LAUSR

Survey studies are commonly used in medical student education research. From 2011 to 2012, 24% of the articles published in Medical Teacher included surveys in study design [1]. For those without much research experience, survey studies may seem intuitive and less intimidating than alternative forms of research. However, poorly planned survey studies can lead to inaccurate conclusions. This was observed in Gallup’s election survey conducted in the final week before the 2012 US presidential elections. Their survey incorrectly predicted Mitt Romney would win the election. Upon review, Gallup identified a number of problems in their study design that may have explained their results: They used a nonstandardized sampling strategy, they misidentified the likely voters, regions of the country were underrepresented, and there was a faulty representation of race and ethnicity [2]. Medical educators who intend to conduct survey-based research studies must understand and apply the basics of survey study design and survey development. Doing so will increase the validity of their results and reduce potential criticism from a journal’s peer reviewers. In this primer, we will assist the novice medical educator-researcher by reviewing the nuts and bolts of developing a survey study of medical students (see Table 1). Analyzing and interpreting survey results is beyond the scope of this review and will not be included as part of this discussion. Study Design