Development of a research ethics knowledge and analytical skills assessment tool

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 236 - 242
• Main Authors: Taylor, Holly A, Kass, Nancy E, Ali, Joseph, Sisson, Stephen, Bertram, Amanda, Bhan, Anant
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics 01.04.2012; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Analysis; Applied ethics; availability of contraceptives to minors; Bioethics; CAI; capital punishment; Clinical Competence; Cohort Studies; Company business management; Computer assisted instruction; Education; education for healthcare professionals; Educational Measurement - methods; Essays; Ethical behavior; Ethical instruction; Ethics; ethics committees/consultation; Ethics, Research - education; Human subjects; Humans; Informed consent; international affairs; Knowledge; law; Learning; legal aspects; Management; Medical research personnel; Medical researchers; Moral judgment; philosophical ethics; Posttests; Principles; Program Development - methods; qualitative methods; Reproducibility of Results; Research Design; Research ethics; research on special populations; Research tools; Review boards; Teaching; Teaching and learning ethics; Training; Validity; India
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100025

IntroductionThe goal of this project was to develop and validate a new tool to evaluate learners' knowledge and skills related to research ethics.MethodsA core set of 50 questions from existing computer-based online teaching modules were identified, refined and supplemented to create a set of 74 multiple-choice, true/false and short answer questions. The questions were pilot-tested and item discrimination was calculated for each question. Poorly performing items were eliminated or refined. Two comparable assessment tools were created. These assessment tools were administered as a pre-test and post-test to a cohort of 58 Indian junior health research investigators before and after exposure to a new course on research ethics. Half of the investigators were exposed to the course online, the other half in person. Item discrimination was calculated for each question and Cronbach's α for each assessment tool. A final version of the assessment tool that incorporated the best questions from the pre-/post-test phase was used to assess retention of research ethics knowledge and skills 3 months after course delivery.ResultsThe final version of the REKASA includes 41 items and had a Cronbach's α of 0.837.ConclusionThe results illustrate, in one sample of learners, the successful, systematic development and use of a knowledge and skills assessment tool in research ethics capable of not only measuring basic knowledge in research ethics and oversight but also assessing learners' ability to apply ethics knowledge to the analytical task of reasoning through research ethics cases, without reliance on essay or discussion-based examination. These promising preliminary findings should be confirmed with additional groups of learners.