Factors Determining Time Allocation of a Multiple-Choice Question Examination: The Students’ Perspective

Abstract

AbstractIntroduction: The MCQ is one of the objective assessment methods. It is proper to evaluate the cognitive domain of learners with high objectivity. However, there are no definite criteria for determining the appropriate exam time. The ability to comprehend the meaning of a text, when reading, cannot be directly applied to reading for decision-making or answering questions. The authors were interested in exploring the aspects of the medical students’ perspective about the factors affecting their discission on MCQs answering. Materials and Methods The study was conducted at the Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand. The authors utilized a mixed method that consisted of a quantitative approach and a sequential, explanatory approach. Survey research was used as the part quantitative technique meanwhile the semi-structured interview was used in qualitative data analysis for collecting the data. Results The questionnaire was done online by the participants from second to fifth-year medical students. It was found that there were 298 respondents. The qualitative analysis indicated that there were five domains, including the total word count of tests, non-native English examiners, test difficulty, images in tests, and atmosphere of the examination affecting the testing time. Conclusion This report indicated that the data acquired from comprehensive reading examination should be distinguished from decisive reading examination. Apart from the length of text, the question taxonomy such as recall or application as well as questions with given images and tables should be considered as factors determining time allocation of a MCQ examination.