Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37789327›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2023

Which virtual education methods do e‑students prefer? Design and validation of Virtual Education Preferences Questionnaire (VEPQ).

Zahra Karimian, Asieh Barkhor, Manoosh Mehrabi, Laleh Khojasteh

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Article in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Zahra KarimianDepartment of e-Learning in Medical Sciences, Virtual School and Center of Excellence in e-Learning, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5631-6448
Asieh BarkhorVirtual School and Center of Excellence in e-Learning, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4224-6979
Manoosh MehrabiDepartment of e-Learning in Medical Sciences, Virtual School and Center of Excellence in e-Learning, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2024-9415
Laleh KhojastehDepartment of English Language, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. khojastehlaleh@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6393-2759

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWith the prevalence of new technologies and evolving student learning styles, virtual teaching methods have become increasingly popular. As a result, more and more students are opting to learn online. However, one common concern is that they may feel disconnected from their teachers, leading to feelings of loneliness and doubts about the quality of education they are receiving. To address this issue, a study was conducted to gather data on students' preferences for virtual education and to validate a tool for measuring students' preferences for virtual education.

methodsThe research was conducted in a mixed method with a quantitative-qualitative sequence. A virtual education preferences questionnaire (VEPQ) for students with a total of 17 items was created and validated as part of the qualitative component by looking at the theoretical underpinnings and experts' opinions in the focus group. The scale of the six-point Likert questionnaire was from very high to very low. To validate the tool and determine preferences, exploratory factor analysis was used. A total of 155 samples answered the questions and the data were analyzed using SPSS-24 software.

resultsA total of 155 complete questionnaires were returned; among them, 110 (71%) were filled out by women, 73 (47.1%) by respondents between the ages of 36 and 45, 107 (69%) were already employed in paramedical fields, and 48 (31%) were enrolled in a medical school. The opinions of ten experts were used to confirm the face validity of the questionnaire. With CVI = 0.924 and CVR = 0.805, content validity was verified. Using the internal consistency method of the questions with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of R = 0.824, the validity of the entire questionnaire was confirmed. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that a total of five components-self-directed projects (29.58%), e-content (13.00%), online presentation (10.97%), face-to-face interactions (9.12%), and text interactions (7.11%) had the highest load, with a total of 69.77% of the structure explaining virtual education preferences. The factor analysis test and the suitability of the sample are both confirmed by the value of KMO = 0.721 and the significance of Pvalue < 0.001.

conclusionIt appears that the highly valid tool developed can be used to ascertain the educational preferences of students. Also, the high factor load of self-directed educational methods and e-content shows that independence and flexibility in time and place are more important for students.

Indexed as

LearningStudentsAdultAttitudeEducational StatusFemaleHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesEducational preferencese-learningStudentValidationVirtual education

Identifiers

PMID37789327
PMCPMC10548741

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.