Premium
Effects of item and rater characteristics on checklist recording: what should we look for?
Author(s) -
Huber Philippe,
Baroffio Anne,
Chamot Eric,
Herrmann François,
Nendaz Mathieu R,
Vu Nu V
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02226.x
Subject(s) - checklist , inter rater reliability , trainer , kappa , scale (ratio) , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , cohen's kappa , medicine , rating scale , clinical psychology , statistics , developmental psychology , computer science , mathematics , power (physics) , physics , geometry , quantum mechanics , cognitive psychology , programming language
Objective Examinations based on using standardised patients (SPs) commonly use checklist recordings to evaluate students' clinical performance. This paper examines whether and to what extent item and rater characteristics affect the reliability of history checklist recording in an SP‐based assessment. Methods Checklist items were reviewed for the presence or absence of 5 item characteristics and a 2‐point versus 3‐point scoring scale. Agreement between checklist recordings obtained from SPs and clinician‐examiners (CEs) were compared by item characteristics, scoring scale and CEs' level of involvement in the assessment. Results Based on 3179 pairs of recordings, the overall percentage of agreement between SPs and CEs was 83% (kappa = 0.64). Agreement was significantly higher for items scored on a 2‐point than on a 3‐point scale, and when the CE was also the author and the trainer of the station. After controlling for other factors, item characteristics were only marginally associated with level of interrater agreement. Conclusions This study suggests that attention should be paid to specific aspects of checklist development and checklist recording training when an SP or CE is used as recorder.