Evaluation of Manuscripts in Health Sciences Librarianship* BY SUSAN CRAWFORD, PH.D., Director Division of Library and Archival Services American Medical Association Chicago, Illinois ABSTRACT Manuscripts submitted for review and full-length papers and brief communications published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association from 1976 through 1978 have been analyzed in order to identify some of the most common problems in the preparation of a paper. The findings point to a need for instructing librarians in (1) understanding the nature of "explanation" in a scientific or historical paper; (2) designing a research project and analyzing the data; (3) preparing data for display; and (4) more effective writing skills.
CONTRIBUTORS to scientific publications are responsible for the design of their investigations, the selection of appropriate methods for collection and analysis of data, and the drawing of valid conclusions [1]. As a member of the MLA Publication Panel and MLA Consulting Editors Panel, the author has had the opportunity to analyze numerous manuscripts and proposals. The objective of this paper is to review some of the problems which health sciences librarians encounter in the preparation of manuscripts for publication in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (BMLA). The data in this study are derived from a review of (1) all major contributions and brief communications published in the BMLA from 1976 through 1978 and (2) some twenty manuscripts submitted to the BMLA for consideration and monitored by the author. In contrast with the Chen study [2], the focus of this paper is on methodology and not on subject areas which concern health sciences librarians. TYPES OF PAPERS PUBLISHED IN THE BMLA What types of papers do health sciences librarians publish? By "type of paper," I am referring primarily to the approach of health sciences librarians in their observations, descriptions, and explanations. I base my typology on Brown's distinctions *Based on a paper presented at the Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 5, 1979. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
made for the social sciences between the natural historian and the empirical scientist [3] and on Coleman's analysis of the uses of mathematics in research and theory [4]. The natural historian is concerned with reporting and describing events of a given time and place, rather than with generalizations. He identifies, classifies, and describes what he observes. His chief interest is in reporting what has occurred, using a discursive and nonmathematical approach. In contrast, the empirical scientist not only observes, but attempts to isolate abstract properties and to express the relations between these properties in quantitative form. He then relates his observations and inferences to existing theory, which is made up of a logically consistent framework of variables incorporating or explaining accepted relations [5]. A particular behavior is thus connected with the behavior, structure, and functions for all cases within its class. The approaches are quite different, as empirical science must necessarily be reductionistic; that is, it must proceed first by analysis into simple regularities, and only then proceed by synthesis into more complex structures. When the logical structure of relations becomes clear and precise, it is then possible to shift to the formal structure of mathematics.t Based upon these differences, the articles analyzed in this paper are classed as descriptive case reports, generalized analyses, philosophical papers, bibliographic compilations, and historical and biographical papers. As indicated in Table 1, a total of 160 full-length papers and brief communications was published from 1976 through 1978. Descriptive Case Reports Over three-quarters of the papers published in the BMLA may be classed as descriptive case
tlt is recognized here that library and information
science lacks the theoretical framework of some scientific disciplines and their technologies. A comparison is not suggested, as the description is provided only to clarify the typology presented in this paper.
365
SUSAN CRAWFORD TABLE 1 TYPES OF FULL-LENGTH PAPERS AND BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHED
IN THE BMLA, 1976-1978 (N= 160) Type of Paper
Descriptive reports of practical applications-case studies Generalized analyses Philosophical works Bibliographic compilations Historical and biographical papers Total
No.Pof Papers 124
21 7 4 4
160
77.5 13.1 4.3 2.5 2.5 99.9
reports. These are observations of practical applications or experience-the "how-to-do-it" articles. This large proportion reflects the applied nature of health sciences librarianship. It is indeed relevant to know how one's peers have coped with common problems such as initiating fees for service, recataloging a large collection, evaluating the cost of using CATLINE, and arranging furniture to facilitate the flow of traffic. Although quantitative methods may be used in case reports, the focus is upon description of a single event. The descriptions stem from personal observations and attitudes; the insights tend to be intuitive; and expression is couched in terms familiar to the daily encounters of the practicing librarian. To give one rather extreme example, a medical school librarian once wrote: "Choosing a cataloging system is like choosing a hat-it must wear well." There is, however, great variation in the approach of case reports-some attempt to relate to the wider framework (for example, socioeconomic or legislative) in which a program has been developed or evaluated. Case reports are helpful and informative in an applied field, and in librarianship as in medicine, they play an important role.
