The Hiker's Guide to the RIME Supplement: Choosing Directions in Research

In this Commentary, the authors seek to build on prior RIME commentaries by considering how researchers transition from worldviews, focal lengths, and research goals to research directions and methodological choices. The authors use the analogy of a hiker to illustrate how different researchers stud...

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Published inAcademic medicine Vol. 95; no. 11S Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead: Proceedings of the 59th Annual Research in Medical Education Presentations; p. S1
Main Authors Sewell, Justin L, Leep Hunderfund, Andrea N, Schumacher, Daniel J, Zaidi, Zareen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.2020
Subjects
Betacoronavirus
Biomedical Research - organization & administration
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
COVID-19
Curriculum
Education, Medical - organization & administration
Humans
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Research Design
SARS-CoV-2
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Summary:In this Commentary, the authors seek to build on prior RIME commentaries by considering how researchers transition from worldviews, focal lengths, and research goals to research directions and methodological choices. The authors use the analogy of a hiker to illustrate how different researchers studying a similar phenomenon can choose among different research directions, which lead down different paths and offer different perspectives on a problem. Following the hiker analogy, the authors use the "Research Compass" to categorize the 15 research papers included in the 2020 Research in Medical Education supplement according to their research aim and corresponding methodological approach. The authors then discuss implications of the relative balance of these study types within this supplement and within health professions education research at large, emphasizing the critical importance of studying a topic from multiple vantage points to construct a richer and more nuanced understanding of health professions education challenges. The authors conclude by recognizing the challenges we face in the current era of COVID-19 and by calling health professions education researchers and practitioners to continue our collective efforts to improve learner education and patient care, as we together navigate the unfamiliar terrain of the present day.
ISSN:1938-808X
DOI:10.1097/ACM.0000000000003647