Two-phase mixed-methods study of board exam prep resources across 42 accredited COM programs¶
Design · All designs
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 associational),q2· 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study
Description¶
A study combining a 10-item Qualtrics survey (phase one) and semi-structured Zoom interviews (phase two) with COM library directors. Thirty-five of 42 invited directors completed the survey ("an 83% response rate"), and 13 participated in interviews. The instrument underwent "expert review by eight osteopathic health sciences librarians" for face and content validity. The IRB classified the study as exempt.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Institutional access to accredited COM library directors for recruitment
Constraints¶
- Self-reported director data; findings limited to osteopathic institutions and institutionally licensed resources, excluding student-driven informal tools
Target Learners¶
- library directors of accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine
Learning Goals¶
- characterizing resource availability, funding, governance, and evaluation practices for board exam preparation
Claims¶
- All responding COM libraries provide at least one dedicated board exam prep resource, with TrueLearn COMLEX Level 1 the most commonly funded resource overall [+W]
- Generative AI in board exam prep emerged as a challenge in interviews but was not captured in the survey [+W]
- Library directors at U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine report that their libraries contribute licensing, vendor relations, and usage analytics expertise regardless of whether they hold the budget [+W]
- About half of funding for high-cost board exam prep resources originates outside the library budget [+W]
Related Designs¶
- National survey and interview study of Irish dietitians' knowledge, attitudes and use of SBE
- Two-phase SSSC activity data collection protocol (Qualtrics survey plus Smartsheet workspaces)
Examples¶
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Key Sources¶
- Muellenbach J, Robinson K, Chen H, Bright HS IV, Fitterling L. (2026). Board exam preparation resource trends in academic health sciences libraries serving colleges of osteopathic medicine programs. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2026.2320
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
design |
id |
two-phase-com-board-prep-study-2026 |
title |
Two-phase mixed-methods study of board exam prep resources across 42 accredited COM programs |
description |
A study combining a 10-item Qualtrics survey (phase one) and semi-structured Zoom interviews (phase two) with COM library directors. |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-04 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — muellenbach-j-2026 |
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