Volume 26, Issue 1 Spring 2014 Hypothesis The Journal of the Research Section of the Medical Library Association Hypothesis The Journal of the Research Section of the Medical Library Association EDITORIAL Hypothesis’ Role in Library Research I. Diane Cooper ................................................................ 3 BRIEF RESEARCH REPORTS Defining and Identifying Members of a Research Study Population: CTSA-Affiliated Faculty Members Jonathan D. Eldredge, Edward F. Weagel, and Philip J. Kroth ................................................................................. 5 COLLECTED ITEMS OF INTEREST Mixed Methods Research I. Diane Cooper .............................................................. 12 The Long Reach of a Mentor’s Influence Jonathan D. Eldredge ..................................................... 14 The 2011-2013 Dissertation and Thesis Round-Up Ellen Detlefsen ............................................................... 20 Cover art (from the Images from the History of Medicine database by the National Library of Medicine): MLA RESEARCH SECTION NEWS Section Chair’s Column Clove July-Flowers = Caryophyllus ruber, Illustration Terrie R. Wheeler ........................................................... 28 from A Curious Herbal, Containing Five Hundred Cuts, of the most useful Plants, which are now used in the Research Section Programs: Medical Library Practice of Physick, by Elizabeth Blackwell, 1737. Association 2014 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL .............. 31 Peer-Reviewed HYPOTHESIS (ISSN 1093-5665) is the official journal of the Research Section of the Medical Library Association. It is published three times a year by the Section: Spring (March), Summer (July/August) and Fall (November). Items to be included should be sent to the Editor by the 15th of the preceding month (February 15th for Spring, June 15th for Summer, and October 15th for Fall). Copy is preferred by email but will be accepted in other formats. HYPOTHESIS is indexed in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature™ and the CINAHL® database. HYPOTHESIS is available online at http://research.mlanet.org/hypothesis.html. Hypothesis, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2014 1 EDITORS Editor I. Diane Cooper, MSLS, AHIP NIH Library National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD [email protected] Managing Editor Contributing Editor Kathleen Amos, MLIS, AHIP Deidra Woodson, MLS, MA, MT (ASCP) Public Health Foundation Health Sciences Library Washington, DC LSU Health Shreveport [email protected] Shreveport, LA [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Kristine M. Alpi, MLS, MPH, AHIP Brooke L. Billman, MA, AHIP Jon Eldredge, MLS, PhD, AHIP William R. Kenan, Jr. Library of Arizona Health Information Network School of Medicine Veterinary Medicine [email protected] The University of New Mexico North Carolina State University [email protected] [email protected] Leslie M. Behm, AHIP Ellen Detlefsen, DLS Turfgrass Information Center School of Information Sciences Michigan State University University of Pittsburgh [email protected] [email protected] SECTION OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair/Section Council Awards Committee Co-Chairs Membership Committee Chair Representative Sandra De Groote, AHIP Beatriz Varman, MLIS Terrie R. Wheeler [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Aileen McCrillis, MLS [email protected] Chair-elect/Program Bylaws Committee Chair Research Agenda Committee Chair As Needed Committee Chair Merle Rosenzweig Jonathan Eldredge, MLS, PhD, AHIP [email protected] [email protected] Immediate Past Chair/ Continuing Education Chair/ Strategic Planning Nominating Committee Chair Email List Manager Committee Chair/ Kristine Alpi, MLS, MPH, AHIP Leslie Behm, AHIP Mentoring Coordinator [email protected] [email protected] Susan Lessick, MLS, MA, AHIP [email protected] Secretary/Treasurer Government Relations Liaison Web Site Editor Heather Coates Elaine G. Powers, MSLS Brooke L Billman, MA, AHIP [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Nominee to MLA International Research Nominating Committee Jonathan Eldredge, MLS, PhD, AHIP Jonathan Eldredge, MLS, PhD, AHIP [email protected] [email protected] Hypothesis, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2014 2 EDITORIAL HYPOTHESIS’ ROLE IN LIBRARY RESEARCH I. Diane Cooper, MSLS, AHIP Hypothesis is changing – growing – we hope, to be The lead theme is Brief Research Reports. This more useful and interesting to you, our readers. section has two purposes. First, it provides a venue for reporting interesting results that might not be Hypothesis began as a newsletter for MLA submitted elsewhere. For example, a project may be Research Section members. Later, articles from presented as a poster at