Generalized Analyses Generalized analyses are defined in this paper as investigations in which abstract properties are identified and an attempt is made to express their relationships quantitatively. The focus is upon the general case rather than upon a single experience. Examples include work analysis by random sampling, citation analysis of the literature of tropical medicine, an operations research model for journal selection, and estimation of the satisfaction
366
of MEDLINE users. Analytical papers make up only around one-eighth of the papers published in the BMLA and there is great variation in quality among these papers. In design and methodology they come closest to the definition of a "scientific paper" [6]. Librarianship is multidisciplinary in approach; it cuts across the social and physical sciences and is highly dependent upon technology. A seemingly simple concept such as clinical librarianship has psychological, educational, technological, as well as economic components. One paper attempted to fit a concept of evolution to a medical school library, based upon the Marxian theory of synthesis and antithesis. The authors were not aware of the theoretical base, as the model was adapted from an article in the applied social sciences. They were indeed treading on soft ground. Generalized analyses are difficult to undertake, as they entail a higher level of abstraction, quantitative methods, and often the borrowing of concepts from other disciplines. Other Types of Papers Of the 160 papers, 7 (4%) may be classed as philosophical. One-half of these 7 is derived from the Janet Doe lectures and includes topics such as the foundations of medical librarianship, the uses of diversity, controversy over change, and the search for an ethic for medical librarianship. Bibliographies, which are usually selected lists of books and periodicals for special groups, make up 2.5% of the articles. Historical and biographical articles together also comprise 2.5% of the total, and include topics such as pediatrics in an eighteenth-century remedy book and the Lister Hill papers at the University of Alabama. From this analysis it seems clear that health sciences librarians are primarily concerned with the practical problems of running their libraries. As analyzed by Chen over a ten-year period, library functions ranked the highest among subjects covered in the BMLA. Simultaneously, the number of articles on historical topics has declined [7]. This focus perhaps reflects also movement into a more complex world of technological and social developments and an attempt to cope. Although the service orientation of health sciences librarianship has remained an underlying premise of the profession, the intellectual content and application of techniques which support services have radically changed over the past twenty years. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
MANUSCRIPTS IN HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIANSHIP
PROBLEMS IN PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS Five major steps may be identified in the preparation of a manuscript: 1. Conceptualization and statement of the problem 2. Methodology for gathering of data or evidence 3. Methodology for analysis of data 4. Reports of findings, which include the style of presentation and graphics 5. Conclusions, inferences, and relevance to the general case.
Conceptualization of the Problem This is an area of great difficulty for most librarians, as the way in which one views the world is bounded by the breadth of one's vision. Bridgman, the physicist-philosopher, once observed, "An explanation is the level at which one's curiosity rests" [8]. Librarians are task oriented and closely tied to their daily work operations, as reflected by the tendency toward case studies. A typical paper on the development of a library program lists names, dates, and activities in minute detail, but misses the significant sociohistorical perceptions which underlie historical accounts.
Methodology for Data Gathering and Analysis Of the 160 papers published during the reporting period, 73 papers (46%) presented some type of data, as indicated in Table 2. These papers were analyzed to determine the types of data gathering and analytic methods most commonly used. Seventy-eight per cent of the papers included all units in the universe studied; for example, all medical school libraries, total use of journals in a single institution, and all hospital libraries in a region. Some 5% used sampling techniques, and 17% did not make clear how the universe was derived. Linear scaling of values-for example, rating of a variable such as satisfaction with services on a scale of 1-5-was used in six studies. Multidimensional analysis was not used in any investigation. Only three studies used tests of significance, and three expressed relationships among variables mathematically. No study used a control group as baseline for determining the validity of an outcome. For example, one author concluded from a study of medical students over a four-year period that the use of LATCH tended to increase their use of libraries. There was no control group to compare students who used LATCH with those who did not. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
TABLE 2 QUANTITATIVE METHODS USED IN PAPERS PUBLISHED IN BMLA, 1976-1978* (N=73) No. of
Technique
Data collection Universe defined as all-inclusive Universe sampled Data analysis Linear scaling of values Test of significance Mathematical formulation of relationships Other quantitative method
Papers Using Technique
%
57 4
78.0 5.5
6 8
8.2 4.1
3 0
4.1 0
*This table identifies the quantitative methods most commonly used for data collection and analysis, in addition to the use of tables which display raw data or proportions.
