title: The timely completion of objective assessment tools for evaluation of technical skills.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To this date the effect of the time taken to complete an evaluation on the psychometric properties of the instrument has not been reported. The goal of our study was to assess the effect of time taken to complete an evaluation on its validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional validation study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The global and checklist parts of tonsillectomy, mastoidectomy, rigid bronchoscopy, and endoscopic sinus surgery were used in the operating room by the otolaryngology faculty to evaluate the surgical skills of the residents. We categorized evaluations into two groups depending on the time taken to complete an evaluation (group A ≤ 6 days, group B >6 days). Construct validity was calculated for both groups by comparing the mean global and checklist scores of the residents across advancing postgraduate year levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 468 evaluations, consisting of global and checklist parts, were completed for 29 residents by 32 evaluators. Mean number of days taken to complete an evaluation was 7.7 days. For all the evaluations completed within a 6-day time period, the construct validity was significant for both global and checklist parts of the four instruments. In cases of the evaluations completed after 6 days, the construct validity was significant for the tonsillectomy instrument only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that the time taken to complete an evaluation has a significant effect on the construct validity of the objective instrument. In the future, efforts should be focused on faculty development to ensure timely completion of the evaluation for a more valid assessment process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Kulsoom
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Laeeq
authors.forename: Howard W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: David A Diaz Voss
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: Mohammad Umair
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Nasir I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Bhatti
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards*; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis