Quantitative analysis of single best answer multiple choice questions in pharmaceutics

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Education
• Educational Assessment
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are widely used in academic assessments.
• Evaluating the quality of MCQs is crucial for valid and reliable examination outcomes.
• Pharmaceutics exams rely on MCQs to assess student comprehension and application of knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the quality of single best answer MCQs in pharmaceutics examinations.
• To determine the correlation between difficulty index (DIF I), discriminating index (DI), and distractor efficiency (DE).
• To investigate the relationship between these indices, the number of answer options, and the cognitive level assessed.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 429 MCQs from pharmaceutics exams.
• Evaluation of MCQ quality using DIF I, DI, and DE metrics.
• Assessment of the number of answer options and cognitive levels (e.g., recall, analysis, problem-solving).
• Statistical analysis using Pearson's correlations and t-tests to measure relationships between indices.

Main Results:

• A significant negative correlation between DIF I and DI was found in questions measuring information recall and those with four or five options.
• Moderate difficulty questions exhibited the highest DI, while easiest questions showed the poorest DE.
• Questions assessing analytical and problem-solving skills were more difficult than recall-based questions.
• MCQs with four and five answer options demonstrated excellent discrimination.

Conclusions:

• Single best answer MCQs are effective tools for assessing higher cognitive skills in pharmaceutics.
• A significant correlation between DIF I and DI suggests high-quality examination items.
• Constructing MCQs with four or five options is recommended for improved quality and discrimination.