Information Literacy Self-Efficacy of Medical Students: A Longitudinal Study

Objectives: Medical curricula are investing more and more in educating students as lifelong reflective learners. The research analyses the development of medical students’ information literacy self-efficacy and measures the differences between study years. Methods: Data has been collected within a 6-year curriculum for four continuous academic years. Students evaluated their information literacy self-efficacy on a validated information literacy self-efficacy scale for medicine. In 2016, the research was finalised with a qualitative part. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc tests and unpaired Student’s t-test were performed. Outcomes: Results confirm the impact of training and practice on students’ information literacy self-efficacy. Furthermore, information literacy self-efficacy increases overall in more recent years. This research proposes the need to integrate information literacy skills in the curriculum at the right time, at different key-moments and adjusted by level.