Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Knowledge of Evidence-Based Practice and Searching Skills

The aim of this study was to develop and validate three instruments which measure knowledge about searching for and critically appraising scientific articles (evidence-based practice-EBP). Twentythree questions were collected from previous studies and modified by an expert panel. These questions were then administered to 55 delegates before and after two international conferences in EBP; the responses were assessed for discriminative ability and internal consistency. Five questions were discarded and three instruments of six questions each were developed. Finally, the instruments were revalidated in a randomized controlled trial comparing two educational interventions at the University of Oslo, Norway by 166 of 175 eligible medical students. In the re-validation, the instruments showed satisfactory level of discriminate validity (p<0.05), but borderline levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's α 0.52-0.61). More research is needed to develop a suitable instrument which includes questions on searching for evidence.