title: Assessing validity and reliability of Dundee ready educational environment measure (DREEM) in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  If an institute is looking for improvement of its learning environment, a reliable and valid assessment tool is needed for measurement of the educational environment .The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) has been used in various studies to evaluate the educational environment. However, psychometric evaluations of the instrument seem necessary, for all known versions of the instrument. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of Persian version of the DREEM in the major clinical wards in teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive - analytical study, involved medical students (clinical stagers and interns) in 4 major clinical wards. In this study, DREEM questionnaire was reviewed in content, face validity and construct validity through confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability was calculated according to test - retest and the internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total number of 267 questionnaires were completed by medical stagers (60%) and interns (40%) including 181 females and 82 males. The mean age of stagers and interns were 23.60 ± 1.27 and 25.45 ± 1.22 years, respectively. The total mean of the questionnaire was calculated as 96.15 (93.5375, 98.7547) out of 176, with 95% confidence interval. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The mean of content validity ratio (CVR) was calculated as 0.35, and 6 questions were omitted in this step. The content validity index (CVI) was 0.39. The reliability coefficient mean was 0.71. In confirmatory factor analysis five factors were confirmed that changed the orientation of some questions. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire was obtained as 0.914.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The modified and validates DREEM questionnaire in Persian language with 44 items and appropriate psychometric attributes is capable of being used in assessment of clinical education environments in Iran.
authors.affiliation: 1. Associate Professor of Community Medicine, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. jkuhpayeh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jalil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koohpayehzadeh
authors.affiliation: 2. MD, MPH, PhD candidate of Medical Education, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Dr.akramhashemi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.affiliation: 3. Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine and Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Soltarab34@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soltani Arabshahi
authors.affiliation: 4. Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine and Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Shb555@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shoaleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bigdeli
authors.affiliation: 5. MSc of Medical Education, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mm5049@yahoo.com .
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moosavi
authors.affiliation: 6. Instructor, Department of English language, Faculty of Management and Health Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. hatami@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatami
authors.affiliation: 7. Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Baradaran98@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Baradaran
keywords: DREEM; Educational environment; Reliability; Validity