title: Quality of published Iranian medical education research studies: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research in medical education has been paid more attention than before; however the quality of research reporting has not been comprehensively appraised. To evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of Iranian published medical education articles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Articles describing medical students, residents, fellows or program evaluation were included. Articles related to continuing medical education or faculty development, review articles and reports, and studies considering both medical and nonmedical students were excluded. We searched MEDLINE through PubMed in addition to major Iranian medical education search engines and databases including Scientific Information Database (SID) from March 2003 to March 2008. The Medical Education Research Quality Index (MERSQI) scale and the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT 2001) were used for experimental studies and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) was utilized for observational studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety five articles were found to be related to the medical education research in Iran including 16 (16.8%) experimental studies. Total MERSQI scores ranged between 3.82 and 13.09 with the mean of 8.39 points. Mean domain scores were highest for data analysis (1.85) and lowest for validity (0.61). The most frequently reported item was background (96%) and the least reported was the study limitations (16%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quality of published medical education research in Iran seems to be suboptimal.
authors.affiliation: 1. MD. Research Fellow, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Pedram
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Golnari
authors.affiliation: 2. MD. Research Fellow, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sodagari
authors.affiliation: 3. MD., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. baradaran.hr@iums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Baradaran
keywords: Iran; Medical education; Systematic review