Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study

BackgroundClinical reasoning (CR) is a fundamental skill for all medical students. In our medical education system, however, there are shortcomings in the conventional methods of teaching CR. New technology is needed to enhance our CR teaching, especially as we are facing an...

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Main Authors: Tianming Zuo, Baozhi Sun, Xu Guan, Bin Zheng, Bo Qu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2021-11-01
Series:JMIR Serious Games
Online Access:https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e17670
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author Tianming Zuo
Baozhi Sun
Xu Guan
Bin Zheng
Bo Qu
author_facet Tianming Zuo
Baozhi Sun
Xu Guan
Bin Zheng
Bo Qu
author_sort Tianming Zuo
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundClinical reasoning (CR) is a fundamental skill for all medical students. In our medical education system, however, there are shortcomings in the conventional methods of teaching CR. New technology is needed to enhance our CR teaching, especially as we are facing an influx of new health trainees. China Medical University (CMU), in response to this need, has developed a computer-based CR training system (CMU-CBCRT). ObjectiveWe aimed to find evidence of construct validity of the CMU-CBCRT. MethodsWe recruited 385 students from fifth year undergraduates to postgraduate year (PGY) 3 to complete the test on CMU-CBCRT. The known-groups technique was used to evaluate the construct validity of the CBCRT by comparing the test scores among 4 training levels (fifth year MD, PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3). ResultsWe found that test scores increased with years of training. Significant differences were found in the test scores on information collection, diagnosis, and treatment and total scores among different training years of participants. However, significant results were not found for treatment errors. ConclusionsWe provided evidence of construct validity of the CMU-CBCRT, which could determine the CR skills of medical students at varying early stage in their careers.
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spelling doaj.art-7416bb3a2dfe429e8aa1f58a72c61ecf2023-08-28T19:44:36ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Serious Games2291-92792021-11-0194e1767010.2196/17670Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation StudyTianming Zuohttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0577-1632Baozhi Sunhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7377-2982Xu Guanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3353-6261Bin Zhenghttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3476-5936Bo Quhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2526-9690 BackgroundClinical reasoning (CR) is a fundamental skill for all medical students. In our medical education system, however, there are shortcomings in the conventional methods of teaching CR. New technology is needed to enhance our CR teaching, especially as we are facing an influx of new health trainees. China Medical University (CMU), in response to this need, has developed a computer-based CR training system (CMU-CBCRT). ObjectiveWe aimed to find evidence of construct validity of the CMU-CBCRT. MethodsWe recruited 385 students from fifth year undergraduates to postgraduate year (PGY) 3 to complete the test on CMU-CBCRT. The known-groups technique was used to evaluate the construct validity of the CBCRT by comparing the test scores among 4 training levels (fifth year MD, PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3). ResultsWe found that test scores increased with years of training. Significant differences were found in the test scores on information collection, diagnosis, and treatment and total scores among different training years of participants. However, significant results were not found for treatment errors. ConclusionsWe provided evidence of construct validity of the CMU-CBCRT, which could determine the CR skills of medical students at varying early stage in their careers.https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e17670
spellingShingle Tianming Zuo
Baozhi Sun
Xu Guan
Bin Zheng
Bo Qu
Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
JMIR Serious Games
title Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
title_full Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
title_fullStr Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
title_full_unstemmed Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
title_short Evidence of Construct Validity of Computer-Based Tests for Clinical Reasoning: Instrument Validation Study
title_sort evidence of construct validity of computer based tests for clinical reasoning instrument validation study
url https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e17670
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AT binzheng evidenceofconstructvalidityofcomputerbasedtestsforclinicalreasoninginstrumentvalidationstudy
AT boqu evidenceofconstructvalidityofcomputerbasedtestsforclinicalreasoninginstrumentvalidationstudy