Principles of Survey Research in Health Professions Education

Welcome to the Principles of Survey Research in Health Professions Education! We’re excited to have you join us!

Overview

Surveys are among the most widely used methods in health professions education research and program evaluation—but designing high-quality surveys requires more than simply writing relevant questions. This four-session virtual short course introduces health professions educators to the key principles and best practices of survey research. Whether you are new to survey design or have previously conducted surveys and want to strengthen the rigor of your work, this course will help you build a stronger foundation in survey methodology.

You will learn how to determine when surveys are the appropriate method for answering a research or evaluation question, define and measure key constructs, and develop clear, meaningful and evidence-informed survey items. survey items. The course also covers essential concepts in validity, reliability, sampling, survey administration, and the interpretation of survey data. Throughout the course, you will use your own survey project –or a provided case example—to progressively apply concepts introduced in each session. By the end of the course, you will have developed key components of a rigorous survey study, including construct definition, survey items, a sampling and administration plan, and an approach to analyzing and interpreting findings. Additionally, you will be better prepared to critically evaluate surveys in health professions education settings.

FACULTY

Course Lead: Julie Irish, PhD
BCH Academy Research Consultant

Short Courses Director: Donna Luff, PhD
Co-Director, BCH Academy

Course Faculty:

• Alisa Khan, MD, MPH
  Judith S. Palfrey Chair in Pediatrics
  Director, Program for Language Equity
  Pediatric Hospitalist, Boston Children’s Hospital
  Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
• Michael C. Monuteaux, ScD
  Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Assistant Director, Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Senior Epidemiologist and Biostatistician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital

FALL 2026 COHORT

You are joined by fellow BCH Academy Scholar Members, Teaching Certificate Members/Recent Graduates, and Health Professions Education Innovation Grant recipients for the first offering of this short course.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this Short Course, you will be able to:

1. Explain when surveys are an appropriate method for addressing questions in health professions education research and evaluation.
2. Define survey constructs clearly and develop survey questions to align with those constructs.
3. Apply core principles of survey quality, including validity, reliability, inclusive design, sampling, and strategies to improve response rates.
4. Interpret and report survey findings, including descriptive results, limitations, and implications for educational practice and scholarship.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Participants will attend 4 one-hour virtual sessions (see exact dates under Schedule).

Sessions will include:

• A pre-reading to be completed before the session.
• An assignment to be submitted in this course after the session.

All components can be found within each session’s module. You may navigate to the modules using the right-side Content Bar.

Learners will receive personalized feedback on assignments submitted.

In support of improving patient care, Boston Children’s Hospital is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Dietitian
This course has been approved for 4.0 CPEUs. Completion of this RD/DTR profession-specific or IPCE activity awards CPEUs (One IPCE=One CPEU). RDs and DTRs are to select activity type 102 in their activity log. Sphere and Competency selection is at the learner’s discretion.
Nurse
Boston Children’s Hospital designates this activity for 4.0 contact hours for nurses. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Pharmacy
This activity carries a maximum of 4.0 contact hours. Pharmacists should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Physician
Boston Children’s Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
Physician Assistants
Boston Children’s Hospital has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credits for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 4.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Psychology
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs. This course has been approved for 4.0 continuing education credits.
Social Work
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Boston Children’s Hospital is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Boston Children’s Hospital maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 4.0 ACE CE continuing education credits.

Disclosure Policy

Boston Children’s Hospital adheres to all ACCME Essential Areas, Standards, and Policies. It is Boston Children’s policy that those who have influenced the content of a CME activity (e.g. planners, faculty, authors, reviewers and others) disclose all relevant financial relationships with commercial entities so that Boston Children’s may identify and resolve any conflicts of interest prior to the activity. These disclosures will be provided in the activity materials along with disclosure of any commercial support received for the activity. Additionally, faculty members have been instructed to disclose any limitations of data and unlabeled or investigational uses of products during their presentations.

The following planners, speakers, and content reviewers, on behalf of themselves and their spouse or partner, have reported no relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on patients.

The following course faculty have reported no disclosures:

After you review the course site and technical tips below, if you still have questions or need help, please contact BCHacademy@childrens.harvard.edu, or Donna Luff, Course Director, at donna.luff@childrens.harvard.edu.

Donna Luff, PhD
Course Director, CEEI Certificate Program in Foundations of Health Professions Education Research

How do I Access this Course?

Once you are logged in, there are two ways to access this course:

1. Select My Profile at the top of any page. Scroll down to see the list of courses your are enrolled in. Select the link for the BCH Fundamentals of Qualitative Research course.
2. Select Professional Development from the main site menu. Scroll down to select the Fundamentals of Qualitative Research option form the left side page menu. Select the Program Course menu item, the select “Go to Course” in the course tile.

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