Comparison of the Impact of Wikipedia, UpToDate, and a Digital Textbook on Short-Term Knowledge Acquisition Among Medical Students: Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Web-Based Resources

JMIR Medical Education
Michael A ScaffidiSamir C Grover

Abstract

Web-based resources are commonly used by medical students to supplement curricular material. Three commonly used resources are UpToDate (Wolters Kluwer Inc), digital textbooks, and Wikipedia; there are concerns, however, regarding Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Wikipedia use on medical students' short-term knowledge acquisition compared with UpToDate and a digital textbook. This was a prospective, nonblinded, three-arm randomized trial. The study was conducted from April 2014 to December 2016. Preclerkship medical students were recruited from four Canadian medical schools. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants through word of mouth, social media, and email. Participants must have been enrolled in their first or second year of medical school at a Canadian medical school. After recruitment, participants were randomized to one of the three Web-based resources: Wikipedia, UpToDate, or a digital textbook. During testing, participants first completed a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ) of 25 questions emulating a Canadian medical licensing examination. During the MCQ, participants took notes on topics to research. Then, participants researched topics and too...Continue Reading

References

Dec 24, 2003·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Michael W PetersonJess Mandel
Mar 12, 2004·Annual Review of Psychology·A S Palincsar
Dec 16, 2005·Nature·Jim Giles
Nov 20, 2008·The Annals of Pharmacotherapy·Kevin A ClausonJoan H Dzenowagis
Jun 9, 2009·International Journal of Medical Informatics·Benjamin HughesJonathan Wareham
Jul 27, 2010·Medical Teacher·Andrew Wood, Kate Struthers
Feb 2, 2011·Journal of Medical Internet Research·James M HeilmanMichaël R Laurent
Feb 18, 2011·The Clinical Teacher·Amanda L Cooper, David M Elnicki
Oct 25, 2011·Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA·Natalie Kupferberg, Bridget McCrate Protus
Dec 20, 2011·Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine·David Metcalfe, John Powell
Nov 10, 2012·Medical Teacher·Usaid K AllahwalaDeshan F Sebaratnam
Feb 26, 2013·Seminars in Dialysis·Garry R ThomasSamir C Grover
Apr 27, 2013·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Christine C ChestonMargaret S Chisolm
Jan 26, 2016·Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA·Dinara Saparova, Nathanial S Nolan
Sep 15, 2016·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Amin AzzamJack D McCue

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jun 25, 2019·Anatomical Sciences Education·Athikhun SuwannakhanTaweetham Limpanuparb
Dec 14, 2019·Perspectives on Medical Education·Teresa M ChanLauren A Maggio
Mar 7, 2020·ELife·Lauren A MaggioJohn M Willinsky
Dec 14, 2019·Anatomical Sciences Education·Michael A Pascoe
Sep 18, 2020·Clinical Rheumatology·Sakir AhmedArmen Yuri Gasparyan
Dec 25, 2019·Journal of Graduate Medical Education·John M Willinsky, Lauren A Maggio
Oct 6, 2020·Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development·Diana KantarovichKevin M Hellman
Jan 22, 2019·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Dariusz JemielniakMaciej Wilamowski
May 18, 2020·JMIR Medical Education·Michael YacobPrasad Jetty

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Google Forms
UpToDate
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ( SPSS )
MCCEE
Wikipedia

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.