Medical Students & Wikipedia Editing: Implications for reinforcing & improving information literacy skills

Abstract

This poster presents the results of a pilot study that examines the use of Wikipedia editing with first-year medical students as an intervention for reinforcing and improving information literacy skills. The study took place at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine with students from the MD class of 2022.

Methods: The students learned to edit and contribute to Wikipedia over a period of three months from August to November 2018. At the conclusion of the editing experience, students were asked to respond to a retrospective pre/post survey to assess the impact of Wikipedia editing on various information literacy skills.

Results: Data gathered from the survey show a statistically significant improvement in the students' perceived information literacy skills.