Medical Education 

About: Medical Education is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Curriculum & MEDLINE. It has an ISSN identifier of 0308-0110. Over the lifetime, 8473 publications have been published receiving 282003 citations.

The qualitative research interview

Abstract: BACKGROUND Interviews are among the most familiar strategies for collecting qualitative data. The different qualitative interviewing strategies in common use emerged from diverse disciplinary perspectives resulting in a wide variation among interviewing approaches. Unlike the highly structured survey interviews and questionnaires used in epidemiology and most health services research, we examine less structured interview strategies in which the person interviewed is more a participant in meaning making than a conduit from which information is retrieved. PURPOSE In this article we briefly review the more common qualitative interview methods and then focus on the widely used individual face-to-face in-depth interview, which seeks to foster learning about individual experiences and perspectives on a given set of issues. We discuss methods for conducting in-depth interviews and consider relevant ethical issues with particular regard to the rights and protection of the participants.

Likert scales: how to (ab)use them

Abstract: Dipping my toe into the water of educational research, I have recently used Likert-type rating scales to measure student views on various educational interventions. Likert scales are commonly used to measure attitude, providing a range of responses to a given question or statement . Typically, there are 5 categories of response, from (for example) 1 1⁄4 strongly disagree to 5 1⁄4 strongly agree, although there are arguments in favour of scales with 7 or with an even number of response categories.

A taxonomy of problem-based learning methods

Abstract: The increasingly popular term 'problem-based learning' does not refer to a specific educational method It can have many different meanings depending on the design of the educational method employed and the skills of the teacher The many variables possible can produce wide variations in quality and in the educational objectives that can be achieved A taxonomy is proposed to facilitate an awareness of these differences and to help teachers choose a problem-based learning method most appropriate for their students

Survey research methods

Abstract: If you were to ask a person in the street what they knew about surveys, they would almost certainly mention opinion polls, possibly the census, and they might also mention market research surveys. If you pressed them a little further, they might comment about the fact that opinion polls were fun to follow if there wasn't any other news in the papers or on TV, but that they seemed to get the wrong answers much of the time. Mention of the census might be accompanied by comments about its infrequency these days, while market research surveys might prompt re ̄ections about interviewers stopping you in the street, or phoning you at home. If you think about your own experiences with surveys, you may be able to identify a wider range of approaches and purposes for surveys. You will certainly have read the headlines in the newspapers about controversial or unexpected ®ndings that have emerged from some survey or other. There may well have been in-depth articles or TV programmes discussing the ®ndings, or following up the implications of the ®ndings from some survey. However, it is usually only in professional journals that detailed articles give the sort of technical details which allow you to make some judgement about the quality of the survey and hence the reliability of its ®ndings. So what conclusions can you draw from all this? From the experience you already have of surveys, you can conclude that they vary in their purposes, in the methods they use for collecting data, in the timeframes in which they operate (from the 24 hours for a political `eve of poll' survey, to the 10 years or so that it can take to publish some of the more complex census data. They also vary in quality. What they all have in common are key methodological and practical issues that have to be resolved prior to ®eldwork, and data collection, transformation and analysis concerns to resolve prior to the presentation and dissemination of the ®ndings. THE NEED FOR SURVEYS IN MEDICINE

A critical review of simulation-based medical education research: 2003-2009

Abstract: Objectives This article reviews and critically evaluates historical and contemporary research on simulation-based medical education (SBME). It also presents and discusses 12 features and best practices of SBME that teachers should know in order to use medical simulation technology to maximum educational benefit. Methods This qualitative synthesis of SBME research and scholarship was carried out in two stages. Firstly, we summarised the results of three SBME research reviews covering the years 1969–2003. Secondly, we performed a selective, critical review of SBME research and scholarship published during 2003–2009. Results The historical and contemporary research synthesis is reported to inform the medical education community about 12 features and best practices of SBME: (i) feedback; (ii) deliberate practice; (iii) curriculum integration; (iv) outcome measurement; (v) simulation fidelity; (vi) skill acquisition and maintenance; (vii) mastery learning; (viii) transfer to practice; (ix) team training; (x) high-stakes testing; (xi) instructor training, and (xii) educational and professional context. Each of these is discussed in the light of available evidence. The scientific quality of contemporary SBME research is much improved compared with the historical record. Conclusions Development of and research into SBME have grown and matured over the past 40 years on substantive and methodological grounds. We believe the impact and educational utility of SBME are likely to increase in the future. More thematic programmes of research are needed. Simulation-based medical education is a complex service intervention that needs to be planned and practised with attention to organisational contexts. Medical Education 2010: 44: 50–63