Information-seeking behavior and use of information resources by clinical research coordinators

The study sought to understand the literature searching experiences and skills of clinical research coordinators at a large academic medical center. The Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh, conducted a survey of clinical research coordinators at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to solicit their perceived use and knowledge of the library's electronic resources. The University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a "high volume IRB" that monitors human subject research at both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. More than 3,500 human research studies and clinical trials are active at any given time. Many studies entail more than minimal risk to human subjects, with the majority evaluating or including a drug or medical device. Clinical research coordinators are involved in most of these studies or trials. Their roles and responsibilities focus on managing many aspects of the study or clinical trial. As a first step in understanding the literature searching experiences and skills of these research coordinators, baseline data were gathered from this group in November 2004. The data from this survey indicate that clinical research coordinators are a population who would benefit from training by academic medical center librarians in how to use electronic library resources and services. A Web-based survey solicited participants' information (gender, education, job title) and role in the IRB process (job responsibilities, number studies they manage). The majority of the survey questions focused on the use of specific electronic library resources, the type of information wanted, and the types of problems encountered.