Variability of residents’ ratings of faculty’s teaching performance measured by five- and seven-point response scales

Abstract Background Medical faculty’s teaching performance is often measured using residents’ feedback, collected by questionnaires. Researchers extensively studied the psychometric qualities of resulting ratings. However, these studies rarely consider the number of response categories and its consequences for residents’ ratings of faculty’s teaching performance. We compared the variability of residents’ ratings measured by five- and seven-point response scales. Methods This retrospective study used teaching performance data from Dutch anaesthesiology residency training programs. Questionnaires with five- and seven-point response scales from the extensively studied System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) collected the ratings. We inspected ratings’ variability by comparing standard deviations, interquartile ranges, and frequency (percentage) distributions. Relevant statistical tests were used to test differences in frequency distributions and teaching performance scores. Results We examined 3379 residents’ ratings and 480 aggregated faculty scores. Residents used the additional response categories provided by the seven-point scale – especially those differentiating between positive performances. Residents’ ratings and aggregated faculty scores showed a more even distribution on the seven-point scale compared to the five-point scale. Also, the seven-point scale showed a smaller ceiling effect. After rescaling, the mean scores and (most) standard deviations of ratings from both scales were comparable. Conclusions Ratings from the seven-point scale were more evenly distributed and could potentially yield more nuanced, specific and user-friendly feedback. Still, both scales measured (almost) similar teaching performance outcomes. In teaching performance practice, residents and faculty members should discuss whether response scales fit their preferences and goals

Additional file 3 of PredictCBC-2.0: a contralateral breast cancer risk prediction model developed and validated in ~ 200,000 patients

Additional file 1: Table S3. Patient and primary breast cancer characteristics per study

Additional file 2 of PredictCBC-2.0: a contralateral breast cancer risk prediction model developed and validated in ~ 200,000 patients

Additional file 2: Table S1. Description of the studies included in the analyses

Additional file 33 of Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis

Additional file 33: Table S22. Mouse genes with lipid phenotypes (silver set)