The Relationship between Information Literacy with the Scientific Products of Faculty Members of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences during the Years of 2005 to 2010

Abstract

Background and purpose: Faculty members are the most important assets and resources of each country and information literacy refers to a set of capabilities that enable people to recognize the need for information and after placement and access to information needed, they evaluate and effectively use them, and since scientific production is one of the important indicators of faculty members’ performance, a study that would determine the role of information literacy in scientific products using its results is necessary to create development and prosperity in scientific production. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between information literacy and scientific products of faculty members of KUMS during the years of 2005 to 2010. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. The study population was all full-time faculty members of KUMS in the census. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to collect data which had two parts, the first part had 21 sections and included demographic information and scientific products and the second part was the information literacy questionnaire and consisted of 87 questions and 100 sections. In this study, the independent variable was information literacy and the dependent variable was scientific products and data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics and SPSS software version 19. Results: The total mean of information literacy of KUMS faculty members was above average and 50% had information literacy and there was a significant relationship between information literacy and scientific products of KUMS faculty members. Conclusions: The findings indicate the relationship between information literacy and scientific production, and since only half of the faculty members had information literacy, the necessity of planning to enhance information literacy is justified. Keywords: INFORMATION LITERACY, SCIENTIFIC PRODUCT, FACULTY MEMBERS