Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents

Abstract Background Learners often utilize online resources to supplement formalized curricula, and to appropriately support learning, these resources should be of high quality. Thus, the objectives of this study are to develop and provide validity evidence supporting an assessment tool designed to...

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Main Authors: Nathan Yang, Sarah Hosseini, Marco A. Mascarella, Meredith Young, Nancy Posel, Kevin Fung, Lily H. P. Nguyen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-05-01
Series:Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
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Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40463-017-0220-4
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author Nathan Yang
Sarah Hosseini
Marco A. Mascarella
Meredith Young
Nancy Posel
Kevin Fung
Lily H. P. Nguyen
author_facet Nathan Yang
Sarah Hosseini
Marco A. Mascarella
Meredith Young
Nancy Posel
Kevin Fung
Lily H. P. Nguyen
author_sort Nathan Yang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Learners often utilize online resources to supplement formalized curricula, and to appropriately support learning, these resources should be of high quality. Thus, the objectives of this study are to develop and provide validity evidence supporting an assessment tool designed to assess the quality of educational websites in Otolaryngology- Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), and identify those that could support effective web-based learning. Methods After a literature review, the Modified Education in Otolaryngology Website (MEOW) assessment tool was designed by a panel of experts based on a previously validated website assessment tool. A search strategy using a Google-based search engine was used subsequently to identify websites. Those that were free of charge and in English were included. Websites were coded for whether their content targeted medical students or residents. Using the MEOW assessment tool, two independent raters scored the websites. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were evaluated, and scores were compared to recommendations from a content expert. Results The MEOW assessment tool included a total of 20 items divided in 8 categories related to authorship, frequency of revision, content accuracy, interactivity, visual presentation, navigability, speed and recommended hyperlinks. A total of 43 out of 334 websites identified by the search met inclusion criteria. The scores generated by our tool appeared to differentiate higher quality websites from lower quality ones: websites that the expert “would recommend” scored 38.4 (out of 56; CI [34.4–42.4]) and “would not recommend” 27.0 (CI [23.2–30.9]). Inter-rater and intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient were greater than 0.7. Conclusions Using the MEOW assessment tool, high quality ORL-HNS educational websites were identified.
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spelling doaj-art-5b0e0a432d1f42c694bfc1ea07ff79862025-08-20T01:47:50ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery1916-02162017-05-014611910.1186/s40463-017-0220-4Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residentsNathan Yang0Sarah Hosseini1Marco A. Mascarella2Meredith Young3Nancy Posel4Kevin Fung5Lily H. P. Nguyen6Faculty of Medicine, McGill UniversityFaculty of Medicine, McGill UniversityDepartment of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, McGill UniversityCenter for Medical Education, McGill UniversityMcGill Molson Medical Informatics, McGill UniversityDepartment of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Western UniversityDepartment of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, McGill UniversityAbstract Background Learners often utilize online resources to supplement formalized curricula, and to appropriately support learning, these resources should be of high quality. Thus, the objectives of this study are to develop and provide validity evidence supporting an assessment tool designed to assess the quality of educational websites in Otolaryngology- Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), and identify those that could support effective web-based learning. Methods After a literature review, the Modified Education in Otolaryngology Website (MEOW) assessment tool was designed by a panel of experts based on a previously validated website assessment tool. A search strategy using a Google-based search engine was used subsequently to identify websites. Those that were free of charge and in English were included. Websites were coded for whether their content targeted medical students or residents. Using the MEOW assessment tool, two independent raters scored the websites. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were evaluated, and scores were compared to recommendations from a content expert. Results The MEOW assessment tool included a total of 20 items divided in 8 categories related to authorship, frequency of revision, content accuracy, interactivity, visual presentation, navigability, speed and recommended hyperlinks. A total of 43 out of 334 websites identified by the search met inclusion criteria. The scores generated by our tool appeared to differentiate higher quality websites from lower quality ones: websites that the expert “would recommend” scored 38.4 (out of 56; CI [34.4–42.4]) and “would not recommend” 27.0 (CI [23.2–30.9]). Inter-rater and intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient were greater than 0.7. Conclusions Using the MEOW assessment tool, high quality ORL-HNS educational websites were identified.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40463-017-0220-4Medical educationAssessment toolOnline resources
spellingShingle Nathan Yang
Sarah Hosseini
Marco A. Mascarella
Meredith Young
Nancy Posel
Kevin Fung
Lily H. P. Nguyen
Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Medical education
Assessment tool
Online resources
title Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
title_full Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
title_fullStr Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
title_full_unstemmed Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
title_short Identifying high quality medical education websites in Otolaryngology: a guide for medical students and residents
title_sort identifying high quality medical education websites in otolaryngology a guide for medical students and residents
topic Medical education
Assessment tool
Online resources
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40463-017-0220-4
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