Validation of a Method to Assess the Clinical Impact of Electronic Knowledge Resources

We previously developed a method to assess the clinical impact of electronic knowledge resources. This method has potential to advance e-health research by serving as a new outcome measure in the domain of clinical decision support or computer mediated communication. In this article, we outline how such a method can be validated. The validation includes a longitudinal field research study using a mixed methods approach. Doctors will use our method to complete a computerized impact assessment questionnaire for items of information they retrieve. This will reveal cognitive impacts and application of information in practice. Subsequently, doctors will be interviewed on their most recent information searches using log-stimulated recall. Archives and observations complement interviews. These analyses serve to validate the method for assessing the clinical impact of electronic knowledge resources.