Abstract:

[Purpose/Significance] In the context of the "Healthy China 2030" strategy and the rapid advancement of medical technology, the innovative capacity of medical postgraduates is pivotal in driving clinical breakthroughs and translating medical research into practice. This study focuses on medical postgraduates, exploring the complex causal relationships between various dimensions of information literacy and innovation ability from an information science perspective. The goal is to provide empirical evidence that can enhance the innovation capacity of medical postgraduates. [Method/Process] A mixed-methods research design was employed. First, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 368 medical postgraduates from a university in Hainan, China, measuring four dimensions of information literacy (information awareness, knowledge, capability, and ethics) and innovation ability. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was then used to identify the pathways through which combinations of these dimensions lead to high or low levels of innovation ability. To supplement and validate the quantitative findings, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 postgraduates, representing varying levels of innovation ability, to provide deeper insights. [Results/Conclusions] The fsQCA revealed a complex causal structure, identifying four configurations leading to high innovation ability (overall consistency: 0.835; coverage 0.702) and three configurations associated with low innovation ability (overall consistency: 0.913; coverage 0.658). The results show that no single dimension is a necessary condition for high innovation. Instead, multiple equally effective pathways exist. Information capability emerged as a core condition in three of the four high-level configurations, with a necessity consistency of 0.802, highlighting its foundational role as an "approximate necessary condition." The configurations also revealed significant synergistic effects. For instance, one pathway (Configuration 1: high information awareness and capability compensating for low knowledge) demonstrates that strong awareness and practical skills can offset gaps in theoretical knowledge, often facilitated by AI tools. Interview data reinforced these findings: high-innovation postgraduates emphasized the importance of information capability in efficiently synthesizing evidence, while those with low innovation identified weak information awareness (e.g., insensitivity to research frontiers) and limited information capability as primary barriers. The study also identified three distinct pathways to low innovation, characterized by the absence of key dimensions, such as awareness, knowledge, and capability, occasionally compounded by ethical lapses. The study concludes that fostering innovation among medical postgraduates requires shifting from a one-size-fits-all approach to a configuration-oriented support system. By combining quantitative pathways with qualitative insights, universities can develop tailored, multi-layered information literacy programs. This study is limited by its single-institution sample and cross-sectional design. The identified pathways may be context-specific and do not capture the dynamic evolution of information literacy configurations over time. Future research should expand to multi-center studies across diverse institutional contexts. We will use longitudinal designs to examine how configurations change over time. Additionally, we will explore how factors such as supervisory style and resource availability influence these pathways.

Key words: information literacy, innovation ability, medical postgraduates, configurational pathways, fsQCA, mixed-methods research