches per month in the fourth year, compared with those who searched less frequently. The odds of retrieving at least one item of definite relevance were 8.27:1 for those who had searched at least one and one-half times per month before the search assignment.
Searching once a month through the first few years of medical school provided an experience level that improved the odds that a student would continue to search MEDLINE: Data indicated that a history of a minimum of 1.5 online sessions per month increased the odds of retrieving relevant items to 8.27:1. Implications for educational strategy are clear.
虽然教育工作者一致认为医学生应该学会将医学文献数据库（MEDLINE）用于临床应用，但对于在培训期间以何种最佳程度接触该资源才能实现持续使用，目前尚无共识。本研究旨在确定搜索经验水平：（1）提高学生搜索者在没有搜索任务时继续搜索MEDLINE的几率；（2）使从MEDLINE数据库中检索相关条目的几率产生显著差异。
使用对数交叉乘积技术分析了密歇根大学医学院184名四年级学生（1992届）通过PaperChase界面搜索MEDLINE的频率。这些学生在进入医学院四年级时需要参加综合临床评估，该考试包括一项搜索任务。将他们在考试前的MEDLINE使用水平和检索表现与随后作为四年级医学生的五个月内的表现进行了比较。
对于那些在医学院前三年平均每月至少搜索一次的学生，与搜索频率较低的学生相比，他们在四年级每月进行三次搜索的几率为7.38比1。对于那些在搜索任务前每月至少搜索1.5次的学生，检索到至少一项明确相关条目的几率为8.27比1。
在医学院的头几年每月搜索一次提供了一种经验水平，提高了学生继续搜索MEDLINE的几率：数据表明，每月至少进行1.5次在线搜索的历史记录将检索相关条目的几率提高到了8.27比1。对教育策略的启示很明显。
