Is literature search training for medical students and residents effective? a literature review

This literature review examines the effectiveness of literature searching skills instruction for medical students or residents, as determined in studies that either measure learning before and after an intervention or compare test and control groups. The review reports on the instruments used to measure learning and on their reliability and validity, where available. Finally, a summary of learning outcomes is presented.

Fifteen studies published between 1998 and 2011 were identified for inclusion in the review. The selected studies all include a description of the intervention, a summary of the test used to measure learning, and the results of the measurement.

Instruction generally resulted in improvement in clinical question writing, search strategy construction, article selection, and resource usage.

Although the findings of most of the studies indicate that the current instructional methods are effective, the study designs are generally weak, there is little evidence that learning persists over time, and few validated methods of skill measurement have been developed.