According to previous studies, only 22 to 28% of abstracts presented at the Medical Library Association (MLA) conferences are later published as journal articles. What motivates health sciences librarians to take the next step in publishing and disseminating their work? Motivations for publication could stem from intrinsic factors (e.g., to contribute to my profession’s evidence base) or from extrinsic factors (e.g., for promotion or tenure). This study will answer the following questions: 1) Are librarians presenting at MLA more motivated to publish due to intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, or a mix of both? 2) Do motivations for publication differ between academic and hospital librarians? 3) Do motivations for publication differ between those who published in peer-reviewed journals and those who published in other venues?
Methods
First authors of abstracts presented at the MLA conferences in 2012 and 2014 (n=628) were surveyed to inquire if their abstract was later published in any full-text format such as a journal article or book chapter. This two-year sample of conferences was selected to give authors at least five years to publish. If they did publish, they were asked where their work was published, and what were their primary and secondary reasons for publication. Authors who published more than one abstract answered separately for each abstract. The reasons for publication included intrinsic and extrinsic factors identified from the library science literature. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences in motivation.
Results
161 authors responded to the survey, and of these, 49 authors reported that they had published their abstract(s). This sample of authors is 45% of the total number of authors (n=108) who published their work after presenting at the 2012 and 2014 MLA conferences. 51% (n=25) of respondents were motivated to publish due to intrinsic factors, 18.4% (n=9) were motivated due to extrinsic factors, and 30.6% (n=15) reported a mix of both. This difference in proportion was found to be statistically significant using a chi-square test (p=.02). No statistically significant differences were found between hospital and academic librarians or between those who published in peer-reviewed journals and those who published in other venues.
Conclusion
Findings indict that librarians who chose to publish their work after presenting at MLA are primarily motivated to publish due to intrinsic factors. Interventions designed to encourage MLA presenters to publish their work should consider ways to cultivate presenters’ intrinsic motivation.
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