scholarly journals Adding to the debate on the numbers of options for MCQs: the case for not being limited to MCQs with three, four or five options

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Tweed
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Variable Number ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Computer Based

Abstract Background There is a significant body of literature that indicates that the number of options for single-best answer multiple choice questions (MCQs) can be reduced from five to three or four without adversely affecting the quality of the questions and tests. Three or four options equates to two or three distractors respectively. Maintext Whilst these arguments may be true when focusing on psychometric aspects of questions, we should also focus on educational and clinical authenticity aspects of questions. I present reasons for MCQs in tests to have a variable number of options which will usually be more than three, four, or five. These include: decisions related to broad clinical scenarios cannot be limited to a small number of options; options lists should include all possible combinations of option elements; and options that are rarely chosen can provide information regarding students and/or for students. Conclusion Finally, given computer based delivery, longer option lists are not impractical for examinees. In the contexts that are appropriate, it is time to consider a move to adopting appropriate and variable numbers of MCQ options and not be limited to MCQs with three, four or five options.

scholarly journals Subjective quality of multiple choice questions used in undergraduate courses in orthopedics and other specialties

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Husnain ◽  
Asif Khan ◽  
Mohammad Umer Khan ◽  
Faisal Nazeer Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Subjective Quality ◽  
Educational Activity ◽  
P Value ◽  
Cognitive Level ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Medical Colleges

Background and Objective: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) can sample broad domains of knowledge efficiently and reliably. The MCQs of lower order C1(Cognitive Level1=Recall of knowledge) do not fulfill this purpose and those of higher cognitive order C2 (Cognitive Level2=Interpret) &C3(Cognitive Level3=Analyze) are better at assessing the problem solving capabilities of the student. Every good educational activity must be supported by quality examination to complete the objectives of a curriculum. The objective of the study was to evaluate MCQs presently being used in internal examinations of medical colleges in Lahore. Methods: Papers consisting of MCQs from Orthopedics other specialties were collected in June 2019 from different medical colleges of Lahore and reviewed by a senior medical teacher without blinding and without his knowing the scores the students had been awarded before. Question statement, clinical scenarios, options and other mistakes were assessed in each item on predetermined criteria. Cognitive level of the item was determined if it was asking for a recall/identify/ analyze response. The results were tabulated and compared in two groups i.e. Miscellaneous and Orthopedics. Results: Most of the items(total=589) in both groups were of C1 cognitive level though Orthopedics (229) were slightly better (χ2 = 49.882 P-Value = 0.000 (Statistically Significant). Miscellaneous group (360) was better in quality in making clinical scenarios (χ2 = 29.952 P-Value = 0.000 (Statistically Significant) and writing a question statement without confusion. Options were better written in both groups. A good percentage of items needed to be corrected for mistakes in spellings, grammar and segregation into under graduate level. Conclusions: The cognitive level of assessment tool s MCQs is quiet low in both groups especially clinical scenario construction can be improved. Mistakes in spellings, grammar and conceptual mediocrity is common in both groups. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.2864 How to cite this:Husnain A, Khan A, Khan MU, Hussain FN. Subjective quality of multiple choice questions used in undergraduate courses in orthopedics and other specialties. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(7):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.2864 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

CORRELATION OF DIFFICULTY INDEX AND DISCRIMINATING INDEX IN MEDICAL STUDENT’S ASSESSMENT.

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-10
Author(s):  
Bhoomika R. Chauhan ◽  
Jayesh Vaza ◽  
Girish R. Chauhan ◽  
Pradip R. Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Discriminating Power ◽  
Good Discriminator ◽  
Difficulty Index ◽  
The Relationship

Multiple choice questions are nowadays used in competitive examination and formative assessment to assess the student's eligibility and certification.Item analysis is the process of collecting,summarizing and using information from students' responses to assess the quality of test items.Goal of the study was to identify the relationship between the item difficulty index and item discriminating index in medical student's assessment. 400 final year medical students from various medical colleges responded 200 items constructed for the study.The responses were assessed and analysed for item difficulty index and item discriminating power. Item difficulty index an item discriminating power were analysed by statical methods to identify correlation.The discriminating power of the items with difficulty index in 40%-50% was the highest. Summary and Conclusion:Items with good difficulty index in range of 30%-70% are good discriminator.

