Abstract
BackgroundAs medical education develops into a varied and well-developed field of research, the issue of quality research anchored in or generating theory has gained increasing importance. Medical education researchers have been criticized of not connecting their work to relevant theory. This paper set out to analyse how researchers can connect to theory in medical education. The goal of this paper is to provide an accessible framework for those entering medical education research, regarding how theory may become an integral part of one's work.MethodsFifteen purposefully selected researchers in medical education were asked to nominate papers they considered influential in medical education. Through this process 41 papers were identified and included in the study.ResultsThe papers were analysed with thematic content analysis, which resulted in three approaches to the use of theory: as close-up exploration; as a specific perspective; and as an overview. The approaches are exemplified by quotes from the papers included in our dataset and further illuminated by a metaphoric story.ConclusionsWe conclude by pointing at the importance of making explicit how theory is used in medical education as a way to collaboratively take responsibility for the quality of medical education research.
Highlights
As medical education develops into a varied and well-developed field of research, the issue of quality research anchored in or generating theory has gained increasing importance
As teachers of education research methodology, we have consistently found that Masters students, PhD students, and new medical education researchers find theory a difficult topic to engage with
It was constructivist in that an iterative process of data analysis and theory development between the three authors allowed the construction of an interpretation of how connections to conceptual frameworks were formed and used in the publications we included as data
Summary
As medical education develops into a varied and well-developed field of research, the issue of quality research anchored in or generating theory has gained increasing importance. Medical education researchers have been criticized of not connecting their work to relevant theory. The aim of this paper is to help researchers make better use of theory by examining how people have done so in the past and suggesting how others might do so in the future. This requires an elaboration of what we mean by theory. A general description of theory is that it is a system of ideas intended to explain a phenomenon This perspective on theory is consistent with the view that is often taken in biomedical and physical research and is clearly
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