Analysis of the quality of medical education papers on randomized controlled trials of blended learning
Objective To analyze the quality of journal articles on randomized controlled trials(RCTs)in the field of medical education in China,in order to standardize the writing of RCT research papers in blended learning and to improve the level of such research papers.Methods Relevant papers were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform,VIP Information Network,and Scopus database.A total of 73 domestic medical education papers on RCTs in blended learning,published from the establishment of the database until December 31,2023,were included.A quality analysis scale was self-made with reference to the CONSORT(consolidated standards of reporting trials)guidelines.The scale included 5 themes and 22 items:Title and Abstract(2 items),Introduction(2 items),Methods(13 items),Results(3 items),Discussion and Other(2 items).If a paper contained content that met or described the item,it was scored 1 point;otherwise,it was scored 0 points.The scores of each item were added together to obtain the total score of the paper.The differences in scores between core journal papers and non-core journal papers,and between papers from double first-class universities and non-double first-class universities were compared.Results A total of 73 Chinese papers were included for analysis.The overall score of the 73 papers was(12.02±3.79)points,with the lowest score being 5 points and the highest score being 17 points.Among the 22 items,the compliance rate of papers for 10 items was less than50.0%.Specifically,the compliance rate for the following5 items was the lowest:"Title can be identified as a randomized controlled trial"and"Number and reasons for dropouts after randomization"had a compliance rate of 0%;"Sample size required for the study"had a compliance rate of 1.4%(1/73);"Eligibility criteria for participants"had a compliance rate of 13.7%(10/73);"Method of random sequence generation"had a compliance rate of 21.9%(16/73).There was no statistically significant difference in scores between core journal papers and non-core journal papers(t=0.304,P=0.605),or between papers from double first-class universities and non-double first-class universities(t=1.674,P=0.532).Conclusions The overall quality of papers on RCTs of blended learning in the field of medical education in China is not high.Researchers described the items"Title can be identified as a randomized controlled trial","Number and reasons for dropouts after randomization","Sample size required for the study","Eligibility criteria for participants",and"Method of random sequence generation"less frequently,and need to pay attention to and improve these aspects during the research design,implementation,and writing stages.
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