The Medical Library Association (MLA) published its first research agenda [1] in 2009 and its second research agenda [2] in 2012. During the past year, the MLA Research Agenda Committee developed the new research agenda. All three research agendas have intended to focus researchers’ efforts toward investigating the highest-priority research subjects.

The new MLA Research Agenda planning team began by asking 495 elected and appointed MLA leaders to identify what they viewed as the most important research question facing the profession. 130 leaders provided viable questions. MLA members who had published research articles within the past four years were asked to select up to five questions that they thought were both feasible and important. 200 researchers identified the top-ranked 36 questions that were in turn returned to the original 130 MLA members who submitted their questions to pick five top questions apiece.

The top 15 questions will be the focus of the new MLA Research Agenda. The questions pertain to a variety of subjects. Respondents focused on evidence based ways to educate health sciences students on their programmatic competencies, how to best measure the impact of information resources and services on institutional success, and how graduate schools of information should best prepare their graduates for the rigors of every day professional practice. Two questions, perhaps expectedly, sought guidance on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be best harnessed to serve health professionals’ information needs.

The applied research projects resulting from the Research Agenda will add to the growing body of evidence on how best to meet your needs.

Interested colleagues can learn more about the methods or results from this project by contacting Jon Eldredge at <jeldredge@salud.unm.edu>.

References

1.Eldredge JD, Harris MR, Ascher MT. Defining the Medical Library Association research agenda: methodology and final results from a consensus process. J Med Libr Assoc. 2009;97(3):178-185. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.97.3.006

2.Eldredge JD, Ascher MT, Holmes HN, Harris MR. The new Medical Library Association research agenda: final results from a three-phase Delphi study. J Med Libr Assoc. 2012;100(3):214-218. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.100.3.012