Information-seeking behavior and the use of online resources: a snapshot of current health sciences faculty

摘要

Objective: The research assesses the information-seeking behaviors of health sciences faculty, includingtheir use of online databases, journals, and socialmedia.Methodology: A survey was designed anddistributed via email to 754 health sciences faculty at alarge urban research university with 6 health sciencescolleges.Results: Twenty-six percent (198) of facultyresponded. MEDLINE was the primary databaseutilized, with 78.5% respondents indicating they usethe database at least once a week. Compared toMEDLINE, Google was utilized more often on a dailybasis. Other databases showed much lower usage.Conclusions: Low use of online databases other thanMEDLINE, link-out tools to online journals, andonline social media and collaboration toolsdemonstrates a need for meaningful promotion ofonline resources and informatics literacy instructionfor faculty.Implications: Library resources are plentiful andperhaps somewhat overwhelming. Librarians need tohelp faculty discover and utilize the resources andtools that libraries have to offer