Analysis of the use of quantitative methods clearly indicates that health sciences librarians tend to report their own personal experiences rather than to design studies for testing of hypotheses. Additionally, quantitative methods, common to the social and physical sciences, are rarely used, even when appropriate. Report of Findings and Style of Presentation A review of manuscripts submitted to the BMLA indicates that undergraduate and library school education do not prepare the practitioner for writing technical papers. Some 72% of the papers reviewed needed "tightening," for example, elimination of the trivial, the redundant, and the obvious. Reporting an algorithm (set of instructions) is common, but there is no need to repeat, step by dreary step, all the minute details. Another tendency is to grind through well-known methodology, especially if the paper is an adaptation of a thesis. Data presentation is another area of weakness; most health sciences librarians do not know how to order and combine data into succinct tables. It is common practice to repeat the questions in a survey with the number of responses and to provide no explanation or interpretation. DISCUSSION I have In this paper attempted to identify some characteristics of papers published in the BMLA,
367
SUSAN CRAWFORD
and to isolate some of the problem areas. The findings indicate a need for (1) understanding the nature of "explanation" in scientific or historical papers; (2) developing more effective writing skills; (3) instruction in designing research projects, in analyzing data, and in preparing data for display. An underlying assumption of this paper is that librarians on all levels of operation play different roles within the matrix of biomedical communication, and the documentation of their experiences and observations constitutes an important record when accomplished with insight and skill. The advice of Zinnser is relevant for all of us: write your manuscript and tear it up; rewrite it and tear it up again-you may have to do this up to as many as seven or eight times [9].
2. CHEN, CHING-CHIH. A citation analysis of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 65: 290-292, Apr. 1977. 3. BROWN, ROBERT. Explanation in Social Science. Chicago, Aldine, 1963. 4. COLEMAN, JAMES S. Introduction to Mathematical Sociology. New York, Free Press of Glencoe, 1964. 5. Ibid. p. 3. 6. DAY, STACEY, ed. Communication of Scientific Information. New York, Karger, 1975. 7. CHEN, C. Op. cit. p. 291. 8. BRIDGMAN, PERCY W. The Logic of Modern Physics. New York, MacMillan, 1927. 9. ZINNSER, WILLIAM. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York, Harper & Row, 1976.
REFERENCES
1. SCHOR, STANLEY. Statistical evaluation of journal manuscripts. JAMA 195: 145-150, Mar. 28, 1966.
368
Received March 12, 1979; accepted April 30, 1979.
Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
CONTRIBUTORS to scientific publications are responsible for the design of their investigations, the selection of appropriate methods for collection and analysis of data, and the drawing of valid conclusions [1]. As a member of the MLA Publication Panel and MLA Consulting Editors Panel, the author has had the opportunity to analyze numerous manuscripts and proposals. The objective of this paper is to review some of the problems which health sciences librarians encounter in the preparation of manuscripts for publication in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (BMLA). The data in this study are derived from a review of (1) all major contributions and brief communications published in the BMLA from 1976 through 1978 and (2) some twenty manuscripts submitted to the BMLA for consideration and monitored by the author. In contrast with the Chen study [2], the focus of this paper is on methodology and not on subject areas which concern health sciences librarians. TYPES OF PAPERS PUBLISHED IN THE BMLA What types of papers do health sciences librarians publish? By "type of paper," I am referring primarily to the approach of health sciences librarians in their observations, descriptions, and explanations. I base my typology on Brown's distinctions *Based on a paper presented at the Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 5, 1979. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
made for the social sciences between the natural historian and the empirical scientist [3] and on Coleman's analysis of the uses of mathematics in research and theory [4]. The natural historian is concerned with reporting and describing events of a given time and place, rather than with generalizations. He identifies, classifies, and describes what he observes. His chief interest is in reporting what has occurred, using a discursive and nonmathematical approach. In contrast, the empirical scientist not only observes, but attempts to isolate abstract properties and to express the relations between these properties in quantitative form. He then relates his observations and inferences to existing theory, which is made up of a logically consistent framework of variables incorporating or explaining accepted relations [5]. A particular behavior is thus connected with the behavior, structure, and functions for all cases within its class. The approaches are quite different, as empirical science must necessarily be reductionistic; that is, it must proceed first by analysis into simple regularities, and only then proceed by synthesis into more complex structures. When the logical structure of relations becomes clear and precise, it is then possible to shift to the formal structure of mathematics.t Based upon these differences, the articles analyzed in this paper are classed as descriptive case reports, generalized analyses, philosophical papers, bibliographic compilations, and historical and biographical papers. As indicated in Table 1, a total of 160 full-length papers and brief communications was published from 1976 through 1978. Descriptive Case Reports Over three-quarters of the papers published in the BMLA may be classed as descriptive case
tlt is recognized here that library and information
science lacks the theoretical framework of some scientific disciplines and their technologies. A comparison is not suggested, as the description is provided only to clarify the typology presented in this paper.
