Many individuals affiliated
with medical school and residency programs want
to conduct educational research projects.
However, program administration takes precedence
over systematic planning and implementation of
research projects. Moreover, resources for
additional data collection and analyses are
often limited.
In this session, Drs. Shea
and Carline will focus on the many advantages of
creating projects that are closely tied to
operational activities, and using the practical
questions that arise from these activities to
generate applied research projects. Within
many programs, several types of data are
routinely collected that can be useful for
research purposes. Other suggestions
for jump-starting a research program include:
1) Seek help from established researchers in
medical education. Most medical schools have
individuals trained in education, psychology or
other social sciences who are familiar with
educational research either within a central
education office or within individual
departments. 2) Become familiar with the
literature. There are a several major journals
in medical education research available
electronically, and many discipline-based
journals publish educational research. 3) Look
for regional meetings to attend, for example the
regional AAMC Groups on Educational Affairs, or
seek out education presentations at your
professional associations.
Specific Objectives:
• To discuss models for
developing research projects when the need to
administer programs takes precedence over
developing research projects.
• To review different types
of data that are routinely available to medical
educators (e.g., end-of-course evaluations,
surveys, student write ups, examination scores).
• To present some practical
suggestions that will enhance the likelihood of
successful execution of research projects.
home
