Idea Density in Exam Performance

Medical Education Clinical Trial

— IDEP  

Official title:

Impact of Reduced Idea Density on Pharmacy Students' Attainment in Pharmaceutical Calculations: a Single-blind Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05526365
• Other study ID #: 22/PBS/004
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 3, 2022
• Est. completion date: December 6, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: October 2023
• Source: Liverpool John Moores University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Text can be written in multiple ways to mean the same thing; changing how a text is written can make it easier or harder to understand. How many concepts or ideas there are in a text, divided by the total number of words, is one possible way to determine how easy or hard it is to understand. This ratio is called idea density (ID).

Varying ID has been shown to affect the speed at which a reader understands; it impacts certain people more than others, such as second language speakers. This effect may be of particular importance in an exam, where understanding a question in a limited time is key. In the UK, pharmacy students must undertake an exam set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to be registered as pharmacists. The exam involves pharmaceutical calculations and shows variable pass rates. This study aims to evaluate the impact of reducing ID in a pharmaceutical calculation test and will be conducted in 14 schools of pharmacy in the UK. All participants will take a GPhC style test. Then, participants will be divided into two groups of equal size; one group will undertake a second test with the same ID as the first, while the second group will undertake a test with a lower ID. Finally, the investigators will compare the second test scores between the two groups as cohorts and question by question, evaluating whether lowering ID has increased students' scores.

If and effect is seen, ensuring that questions are written with a controlled ID may help ensure we are examining more fairly and allowing students with the requisite knowledge to pass.

Description:

Pharmaceutical Council must be undertaken. It involves pharmaceutical calculations and shows variable pass rates. Linguistic factors, such as idea density, affect and predict comprehension time. This trial will evaluate the effect of lowering question idea density on attainment in a pharmaceutical calculations exam aligned to that of the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Methods: This is a single-blind, parallel 2-arm multicentre randomised controlled trial conducted in fourteen Universities across the United Kingdom. A 1:1 randomisation and a sample size of 188 pharmacy students will be sufficient to detect a 1-point difference in the mean scores between the intervention and control group during a pharmacy calculation test with two-tails, 80% power and 5% significance level. Each school will recruit a minimum of 14/15 students. Participants will sit two 12-question pharmaceutical calculation tests. All participants will take the same baseline test; then, will be randomised and undertake a second test 2-week after, with standard idea density for the control group and lower idea density for the intervention. Primary outcome: the scores obtained by the participants undertaking the second calculation test 2-week after the baseline. Secondary outcomes: percentage of students achieving a pass during the second test; effect of demographic characteristics (first or not-first English language speakers, age, ethnicity, year of study, specific learning disability) on participants' attainment when lowering idea density.

Conclusion: Results could inform the development of new standards in the pharmaceutical calculations exam.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 204
• Est. completion date: December 6, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: November 6, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Over 18 years of age

• Registered as a student on an MPharm course in the UK

• Be in years 1-4 of the course (levels 1-7)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under 18

• Not registered on an MPharm course in the UK

• Are currently undertaking a foundation year (level 3)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Health Education
• Medical Education

Intervention

Other:
• Reduced Idea Density
Question idea density reduced (ratio of propositions to total words used).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United Kingdom	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool	Merseyside

Sponsors (14)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Liverpool John Moores University	Aston University, De Montfort University, Kingston University, Newcastle University, Queen's University, Belfast, Robert Gordon University, University of Birmingham, University of Bradford, University of Central Lancashire, University of Greenwich, University of Huddersfield, University of Ulster, University of Wolverhampton

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United Kingdom, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Overall performance on test 2	The primary outcome is the performance in the second calculation test 2. Overall score per student can be between 0-12, and performance of all students on each question a decimal percent between 0-1, with 0 meaning 0% of students answered correctly and 1 meaning 100% of students answered correctly.	1 month
Secondary	Pass rate	The percentage of students achieving a pass (equivalent to 70% or above) during the second test.	1 month
Secondary	Demographic	The effect of each demographic characteristic on students' attainment in pharmacy calculation when lowering idea density?; First language speaker (English as the first language) or not; Age; Ethnicity; Year of study; Specific learning disability	1 month