365
SUSAN CRAWFORD TABLE 1 TYPES OF FULL-LENGTH PAPERS AND BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHED
IN THE BMLA, 1976-1978 (N= 160) Type of Paper
Descriptive reports of practical applications-case studies Generalized analyses Philosophical works Bibliographic compilations Historical and biographical papers Total
No.Pof Papers 124
21 7 4 4
160
77.5 13.1 4.3 2.5 2.5 99.9
reports. These are observations of practical applications or experience-the "how-to-do-it" articles. This large proportion reflects the applied nature of health sciences librarianship. It is indeed relevant to know how one's peers have coped with common problems such as initiating fees for service, recataloging a large collection, evaluating the cost of using CATLINE, and arranging furniture to facilitate the flow of traffic. Although quantitative methods may be used in case reports, the focus is upon description of a single event. The descriptions stem from personal observations and attitudes; the insights tend to be intuitive; and expression is couched in terms familiar to the daily encounters of the practicing librarian. To give one rather extreme example, a medical school librarian once wrote: "Choosing a cataloging system is like choosing a hat-it must wear well." There is, however, great variation in the approach of case reports-some attempt to relate to the wider framework (for example, socioeconomic or legislative) in which a program has been developed or evaluated. Case reports are helpful and informative in an applied field, and in librarianship as in medicine, they play an important role.
Generalized Analyses Generalized analyses are defined in this paper as investigations in which abstract properties are identified and an attempt is made to express their relationships quantitatively. The focus is upon the general case rather than upon a single experience. Examples include work analysis by random sampling, citation analysis of the literature of tropical medicine, an operations research model for journal selection, and estimation of the satisfaction
366
of MEDLINE users. Analytical papers make up only around one-eighth of the papers published in the BMLA and there is great variation in quality among these papers. In design and methodology they come closest to the definition of a "scientific paper" [6]. Librarianship is multidisciplinary in approach; it cuts across the social and physical sciences and is highly dependent upon technology. A seemingly simple concept such as clinical librarianship has psychological, educational, technological, as well as economic components. One paper attempted to fit a concept of evolution to a medical school library, based upon the Marxian theory of synthesis and antithesis. The authors were not aware of the theoretical base, as the model was adapted from an article in the applied social sciences. They were indeed treading on soft ground. Generalized analyses are difficult to undertake, as they entail a higher level of abstraction, quantitative methods, and often the borrowing of concepts from other disciplines. Other Types of Papers Of the 160 papers, 7 (4%) may be classed as philosophical. One-half of these 7 is derived from the Janet Doe lectures and includes topics such as the foundations of medical librarianship, the uses of diversity, controversy over change, and the search for an ethic for medical librarianship. Bibliographies, which are usually selected lists of books and periodicals for special groups, make up 2.5% of the articles. Historical and biographical articles together also comprise 2.5% of the total, and include topics such as pediatrics in an eighteenth-century remedy book and the Lister Hill papers at the University of Alabama. From this analysis it seems clear that health sciences librarians are primarily concerned with the practical problems of running their libraries. As analyzed by Chen over a ten-year period, library functions ranked the highest among subjects covered in the BMLA. Simultaneously, the number of articles on historical topics has declined [7]. This focus perhaps reflects also movement into a more complex world of technological and social developments and an attempt to cope. Although the service orientation of health sciences librarianship has remained an underlying premise of the profession, the intellectual content and application of techniques which support services have radically changed over the past twenty years. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
MANUSCRIPTS IN HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIANSHIP
PROBLEMS IN PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS Five major steps may be identified in the preparation of a manuscript: 1. Conceptualization and statement of the problem 2. Methodology for gathering of data or evidence 3. Methodology for analysis of data 4. Reports of findings, which include the style of presentation and graphics 5. Conclusions, inferences, and relevance to the general case.
