title: Evaluation in medical education: A topical review of target parameters, data collection tools and confounding factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluation is an integral part of education in German medical schools. According to the quality standards set by the German Society for Evaluation, evaluation tools must provide an accurate and fair appraisal of teaching quality. Thus, data collection tools must be highly reliable and valid. This review summarises the current literature on evaluation of medical education with regard to the possible dimensions of teaching quality, the psychometric properties of survey instruments and potential confounding factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched Pubmed, PsycINFO and PSYNDEX for literature on evaluation in medical education and included studies published up until June 30, 2011 as well as articles identified in the "grey literature". RESULTS are presented as a narrative review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified four dimensions of teaching quality: structure, process, teacher characteristics, and outcome. Student ratings are predominantly used to address the first three dimensions, and a number of reliable tools are available for this purpose. However, potential confounders of student ratings pose a threat to the validity of these instruments. Outcome is usually operationalised in terms of student performance on examinations, but methodological problems may limit the usability of these data for evaluation purposes. In addition, not all examinations at German medical schools meet current quality standards.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The choice of tools for evaluating medical education should be guided by the dimension that is targeted by the evaluation. Likewise, evaluation results can only be interpreted within the context of the construct addressed by the data collection tool that was used as well as its specific confounding factors.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Studiendekanat, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schiekirka
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Prodekanat für Studium und Lehre, Berlin, Germany ; Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Forschungsbereich Adaptives Verhalten und Kognition und Harding Zentrum für Risikokommunikation, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Feufel
authors.affiliation: Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Klinik für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, Göttingen, Germany ; Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herrmann-Lingen
authors.affiliation: Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Klinik für Kardiologie und Pneumologie, Göttingen, Germany ; University College London, Health Behaviour Research Centre, London, Great Britain.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raupach
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000592:standards*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D011594:Psychometrics; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*
keywords: confounder; dimension; evaluation; medical education; questionnaire