Imperial College London
Alternate

Professor Karim Meeran

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Professor of Endocrinology
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 8846 1065k.meeran

 
 
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Location

 

9E05Charing Cross HospitalCharing Cross Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Sam:2019:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550,
author = {Sam, AH and Westacott, R and Gurnell, M and Wilson, R and Meeran, K and Brown, C},
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550},
journal = {BMJ Open},
pages = {1--7},
title = {Comparing single-best-answer and very-short-answer questions for the assessment of applied medical knowledge in 20 UK medical schools: Cross-sectional study},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550},
volume = {9},
year = {2019}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Objectives The study aimed to compare candidate performance between traditional best-of-five single-best-answer (SBA) questions and very-short-answer (VSA) questions, in which candidates must generate their own answers of between one and five words. The primary objective was to determine if the mean positive cue rate for SBAs exceeded the null hypothesis guessing rate of 20%.Design This was a cross-sectional study undertaken in 2018.Setting 20 medical schools in the UK.Participants 1417 volunteer medical students preparing for their final undergraduate medicine examinations (total eligible population across all UK medical schools approximately 7500).Interventions Students completed a 50-question VSA test, followed immediately by the same test in SBA format, using a novel digital exam delivery platform which also facilitated rapid marking of VSAs.Main outcome measures The main outcome measure was the mean positive cue rate across SBAs: the percentage of students getting the SBA format of the question correct after getting the VSA format incorrect. Internal consistency, item discrimination and the pass rate using Cohen standard setting for VSAs and SBAs were also evaluated, and a cost analysis in terms of marking the VSA was performed.Results The study was completed by 1417 students. Mean student scores were 21 percentage points higher for SBAs. The mean positive cue rate was 42.7% (95% CI 36.8% to 48.6%), one-sample t-test against ≤20%: t=7.53, p<0.001. Internal consistency was higher for VSAs than SBAs and the median item discrimination equivalent. The estimated marking cost was £2655 ($3500), with 24.5 hours of clinician time required (1.25 s per student per question).Conclusions SBA questions can give a false impression of students’ competence. VSAs appear to have greater authenticity and can provide useful information regarding students’ cognitive errors, helping to improve learning as well as assessment. Electronic delivery
AU  - Sam,AH
AU  - Westacott,R
AU  - Gurnell,M
AU  - Wilson,R
AU  - Meeran,K
AU  - Brown,C
DO  - 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550
EP  - 7
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 2044-6055
SP  - 1
TI  - Comparing single-best-answer and very-short-answer questions for the assessment of applied medical knowledge in 20 UK medical schools: Cross-sectional study
T2  - BMJ Open
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000497787600421&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/9/e032550
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/73186
VL  - 9
ER  -
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