Students' Evaluation of a Team-based Course on Research and Publication Ethics: Attitude Change in Medical School Graduate Students

In response to a growing need for students to appreciate ethical issues in medical research and publication, a brief team-based learning (TBL) course was presented to graduate students in the medical school of Hallym University in October and November 2007. To gather information as a basis for improving the course, questionnaires were distributed to 19 students and the feedback was evaluated. The questionnaire consisted of four categories: general course content (7 items), changes in attitudes toward research and publication ethics (6 items), the TBL format (6 items), and an open-ended question about the class (1 item). The most positive response had to do with the importance of the material. Students reported that their knowledge about ethical issues increased, and they expressed satisfaction regarding the communication with their tutors within the TBL format. Most students showed positive responses to the subject as well as to TBL. Since this was the first trial offering of this material in the graduate program at this medical school, it may have been novel to the students. The attitude change and the knowledge acquisition reported by students reflect a very positive outcome of this class. After adjustments to improve weaknesses, such as the short time allocation and students' lack of prior background, the outcomes of this TBL course on research and publication ethics provide a good basis for its continuation.