Information-Seeking Behavior of Medical Residents in Brazil
This paper summarizes and evaluates Martinez-Silveira and Oddone's (2008) study on the information-seeking behavior of medical residents in clinical practice in Bahia, Brazil. The study surveyed 85 residents across 23 specialties at a university in Salvador, achieving an 86% response rate. It examined how residents identified and addressed clinical information needs, which resources they preferred, and how often they used medical libraries or databases such as MEDLINE. Key findings include a strong preference for drug therapy and diagnosis information, reliance on privately owned books, limited library use, and minimal training in database searching. The paper also discusses the study's implications and the authors' caution that findings may not be generalizable beyond Brazil.
- Overview of the Study: Background context and gap in existing literature
- Research Design and Methodology: Survey design, sample, and analytical approach
- Key Findings: Response rates, information needs, and resource preferences
- Discussion and Implications: Library use patterns and generalizability concerns
- Conclusion: Contribution and limitations of the study
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper faithfully summarizes a primary journal article, covering both its methodology and findings without distorting the source material.
- The evaluation section moves beyond description to address the broader implications and limitations of the study, including the authors' own caution about generalizability.
- The writing is concise and well-organized, separating content summary from evaluative commentary in a clear two-part structure.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective article annotation and critical summary — a foundational academic skill that requires the writer to accurately represent a study's purpose, methods, results, and limitations while also offering brief evaluative commentary. This technique is essential in literature reviews and annotated bibliographies.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with background context on the study's subject and gap in the literature, then moves through research design and participant demographics, key quantitative findings, and finally a discussion of the results and their limitations. The two-section source structure (content summary followed by evaluation) is preserved and expanded into clearly labeled HTML sections for readability.
Overview of the Study
Reference: Martinez-Silveira, M., & Oddone, N. (2008). Information-seeking behavior of medical residents in clinical practice in Bahia, Brazil. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 96(4), 381–384. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.96.4.016
Over the past generation — roughly twenty years — researchers around the world have explored a wide range of issues related to clinical practice. Many of these studies and reviews have centered on therapy or diagnosis as their primary focus. However, Martinez-Silveira and Oddone (2008) note that very few studies have focused specifically on the information needs of health professionals in Brazil, and none of those already present in the literature included medical residents as part of their study populations.
The study also establishes important context about medical residency in Brazil. Medical residency in that country is a graduate-level method of study carried out under the supervision of qualified medical professionals and is limited by law to sixty hours per week. The study centers on residents at a university in Salvador, which is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia.
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