Randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis in medical education: What role do they play?

Medical Teacher

Volumn 34, Issue 6, 2012, Pages 468-473

  Cook, David A ^a  

^a MAYO CLINIC   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; EDUCATION; HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL; HUMAN; MEDICAL EDUCATION; META ANALYSIS (TOPIC); METHODOLOGY; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (TOPIC); VOCATIONAL EDUCATION;

EDUCATION, MEDICAL; EDUCATION, PROFESSIONAL; HEALTH PERSONNEL; HUMANS; META-ANALYSIS AS TOPIC; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS AS TOPIC; RESEARCH DESIGN;

EID: 84861091799     PISSN: 0142159X     EISSN: 1466187X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3109/0142159X.2012.671978     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. Benson K, Hartz AJ. 2000. A comparison of observational studies and randomized, controlled trials. N Engl J Med 342:1878-1886. (Pubitemid 30419053)
2. Bordage G. 2007. Moving the field forward: Going beyond quantitativequalitative. Acad Med 82(Suppl. 10):S126-S128. (Pubitemid 47482568)
3. Bordage G. 2009. Conceptual frameworks to illuminate and magnify. Med Educ 43:312-319.
4. Carney PA, Nierenberg DW, Pipas CF, Brooks WB, Stukel TA, Keller AM. 2004. Educational epidemiology: Applying population-based design and analytic approaches to study medical education. JAMA 292:1044-1050. (Pubitemid 39129191)
5. Chang JY, Chang GL, Chien CJ, Chung KC, Hsu AT. 2007. Effectiveness of two forms of feedback on training of a joint mobilization skill by using a joint translation simulator. Phys Ther 87:418-430.
6. Clark RE. 1983. Reconsidering research on learning from media. Rev Educ Res 53:445-459.
7. Colliver JA, Kucera K, Verhulst SJ. 2008. Meta-analysis of quasiexperimental research: Are systematic narrative reviews indicated? Med Educ 42:858-865.
8. Concato J, Shah N, Horwitz RI. 2000. Randomized, controlled trials, observational studies, and the hierarchy of research designs. N Engl J Med 342:1887-1892. (Pubitemid 30419054)
9. Cook DA. 2005. The research we still are not doing: An agenda for the study of computer-based learning. Acad Med 80:541-548. (Pubitemid 40734335)
10. Cook DA. 2008. Narrowing the focus and broadening horizons: Complementary roles for nonsystematic and systematic reviews. Adv Health Sci Educ 13:391-395.
11. Cook DA. 2009. Avoiding confounded comparisons in education research. Med Educ 43:102-104.
12. Cook DA. 2010. One drop at a time: Research to advance the science of simulation. Simul Healthc 5:1-4.
13. Cook DA, Beckman TJ. 2008. Reflections on experimental research in medical education. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 15(3):455-464.
14. Cook DA, Bordage G, Schmidt HG. 2008a. Description, justification, and clarification: A framework for classifying the purposes of research in medical education. Med Educ 42:128-133.
15. Cook DA, Erwin PJ, Triola MM. 2010a. Computerized virtual patients in health professions education: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acad Med 85:1589-1602.
16. Cook DA, Hatala R, Brydges R, Zendejas B, Szostek JH, Wang AT, Erwin P, Hamstra S. 2011a. Technology-enhanced simulation for health professions education: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 306:978-988.
17. Cook DA, Levinson AJ, Garside S. 2011b. Method and reporting quality in health professions education research: A systematic review. Med Educ 45:227-238.
18. Cook DA, Levinson AJ, Garside S, Dupras DM, Erwin PJ, Montori VM. 2008b. Internet-based learning in the health professions: A metaanalysis. JAMA 300:1181-1196.
19. Cook DA, Levinson AJ, Garside S, Dupras DM, Erwin PJ, Montori VM. 2010b. Instructional design variations in internet-based learning for health professions education: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acad Med 85:909-922.
20. Cook DA, Thompson WG, Thomas KG. 2009. Case-based or noncase- based questions for teaching postgraduate physicians: A randomized crossover trial. Acad Med 84:1419-1425.