Experience Versus Potential of Multiple-Choice Tests in Marketing Courses

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Test Form ◽  
Multiple Choice Tests ◽  
Choice Tests ◽  
Classroom Evaluation ◽  
Quality Objective ◽  
Multiple Choice Items

Most educators agree that classroom evaluation practices need improvement. One way to improve testing is to use high-quality objective multiple-choice exams. Almost any understanding or ability which can be tested by another test form can also be tested by means of multiple-choice items. Based on a survey of 173 respondents, it appears that marketing teachers are disenchanted with multiple-choice questions and use them sparingly. Further, their limited use is largely in the introductory marketing course even though there are emerging pressures for universities to take a closer look at the quality of classroom evaluation at all levels.

E-Assessment and Multiple-Choice Questions

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
José Azevedo ◽  
Ema Patrícia Oliveira ◽  
Patrícia Damas Beites
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Mathematics Tests ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Computer Based

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the assessment process is becoming an asset, giving rise to the so-called computer-based assessment or e-assessment. Nowadays, its use is becoming more usual in higher education institutions. Closed formats for questions, namely multiple choice, are the most commonly used. This chapter presents a literature review of the main aspects related to this topic, including the main modalities of assessment (summative assessment and continuous assessment). Issues related to multiple choice questions (MCQ) are discussed with more detail, referring to the various formats of MCQ, its advantages and limitations, with a particular focus on its use in mathematics tests. Also, some guidelines for the quality assurance of MCQ with quality are included.

scholarly journals Comparison in the quality of distractors in three and four options type of multiple choice questions

2017 ◽  
Vol Volume 8 ◽  
pp. 287-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
AAG Rahma ◽  
Mahdi Shamad ◽  
Muawia E A Idris ◽  
Omer Elfaki ◽  
Walyeldin Elfakey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple Choice Questions of Information Entropy Analysis of Equivalent Options

2014 ◽  
Vol 556-562 ◽  
pp. 3726-3729
Author(s):  
Peng Dong Du ◽  
Tao Sun
Keyword(s):  
Information Entropy ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Calculation Formula ◽  
Entropy Analysis ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Single Item ◽  
Problem Number

Single choice is one of the most extensive use of various types of test after test, the effectiveness of each option subject judgment can provide an important reference for the evaluation of the quality of test. In this paper, through the analysis of the single item choice information entropy problem, provides the calculation formula of this kind of problem number of equivalent options K.

scholarly journals TEACHING METHODOLOGIES;

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (05) ◽  
pp. 597-603
Author(s):  
Fatima MUKHTAR ◽  
NOREEN HASHMI ◽  
MUHAMMAD ALI RAUF ◽  
Amna Anzar ◽  
Khurram Islam Butt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Good Teacher ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Skills Laboratory

Objective: To determine preferences of medical students for modes of teaching, qualities of a good teacher and assessmenttechniques in medical education. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore. Period:January 2011. Material & Methods: All students of third and fourth year MBBS classes were included in the study (n=127). A pre-testedquestionnaire was used for data collection. A 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 7(strongly agree) was used to determinestudent’s preferences of teaching styles. The data was recorded using SPSS version 16.0. Descriptive statistics were computed. Results: Thepreferred teaching methods for basic science subjects were skills laboratory 88(70%), followed by problem based learning 70(55%) andinteractive lectures 65(51%). The same teaching methods i.e. skills laboratory 101(80%), problem based learning 89(70%) and interactivelectures 79(62%) were also popular for the teaching of clinical science subjects. The least preferred teaching method for both basic 51(40%)and clinical 58(46%) sciences was didactic lectures. The desirable quality of a good teacher was reported as teaching skills 111(87%) and thepreferred assessment technique was found to be multiple choice questions 90(71%). Conclusions: Students prefer the student centredteaching styles as opposed to the traditional approach. Good teaching skill is the most desirable quality of a teacher and most students like to beassessed by multiple choice questions.

scholarly journals Quality of multiple choice questions in undergraduate pharmacology assessments in a teaching hospital of Kerala, India: an item analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 1265
Author(s):  
Manju K. Nair ◽  
Dawnji S. R.
Keyword(s):  
Item Analysis ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Discrimination Index ◽  
Response Type ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Best Response ◽  
Difficulty Index ◽  
Upper Third

Background: Carefully constructed, high quality multiple choice questions can serve as effective tools to improve standard of teaching. This item analysis was performed to find the difficulty index, discrimination index and number of non functional distractors in single best response type questions.Methods: 40 single best response type questions with four options, each carrying one mark for the correct response, was taken for item analysis. There was no negative marking. The maximum marks was 40. Based on the scores, the evaluated answer scripts were arranged with the highest score on top and the least score at the bottom. Only the upper third and lower third were included. The response to each item was entered in Microsoft excel 2010. Difficulty index, Discrimination index and number of non functional distractors per item were calculated.Results: 40 multiple choice questions and 120 distractors were analysed in this study. 72.5% items were good with a difficulty index between 30%-70%. 25% items were difficult and 2.5% items were easy. 27.5% items showed excellent discrimination between high scoring and low scoring students. One item had a negative discrimination index (-0.1). There were 9 items with non functional distractors.Conclusions: This study emphasises the need for improving the quality of multiple choice questions. Hence repeated evaluation by item analysis and modification of non functional distractors may be performed to enhance standard of teaching in Pharmacology.

