Qualitative study of physicians' varied uses of biomedical research in the USA

Objective To investigate the nature of physicians' use of research evidence in experimental conditions of open access to inform training and policy. Design This qualitative study was a component of a larger mixed-methods initiative that provided 336 physicians with relatively complete access to research literature via PubMed and UpToDate, for 1 year via an online portal, with their usage recorded in web logs. Using a semistructured interview protocol, a subset of 38 physician participants were interviewed about their use of research articles in general and were probed about their reasons for accessing specific articles as identified through their web logs. Transcripts were analysed using a general inductive approach. Setting Physician participants were recruited from and registered in the USA. Participants 38 physicians from 16 US states, engaged in 22 medical specialties, possessing more than 1 year of experience postresidency training participated. Results 26 participants attested to ...