"The MedEd LIFE Research Collaborative has been hard at work on a research agenda evaluating blogs and podcasts for the past three years. We have attempted to quantify their growth and development (studies 1-3), quantify the impact (study 4), outline ways to improve them (studies 6-7), and develop tools to evaluate their quality (studies 8-13). The METRIQ study will bring all of this work together in an effort to validate the quality evaluation tools that have been developed.
We understand that free access to research is important - particularly so when it is on the topic of Free Open Access Medical education (FOAM). For that reason we have done everything in our power to make the publications that led to and result from the METRIQ Study accessible. This page links to our formal journal publications as well as freely archived PDF versions of the articles in our research agenda. When free access to the published PDF is not available through a recognized repository and publication rules allow, we will self-archive a post-refereed version of our manuscripts. If you ever have difficulty accessing literature that has been published by our group, please CONTACT US so that we can find a personally share a copy with you. We are readily available via email and on Twitter."
Studies:
- This study quantified the number of emergency medicine and critical care blogs and podcasts.
- This survey study evaluated the use of various open educational resources by emergency medicine residents and program directors.
- This scoping review provided an overview of the landscape of digital products that were historically used for medical education.
- This study derived and provided validity evidence for the use of an impact factor for blogs and podcasts: the Social Media Index.
- Building on historical paradigms, this innovation report explored how ALiEM incorporated expert peer review could be into a medical education blog.
- Building on 5, this innovation report explored how a new model of "Coached Peer Review" was implemented at CanadiEM to foster junior authors and editors.
- This study shifted the focus to defining quality. A systematic review and quality analysis were conducted to develop quality indicators for blogs and podcasts.
- This Delphi study built consensus among a group of emergency medicine physicians on which quality indicators were the most important.
- This Delphi study built consensus among a group of medical educators on which quality indicators were the most important.
- This paper translated the information in studies 5 and 6 by developing user-friendly checklists for blogs and podcasts.
- This study evaluated the ALiEM AIR Score for validity and reliability as a measure of assessment for blog posts.
- This study evaluated the level of agreement of medical students, residents, and attendings on gestalt evaluation of blog quality.
- This study combined the data from studies 5 and 6 along with new information to derive two quality "decision rules", METRIQ-5 and METRIQ-8.