scholarly journals Newborn Life Support Course: Does it make me more confident when resuscitating a newborn?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent RENESME ◽  
Maria Merched ◽  
Olivier Tandonnet ◽  
Julien Naud
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Neonatal Resuscitation ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Job Tenure ◽  
Maternity Ward ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Clinical Applicability

Objective. To describe the effectiveness of the Neonatal Life Support (NLS) course in terms of attendees′ knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, and clinical applicability. Methods. We conducted an electronic survey of NLS course attendees (NLS+ group). The survey had six themes: i) demographic characteristics; ii) NLS clinical applicability; iii) attendee′s perceived proficiency at neonatal resuscitation; iv) attendee′s perceived experience of fluency, security, and quality of care during neonatal resuscitation; v) knowledge (multiple-choice questions); and vi) perceived personal and professional impact of the NLS course. A control group (NLS−) was recruited via our regional perinatal network. The survey data were analysed anonymously. Multiple linear regression analysis examined the following: NLS course, job tenure, maternity level, and profession. Results. The survey completion rate was 62% (200/323) for the NLS+ group. Among participants, 84% had participated in neonatal resuscitation since their course. The scores for positive perceived experience for neonatal resuscitation (fluency, security, and quality of care delivered) were higher in the NLS+ group than the NLS− group (p < 0.006). After adjustment, the independent factors associated with a higher positive perceived experience were the NLS course, work in tertiary level maternity ward, and job tenure > 5 years. The multiple-choice questions score (n = 10) was 8.2 ± 1.3 (NLS+) vs. 6.7 ± 1.5 (NLS−) (p < 0.0001). NLS course, medical degree, and work in a tertiary level maternity ward were independently associated with higher knowledge scores. Conclusion. The NLS course was associated with better knowledge of, and a positive perceived experience regarding, neonatal resuscitation.

scholarly journals Quality Analysis of Islamic Education Problem Based on Higher Order Thinking Skill Class V SDS Budi Mulia Medan

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 610-615
Author(s):  
Ali Imran Sinaga ◽  
Salamuddin ◽  
Alnida Azty
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Higher Order Thinking ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Islamic Education ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Thinking Skill ◽  
Class V ◽  
The Subject

The purpose of this study was to analyze the theoretical quality of the subjects of Islamic Education class V SDS Budi Mulia is based on Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) based on aspects of material, construction, language and based on HOTS based on Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive domains. This research was conducted at SDS Budi Mulia Medan Tanjung Mulia Hilir District Medan North Sumatra Province and the subject and object of research are Islamic Education teacher class V and Islamic Education questions in semester I Class V. The research method used is to use a qualitative approach and use the instrument of semester I Islamic Education questions and interviews with Islamic Education teachers to theoretically analyze the quality of items based on material, construction and language aspects and based on quality analysis of HOTS-based items. The results of the study of 35 multiple choice questions obtained the following results: (1) based on the analysis of the item quality aspects of the material feasibility of 91.42% (32 questions) worth using, there are some questions that do not meet the criteria such as material that is not in accordance with the composition, answer choices which is not homogeneous and logical and the existence of questions that do not have the answer key, (2) based on the analysis of the quality of the aspects of the construction feasibility of 88.57% (31 questions) are suitable to be used, there are some questions that do not meet the criteria such as the subject still gives clues to the answer key and the length of the choice of money answers are not the same, (3) based on the analysis of items about the aspect of language worthiness of 42.85% (20 questions) worth using, there are some questions that do not meet the criteria such as using language that is not in accordance with Indonesian language rules, and the choice of answers repeat the same word / group of words, and (4) Based on an analysis of the quality of items according to the Bloom domain's taxonomy cognitive can be concluded from 35 multiple choice questions obtained that there are 17 questions (48.6%) including the LOTS questions category with details C1 (remembering) = 8 questions (22.8%), C2 (understanding) = 3 questions (8 , 7%), C3 (applying) = 6 questions (17.1%). While the rest included in the HOTS questions category, however all of them were in the C4 criteria (Analysis) = 18 questions (51.4%) while none of the questions were in C5 and C6.

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