Conceptualization of the Problem This is an area of great difficulty for most librarians, as the way in which one views the world is bounded by the breadth of one's vision. Bridgman, the physicist-philosopher, once observed, "An explanation is the level at which one's curiosity rests" [8]. Librarians are task oriented and closely tied to their daily work operations, as reflected by the tendency toward case studies. A typical paper on the development of a library program lists names, dates, and activities in minute detail, but misses the significant sociohistorical perceptions which underlie historical accounts.
Methodology for Data Gathering and Analysis Of the 160 papers published during the reporting period, 73 papers (46%) presented some type of data, as indicated in Table 2. These papers were analyzed to determine the types of data gathering and analytic methods most commonly used. Seventy-eight per cent of the papers included all units in the universe studied; for example, all medical school libraries, total use of journals in a single institution, and all hospital libraries in a region. Some 5% used sampling techniques, and 17% did not make clear how the universe was derived. Linear scaling of values-for example, rating of a variable such as satisfaction with services on a scale of 1-5-was used in six studies. Multidimensional analysis was not used in any investigation. Only three studies used tests of significance, and three expressed relationships among variables mathematically. No study used a control group as baseline for determining the validity of an outcome. For example, one author concluded from a study of medical students over a four-year period that the use of LATCH tended to increase their use of libraries. There was no control group to compare students who used LATCH with those who did not. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
TABLE 2 QUANTITATIVE METHODS USED IN PAPERS PUBLISHED IN BMLA, 1976-1978* (N=73) No. of
Technique
Data collection Universe defined as all-inclusive Universe sampled Data analysis Linear scaling of values Test of significance Mathematical formulation of relationships Other quantitative method
Papers Using Technique
%
57 4
78.0 5.5
6 8
8.2 4.1
3 0
4.1 0
*This table identifies the quantitative methods most commonly used for data collection and analysis, in addition to the use of tables which display raw data or proportions.
Analysis of the use of quantitative methods clearly indicates that health sciences librarians tend to report their own personal experiences rather than to design studies for testing of hypotheses. Additionally, quantitative methods, common to the social and physical sciences, are rarely used, even when appropriate. Report of Findings and Style of Presentation A review of manuscripts submitted to the BMLA indicates that undergraduate and library school education do not prepare the practitioner for writing technical papers. Some 72% of the papers reviewed needed "tightening," for example, elimination of the trivial, the redundant, and the obvious. Reporting an algorithm (set of instructions) is common, but there is no need to repeat, step by dreary step, all the minute details. Another tendency is to grind through well-known methodology, especially if the paper is an adaptation of a thesis. Data presentation is another area of weakness; most health sciences librarians do not know how to order and combine data into succinct tables. It is common practice to repeat the questions in a survey with the number of responses and to provide no explanation or interpretation. DISCUSSION I have In this paper attempted to identify some characteristics of papers published in the BMLA,
367
SUSAN CRAWFORD
and to isolate some of the problem areas. The findings indicate a need for (1) understanding the nature of "explanation" in scientific or historical papers; (2) developing more effective writing skills; (3) instruction in designing research projects, in analyzing data, and in preparing data for display. An underlying assumption of this paper is that librarians on all levels of operation play different roles within the matrix of biomedical communication, and the documentation of their experiences and observations constitutes an important record when accomplished with insight and skill. The advice of Zinnser is relevant for all of us: write your manuscript and tear it up; rewrite it and tear it up again-you may have to do this up to as many as seven or eight times [9].
2. CHEN, CHING-CHIH. A citation analysis of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 65: 290-292, Apr. 1977. 3. BROWN, ROBERT. Explanation in Social Science. Chicago, Aldine, 1963. 4. COLEMAN, JAMES S. Introduction to Mathematical Sociology. New York, Free Press of Glencoe, 1964. 5. Ibid. p. 3. 6. DAY, STACEY, ed. Communication of Scientific Information. New York, Karger, 1975. 7. CHEN, C. Op. cit. p. 291. 8. BRIDGMAN, PERCY W. The Logic of Modern Physics. New York, MacMillan, 1927. 9. ZINNSER, WILLIAM. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York, Harper & Row, 1976.
REFERENCES
1. SCHOR, STANLEY. Statistical evaluation of journal manuscripts. JAMA 195: 145-150, Mar. 28, 1966.
368
Received March 12, 1979; accepted April 30, 1979.
Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 67(4) October 1979
