title: Exploring how students think: a new method combining think-aloud and concept mapping protocols.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A key element of medical competence is problem solving. Previous work has shown that doctors use inductive reasoning to progress from facts to hypotheses and deductive reasoning to move from hypotheses to the gathering of confirmatory information. No individual assessment method has been designed to quantify the use of inductive and deductive procedures within clinical reasoning. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and reliability of a new method which allows for the rapid identification of the style (inductive or deductive) of clinical reasoning in medical students and experts.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included four groups of four participants. These comprised groups of medical students in Years 3, 4 and 5 and a group of specialists in internal medicine, all at a medical school with a 6-year curriculum in France. Participants were asked to solve four clinical problems by thinking aloud. The thinking expressed aloud was immediately transcribed into concept maps by one or two 'writers' trained to distinguish inductive and deductive links. Reliability was assessed by estimating the inter-writer correlation. The calculated rate of inductive reasoning, the richness score and the rate of exhaustiveness of reasoning were compared according to the level of expertise of the individual and the type of clinical problem.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of maps drawn amounted to 32 for students in Year 4, 32 for students in Year 5, 16 for students in Year 3 and 16 for experts. A positive correlation was found between writers (R = 0.66-0.93). Richness scores and rates of exhaustiveness of reasoning did not differ according to expertise level. The rate of inductive reasoning varied as expected according to the nature of the clinical problem and was lower in experts (41% versus 67%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new method showed good reliability and may be a promising tool for the assessment of medical problem-solving skills, giving teachers a means of diagnosing how their students think when they are confronted with clinical problems.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Pierre
authors: P
authors: Pottier
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Jean-Benoit
authors: JB
authors: Hardouin
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Brian D
authors: BD
authors: Hodges
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Marc-Antoine
authors: MA
authors: Pistorius
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Jérome
authors: J
authors: Connault
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Cécile
authors: C
authors: Durant
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Renaud
authors: R
authors: Clairand
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Véronique
authors: V
authors: Sebille
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Jacques-Henri
authors: JH
authors: Barrier
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital Centre, Nantes, FranceTeam for Biostatistics (EA 4572), Department of Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Science, University of Nantes, Nantes, FranceWilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Bernard
authors: B
authors: Planchon
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003479:Curriculum; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013850:Thinking