HSL Research & Education Librarian Anna Biszaha recently partnered for the second time with occupational therapy (OT) faculty members on a series of online learning modules to help support OT students working on their capstone project.

Beginning in 2021, Anna began having conversations with OT faculty about how to best support the students in their capstone work after seeing an uptick in consultation requests.  This led to the development of a series of three online learning modules that cover:

1. Introduction to Systematic & Scoping Reviews
2. Comprehensive and Advanced Searching Techniques
3. Tools to Manage the Research Process

First piloted in spring 2023, the modules were recently updated for currency, as well as with new content for clarity.  The modules are comprised of short videos introducing a number of topics, as well as periodic knowledge-check questions to keep students engaged and ensure they are taking away the intended information.

Module 1: Introduction to Systematic & Scoping Reviews

The first module introduces students to the methodology of performing a systematic or scoping review.  These types of reviews are rigorous studies that aim to capture and synthesize all literature on a given topic while minimizing the chance of bias impacting the results.  Systematic reviews typically answer very specific clinical

questions, and when they are well done, they represent the highest level of evidence used in evidence-based practice.  Scoping reviews as a methodology grew out of systematic reviews, but they are more exploratory in nature, adapting systematic review methods to broader questions.  Both review types require researchers to adhere to a series of pre-specified steps and best practices to ensure they are well-done.

Module 2: Comprehensive and Advanced Searching Techniques

The second module then discusses techniques the students can use to perform comprehensive and advanced searches.  The search strategies used for comprehensive literature reviews are often much more complex and challenging than what a student may typically complete when just looking for a few good articles.  As such, this module walks students through what it means to perform a comprehensive search and the steps they can take to help minimize the chance they may miss something relevant.  The module then dives into describing some more advanced search tips that students may not have used previously, such as truncation, field tags, proximity operators and phrase searching.  By employing these more advanced techniques, students can begin to develop searches that are more controlled and home in on the information they need.

Module 3: Tools to Manage the Research Process

The final module introduces students to several tools that can help them manage the research process, such as database accounts, reference managers and a special literature screening tool called Covidence.  By familiarizing themselves with these tools and getting accounts set up early in the research process, students can hopefully stay better organized and become more efficient researchers.

Collaboration in Action

This partnership has been in place for two years now and has been a successful example of liaison librarian and faculty collaboration.  In addition to these modules, Anna also schedules periodic Office Hours with OT students, as well as individual consultations; however, by asking students to complete these modules beforehand, she can dive deeper into searching during these interactions and build from a strong foundation.

In the future, she hopes to expand the modules to be available for other disciplines and continue to refine the content to meet the needs of researchers.  If you are interested in collaborating with a librarian to develop custom content for your students, reach out to your liaison librarian to start the conversation.