Psychometric Validation of a Medical and Health Professions Course Evaluation Questionnaire

Abstract

Education in the medical and health professions is considerably different than education in most higher education contexts (e.g., multiple instructors, clinical focus, student cohorts, etc.). Thus, despite a mature research literature relating to course and instructor evaluations in higher education, there largely is an absence of such literature in medical and health professions education. This study sought to contribute to the medical and health professions education literature by: 1) introducing a new instrument for evaluating course effectiveness; 2) demonstrating how to conduct a state-of-the-art psychometric validation study of an instrument’s psychometric properties; and 3) providing a framework for interpreting construct validity evidence. Results of the validation study indicated a considerable amount of construct validity evidence is discernible to conclude the instrument is capable of producing valid and reliable measures of course quality and effectiveness. Other medical and health professions educators are encouraged to adopt the instrument for use at one’s own campus, and/or replicate the validation procedures on other survey instruments.