Information literacy among medical students in the College of Health Sciences in Niger Delta University, Nigeria

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate whether undergraduate students in the College of Health Sciences in Niger Delta University are information literate, and to determine whether they are aware of and use different information resources including electronic ones, and to assess their ability to evaluate information before use. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire and interview methods were used to collect data from the students. Findings – The students mostly rely on textbooks, medical journals, the internet, colleagues, and the Nigerian National University Commission’s virtual library for information. They rarely use electronic resources such as MEDLINE, HINARI, the Cochrane Library, and EbscoHost. This could be because of a lack of awareness and skills necessary to search databases. Problems such as lack of time, the challenge of locating “good citable stuff”, inability to use effectively the medical library, and poor skills in information searching were mentioned. The study recommends that medical librarians and faculty should collaborate in integrating information literacy skills into the medical school curriculum. Originality/value – This paper may help inform discussion about students’ competences for locating, selecting, evaluating and using information essential for lifelong learning.