title: Educational epidemiology: applying population-based design and analytic approaches to study medical education.
abstract: Conducting educational research in medical schools is challenging partly because interventional controlled research designs are difficult to apply. In addition, strict accreditation requirements and student/faculty concerns about educational inequality reduce the flexibility needed to plan and execute educational experiments. Consequently, there is a paucity of rigorous and generalizable educational research to provide an evidence-guided foundation to support educational effectiveness. "Educational epidemiology," ie, the application across the physician education continuum of observational designs (eg, cross-sectional, longitudinal, cohort, and case-control studies) and randomized experimental designs (eg, randomized controlled trials, randomized crossover designs), could revolutionize the conduct of research in medical education. Furthermore, the creation of a comprehensive national network of educational epidemiologists could enhance collaboration and the development of a strong educational research foundation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover and Lebanon, NH 03756, USA. patricia.a.carney@dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Nierenberg
authors.forename: Catherine F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Pipas
authors.forename: W Blair
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Therese A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Stukel
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D012107:Research Design