a conference, but for one members were added, and an editorial review team reason or another, will not be written up as a full- was established to review the articles. However, as length journal manuscript. Yet it could be formatted years went by, the peer review process dropped out. as an abstract, with some discussion added, and, Recently, the editorial board was re-established to voila! – it would be suitable for submission to help assure the publication's quality. Now, we are Hypothesis. Besides the value of the research itself, modifying our format to better support our readers. the authors would gain appropriate credit for publishing in a peer-reviewed, indexed journal Most of our readers are not full time researchers, (which Hypothesis is). but nevertheless, are directly or indirectly involved in research. We support research projects, we work The second purpose of the Brief Research Reports with researchers, we participate in research section is to highlight and demonstrate research projects. We develop new library procedures, and issues. These articles will focus on some aspect of we want them evaluated. We conduct our own research methodology, and illustrate it with an research, we create multidisciplinary research actual project. New data will be presented. For teams, or we ask someone else to do research. In example, in this issue, Jon Eldredge et al. looks into all cases, we benefit by understanding research the issue of describing a study population. They processes and analyses. Further, we have a state that many research reports fail to define or responsibility to understand the implications of describe the study population adequately. They research results, and to be able to apply results to describe the challenges of defining a study our own situations. We are involved in research, one population based on their study objective of way or another. identifying the faculty population of a major health sciences center who were affiliated with a We should be comfortable planning, participating in, translational sciences center. and interpreting library research. To be helpful towards that goal, Hypothesis will now feature four The second theme is Collected Items of Interest. themes. This is a collection of articles aimed at and by MLA Research Section members. Here, popular and longstanding columns will be presented. For example, Jon Eldredge’s, The Research Mentor, Hypothesis Themes and Ellen Detlefsen’s, Dissertation and Thesis 1. Brief Research Reports Round-Up, columns will continue in this section. 2. Collected Items of Interest Ellen’s column lists current doctoral dissertations 3. Research Section News and master’s theses on topics of interest to health 4. Letters to the Editor sciences librarians and medical information professionals. The topics and methods may be of interest to readers. Other articles in this section will support understanding of research methods. An example in this issue is Mixed Methods Research, which Hypothesis, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2014 3 Hypothesis’ Role in Library Research Cooper provides a basic description of the topic, illustrated We hope this issue is interesting to read and with several examples, but no new data. provides something useful to you on research processes and methods. The Research Section News theme covers news or items of interest from the MLA Research Section. I. Diane Cooper, MSLS, AHIP NIH Library, Office of Research Services, National Finally, Letters to the Editor is self-explanatory. Institutes of Health Please send comments, corrections, and [email protected] suggestions. Hypothesis, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2014 4 BRIEF RESEARCH REPORTS Defining and Identifying Members of a Research Study Population: Peer-Reviewed CTSA-Affiliated Faculty Members 1 2 1 Jonathan D. Eldredge, PhD ; Edward F. Weagel, PhD ; and Philip J. Kroth, MD Background Center (CTSC). The authors briefly describe their methodology and results. They include examples An early step in research projects that involve from their own research, as well as from other humans consists of composing a clear and detailed research studies involving a variety of study definition of the study population. All experimental, populations, to illustrate key points. Finally, the observational, and qualitative research designs authors reflect on their “lessons learned” from their involving human subjects should define the study experiences with this research project. population in order to determine the eligibility of individuals for a study. The defined population then Methods will become the basis for applying the research results to other relevant populations. Clearly During April through July 2012, the authors sought defining a study population early in the research to compile a complete and accurate