Researching Medical Education is an authoritative guide to excellence in educational research in the health professions. Presented by the Association for the Study of Medical Education and the Association for Medical Education in Europe, Researching Medical Education includes contributions from a team of international clinicians and non-clinical researchers in health education, representing a range of disciplines and backgrounds.

This accessible reference provides readers with the basic building blocks of research, introduces a range of theories and how to use them, illustrates a diversity of methods and their use, and gives guidance on practical researcher development.

By linking theory and design and methods across the health profession education research spectrum, this book supports the improvement of quality, capacity building and knowledge generation. Researching Medical Education is the ideal resource for anyone researching health education, from undergraduate, through postgraduate training, to continuing professional development.

Professor Jennifer Cleland is John Simpson Chair of Medical Education, University of Aberdeen, and Chair, Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME)

Professor Steven J. Durning is Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, and Chair, Association for Medical Education Europe (AMEE) Research Group

Contributors vii

Foreword xi

Foreword from ASME xiii

Foreword from AMEE  xv

Preface xvii

Acknowledgements xxi

Part 1: A primer of healthcare education research

1 Exploring versus measuring: considering the fundamental differences between qualitative and quantitative research 3
Jennifer Cleland

2 Theory in healthcare education research: the importance of worldview 15
Wendy McMillan

3 Literature reviews: who is the audience? 25
Geoff Wong

4 Developing the research question: setting the course for your research travels 35
Juanita Bezuidenhout and Susan van Schalkwyk

5 Power analyses: planning conducting and evaluating education research 43
R. Brent Stansfield and Larry Gruppen

Part 2: Theory informing educational research

6 Constructivism: learning theories and approaches to research 51
Karen Mann and Anna MacLeod

7 Making visible what matters: sociomaterial approaches for research and practice in healthcare education 67
Tara Fenwick and Graham R. Nimmo

8 Sticking with messy realities: how ‘thinking with complexity’ can inform healthcare education research 81
Alan Bleakley and Jennifer Cleland

9 Activity theory: mediating research in medical education 93
Jenny Johnston and Tim Dornan

10 Social cognitive theory: thinking and learning in social settings 105
Dario Torre and Steven J. Durning

11 Participatory practices at work: Understanding and appraising healthcare students’ learning through workplace experiences 117
Stephen Billett and Linda Sweet

12 Theoretical perspectives on identity: researching identities in healthcare education 129
Lynn V. Monrouxe and Charlotte E. Rees

13 Health behaviour theories: a conceptual lens to explore behaviour change 141
Francois Cilliers Lambert Schuwirth and Cees van der Vleuten

14 Self-regulated learning in healthcare profession education: theoretical perspectives and research methods 155
Anthony R. Artino Jr. Ryan Brydges and Larry D. Gruppen

15 What are values and how can we assess them? Implications for values-based recruitment in healthcare 167
Fiona Patterson Máire Kerrin Marise Ph. Born Janneke K. Oostrom and Linda Prescott-Clements

16 Emotions and learning: cognitive theoretical and methodological approaches to studying the influence of emotions on learning 181
Meghan McConnell and Kevin Eva

17 Research on instructional design in the health sciences: from taxonomies of learning to whole-task models 193
Jeroen J. G. van Merrienboer and Diana H. J. M. Dolmans

18 Cognitive load theory: researching and planning teaching to maximise learning 207
Jimmie Leppink Tamara van Gog Fred Paas and John Sweller

19 Deliberate practice and mastery learning: origins of expert medical performance 219
William C. McGaghie and Theresa Kristopaitis

20 Reframing research on widening participation in medical education: using theory to inform practice 231
Sandra Nicholson and Jennifer Cleland

21 Qualitative research methodologies: embracing methodological borrowing shifting and importing 245
Lara Varpio Maria Athina (Tina) Martimianakis and Maria Mylopoulos

Part 3: Developing your practice as an educational researcher

22 How to tell compelling scientific stories: tips for artful use of the research manuscript and presentation genres 259
Lorelei Lingard and Erik Driessen

23 Leadership management and mentoring: applying theory to practice 269
Judy McKimm and Helen O’Sullivan

24 Programmatic research: building and sustaining capacity 281
David Taylor and Trevor Gibbs

25 Conclusion 289
Jennifer Cleland and Steven J. Durning

Index 293