Item Analysis of MCQs and Correlation between Difficulty Index, Discrimination Index and Distractor Efficiency in a Formative Examination in Community Medicine Dhakne-Palwe Supriya1,*, Gujarathi Amit1, Almale Balaji2 1Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, MVP's Dr. Vasantrao Pawar Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Nashik, Maharashtra, India 2Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, MVP's Dr. Vasantrao Pawar Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Nashik, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author email id: drsupriyadhakne@gmail.com
Online published on 10 December, 2015. Abstract Background Item analysis is an important tool to assess the validity of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), in terms of difficulty index, discrimination index and distractor efficiency. Aims Present study aims at testing the validity of MCQs of a formative examination in Community Medicine using these parameters and to study the correlation between the parameters. Material and Methods This item analysis was carried out for 30 single-best-response MCQs with 90 distractors. Responses of total of 96 students were analysed. Results The mean difficulty index was found to be 61.09±16.98. The mean discrimination index was found to be 0.36±0.18. Negative correlation was found between DIF-I and DIS-I (r=0.1645, p<0.01). The overall distractor efficiency was found to be 77.78%. The mean number of distractors and DIF-I of the MCQ item showed a negative correlation (r=-0.5778, p<0.01). The mean number of distractors and DIS-I of the MCQ item showed a positive correlation (r=0.2231, p<0.01). Conclusion Having DIF-I and DIS-I as well as distractor analysis of each MCQ item at hand, the same MCQ item can be used in subsequent examinations with necessary changes. With such constant modification, eventually very well constructed MCQ items can be generated. Top Keywords Item analysis, Difficulty index, Discrimination index, Distractor efficiency, Psychometric analysis. Top |