21. Cook DA, Thompson WG, Thomas KG, Thomas MR, Pankratz VS. 2006. Impact of self-assessment questions and learning styles in web-based learning: A randomized, controlled, crossover trial. Acad Med 81:231-238. (Pubitemid 44288878)
22. Davis D, O'Brien MAT, Freemantle N, Wolf FM, Mazmanian P, Taylor- Vaisey A. 1999. Impact of formal continuing medical education: Do conferences, workshops, rounds, and other traditional continuing education activities change physician behavior or health care outcomes? JAMA 282:867-874. (Pubitemid 29408939)
23. Friedman CP, France CL, Drossman DD. 1991. A randomized comparison of alternative formats for clinical simulations. Med Decis Making 11:265-272.
24. Glass GV. 1976. Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research. Educ Researcher 5(10):3-8.
25. Gruppen LD. 2008. Is medical education research 'hard' or 'soft' research? Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 13:1-2.
26. Harden RM, Grant J, Buckley G, Hart IR. 1999. BEME guide no. 1: Best evidence medical education. Med Teach 21:553-562. (Pubitemid 30015814)
27. Hatala RM, Brooks LR, Norman GR. 2003. Practice makes perfect: The critical role of mixed practice in the acquisition of ECG interpretation skills. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 8:17-26. (Pubitemid 38981435)
28. Hawe P, Shiell A, Riley T. 2004. Complex interventions: How ''out of control'' can a randomised controlled trial be? BMJ 328: 1561-1563. (Pubitemid 38850320)
29. Kerfoot BP, Baker HE, Koch MO, Connelly D, Joseph DB, Ritchey ML. 2007. Randomized, controlled trial of spaced education to urology residents in the United States and Canada. J Urol 177:1481-1487. (Pubitemid 46435993)
30. Kopp V, Stark R, Fischer MR. 2008. Fostering diagnostic knowledge through computer-supported, case-based worked examples: Effects of erroneous examples and feedback. Med Educ 42:823-829. (Pubitemid 352019172)
31. Lau J, Ioannidis JPA, Schmid CH. 1997. Quantitative synthesis in systematic reviews. Ann Intern Med 127:820-826. (Pubitemid 27465551)
32. Lewin K. 1951. Problems of research in social psychology. In: Artwright DC, editor. Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers. New York: Harper & Row. pp 155-169.
33. Ma IW, Brindle ME, Ronksley PE, Lorenzetti DL, Sauve RS, Ghali WA. 2011. Use of simulation-based education to improve outcomes of central venous catheterization: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acad Med 86:1137-1147.
34. Mcgaghie WC, Issenberg SB, Cohen ER, Barsuk JH, Wayne DB. 2011. Does simulation-based medical education with deliberate practice yield better results than traditional clinical education? A meta-analytic comparative review of the evidence. Acad Med 86:706-711.
35. Mennin S. 2010. Self-organisation, integration and curriculum in the complex world of medical education. Med Educ 44:20-30.
36. Montori VM, Swiontkowski MF, Cook DJ. 2003. Methodologic issues in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Clin Orthop Relat Res 413:43-54. (Pubitemid 38063298)
37. Norman G. 2003. RCT = results confounded and trivial: The perils of grand educational experiments. Med Educ 37:582-584. (Pubitemid 36831342)
38. Norman G. 2011. Chaos, complexity and complicatedness: Lessons from rocket science. Med Educ 45:549-559.
39. Pawson R, Greenhalgh T, Harvey G, Walshe K. 2005. Realist review - A new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions. J Health Serv Res Policy 10(Suppl. 1):21-34. (Pubitemid 40993882)
40. Regehr G. 2010. It's NOT rocket science: Rethinking our metaphors for research in health professions education. Med Educ 44:31-39.
41. Thistlethwaite, Hammick, Davies, Greenhalgh, Dornan, Calese S. 2012. What is evidence? Reflections on the AMEE symposium, Vienna, August 2011. Med Teach 34(6).
42. Wong G, Greenhalgh T, Westhorp G, Pawson R. 2012. Realist methods in medical education research: What are they and what can they contribute? Med Educ 46:89-96.