title: Designing and conducting simulation-based research.
abstract: As simulation is increasingly used to study questions pertaining to pediatrics, it is important that investigators use rigorous methods to conduct their research. In this article, we discuss several important aspects of conducting simulation-based research in pediatrics. First, we describe, from a pediatric perspective, the 2 main types of simulation-based research: (1) studies that assess the efficacy of simulation as a training methodology and (2) studies where simulation is used as an investigative methodology. We provide a framework to help structure research questions for each type of research and describe illustrative examples of published research in pediatrics using these 2 frameworks. Second, we highlight the benefits of simulation-based research and how these apply to pediatrics. Third, we describe simulation-specific confounding variables that serve as threats to the internal validity of simulation studies and offer strategies to mitigate these confounders. Finally, we discuss the various types of outcome measures available for simulation research and offer a list of validated pediatric assessment tools that can be used in future simulation-based studies.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Section of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital; adam.cheng@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut;
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Auerbach
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland;
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California;
authors.forename: Todd P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Office of Medical Education, Division of Educational Informatics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York;
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pusic
authors.affiliation: Division of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and.
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nadkarni
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kessler
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003479:Curriculum; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008348:Manikins; D008954:Models, Biological; D017145:Models, Educational; D016544:Patient Simulation; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000639:trends*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: education; pediatric; research; simulation; study design