Formulating Research Questions and Designing Studies - 2/3/2025

Includes a Live Web Event on 02/03/2025 at 12:00 PM (EST)

In this workshop, participants will brainstorm research ideas, write, and refine a measurable research question. You will discuss when IRB approval is required for their study. The basics of research design will be discussed and applied to their selected research question.

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

Write a FINER (feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, relevant) educational research question;
Specify an educational research area of interest;
Evaluate whether they need IRB approval for their study;
Select the correct design for their research question.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2025 - Series 1 .

Britta Thompson

Dr. Britta M. Thompson earned her B.S. from Kansas State University, her M.S. from the University of Missouri at Columbia, and her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. After receiving her Ph.D., she joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine in 2004 where she served as the Director of Evaluation and Assessment and the Director of the Simulation Program. In 2009, she became the Assistant Dean for Medical Education and Director of the Office of Medical Education at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

In March of 2015, she joined the faculty at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine as the Associate Dean for Evaluation and Assessment. She also serves as Core Faculty with the Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education and Directs the Clinician Educator Pathway. In 2018, she created and initiated the Clinician Educator Pathway, in which medical students can earn a joint degree culminating in not only MD degree, but also a master’s degree in Education.

Her research interests include: Team-functioning and team-performance in medical education; Faculty and Resident Teaching, Evaluation, and Assessment Skills; Medical Student Reflection and Self-Assessment; Health systems sciences education; the Clinical Learning Environment; and facilitators, barriers, and outcomes of educational innovations. Through her work, she has been awarded several teaching and educational research awards. Her research has resulted in over 70 peer-reviewed articles in some of the most prestigious medical education journals. She has won multiple awards for her research articles, including the Silver Quill Award for the most downloaded as well as the best research article in the journal, Medical Education. She has presented over 250 peer-reviewed and invited oral and poster presentations at regional, national, and international meetings.