Beyond relevance--characteristics of key papers for clinicians: an exploratory study in an academic setting

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine what factors beyond relevance influence a clinician's decision to choose to read one journal article over another in satisfying an information need. Design: Seventeen health care providers were interviewed and then surveyed regarding the characteristics of key articles (those they would not want to miss). On a Likert scale, the clinicians graded forty-two characteristics for importance in the decision process. Relevance was assumed and not at issue. Setting: The study took place in an academic health sciences center. Subjects: The subjects were seventeen clinicians, all with patient care responsibilities. There were four internists, four surgeons, three family practitioners, three pediatricians, two psychiatrists, and one clinical psychologist. Results: Factors beyond relevance that most often influenced the decision process pertained to methodological rigor, authors and their institutional affiliations, document types, and population studied. Conclusions: Among the clinicians surveyed, factors beyond topicality influenced judgments as to what constitutes an important article. The emphasis respondents gave to certain attributes is echoed in other published work and highlights the need for more intensive investigation of these non-subject indicators as search parameters. Improved searching capabilities might well lead to a significant reduction in the clinician's information overload.