Document Type : Brief report
Authors
1 M.Sc. in Immunology, Instructor, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
2 M.Sc. in Educational Sciences, Instructor, Department of Educational Sciences, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract
Background & Objective: One of the issues of multiple choice tests is preparation of effective distracter options and position of the correct answer among the distractor options The aim of this study was to determine the position of the correct option in multiple choice tests in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences Iran in 2013 Methods: In this descriptive study 214 exams which were entered into the automated service center of the university were studied in respect to the position of the correct answer Data were analyzed using SPSS software and frequency percentage and chisquare test Results: In general 14359 multiple choice questions were investigated The position of the correct answer was the A option in 2260 questions (157%) the B option in 3893 question (271%) the C option in 4683 question (326%) and the D option in 3523 questions (246%) Chisquare test showed statistically significant difference between of the correct answer in options of A B C and D (P = 0001) The highest percentage of correct answers was in option C and the lowest percentage of correct answer was in option A The findings of the study also revealed that the percentage of the correct answer in the middle options (B and C) was significantly higher than other options (A and D) (597% V 403% P = 0001) Conclusion: The results showed that the distribution of correct choices between options of multiple choice tests performed in the university is not suitable Random selection of the correct options is recommended as a suitable approach to avoiding this problem
Keywords
- Vyas R, Supe A. Multiple choice questions A literature review on the optimal number of options. Natl Med J India. 2008; 21(3):130-3.
- DiBattista D, Kurzawa L. Examination of the Quality of multiple-choice items on classroom tests. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2011; 2(2): 4.
- Dehnad A, Nasser H, Hosseini AF. A Comparison between Three-and Four-Option Multiple Choice Questions. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2014;98: 398 – 403
- Haghshenas M, Vahidshahi K, Mahmudi M, Shahbaznejad L, Parvinnejad N, Emadi A. Evaluation of Multiple Choice Questions in the School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, the First Semester of 2007. Strides Dev Med Educ. 2009; 5 (2):120-7. [In Persian]
- Shakurnia AH, Mozaffari AR, Khosravi Brougeni A. Survey on Structural of MCQs of residency exam in AJUMS. Jundishapur Sci Med J. 2010; 8(4):492-502. [In Persian]
- Price CS, Hughes M. Producing Better Quality MCQs at First Year Level: Are Guidelines and Templates Enough? Alternation. 2011; 18(2): 289 – 316.
- Burgos A. Guessing and gambling. Economics Bulletin. 2004; 4(4): 1-10.
- Ashraf Pour M, Beheshti Z, Molook Zadeh S. Quality of final examination in students of Babol Medical University (1999-2000). J Babol Univ Med Sci. 2003; 5(Suppl.2): 42-7. [In Persian]
- Mortaz Hejri S, Khabaz Mafinezhad M, Jalili M. Guessing in multiple choice questions: challenges and strategies. Iran J Med Educ. 2014; 14(7):594-604. [In Persian]
- Attali Y, Bar-Hillele M. Guess Where: The position of correct answers in multiple-choice test items as a psychometric variable. J Educational Measurement. 2003; 40(2):109-28.
- McCourbie P. Improving the fairness of multiple choice questions: A literature review. Med Teach. 2004: 26(8): 709-712.
- Pourmirza kalhori R, Rezaei M, Karami Matin B, Roshanpour F. A survey of quality and quantity indexes of multiple choice question (MCQ) exams of medical residents at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences: 2008-2012. J Med Educ Dev. 2014; 8(4): 64-75. [In Persian]
- Shakurnia A, Khosravi Borojeni A, Mozaffari A, Elhampour H. An Evaluation of Exam Questions Designed by Faculty Members, Emphasizing on the Multiple Choice Question Structure, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, 2007. Strides Dev Med Educ. 2010; 6(2):129-38. [In Persian]
- Roediger HL, Marsh EJ. The positive and negative consequences of multiple-choice testing. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2005;31(5):1155-9.
- Oluwafemi AT, Rufus Ifedayo AE. A study of item response and anchor bias in economics objective tests among senior secondary school students in Osun State. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. 2013; 2(3):173-9.
- Bar-Hillel M, Attali Y. Seek whence: answer sequences and their consequences in keybalanced multiple-choice tests. The American Statistician. 2002; 56(4):299-303
- Brady AM. Assessment of learning with multiple-choice questions. Nurse Educ Pract. 2005; 5(4):238-42.
- Dickinson JR. The uniformity of distractor response distribution in multiple choice questions. Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. 2014; 41:306-11.
- Dickinson JR. How Many Options do Multiple-Choice Questions Really Have? Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. 2013; 40:171-5.
- Shaw JI, Bergen JE, Brown CA, Gallagher ME. Centrality preferences in choices among similar option. J Gen Psychol. 2000; 127(2):157-64.
- Marcus A. The effect of correct response location on the difficulty level of multiplechoice questions. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1963; 47(1): 48-51.
- Tarrant M, Ware J, Mohammed AM. An assessment of functioning and nonfunctioning distractors in multiple-choice questions: a descriptive analysis. BMC Med Educ. 2009; 9(40):1-8.