Educational Resource Use and Perceived Effectiveness Among Chiropractic Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Josh D Walker

Objectives This study aimed to assess the frequency of use and perceived usefulness of ten educational resource types between preclinical and clinical chiropractic students at Murdoch University and to understand what factors influence students’ choice of educational resource. Methods An online questionnaire was distributed to all students of the chiropractic program. Participants ranked the frequency of use and perceived usefulness of the resource types on a 5-point Likert scale. Five factors influencing resource choice were also ranked from zero to ten based on their perceived influence. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare preclinical and clinical students. Results were contextualised with open-ended text responses. Results One hundred thirty-five students completed the questionnaire, with 51 preclinical and 84 clinical students. Preclinical students found university-recommended resources more useful than clinical students (p<0.001), including watching lectures (p=0.01). Both groups used textbooks with similar frequency (p>0.05); however, preclinical students rated physical (p<0.001) and digital (p=0.02) textbooks as more useful than their clinical counterparts. Preclinical students also used topic-specific websites (p=0.01) and applications (p<0.001) more frequently (p=0.01) and found them more useful (p<0.001) than clinical students. Conversely, clinical students found general study applications, such as flashcard applications, more useful than the preclinical students (p=0.01). Reliability of information (median=10.0) and ease of use (median=9.0) were the most influential factors for both preclinical and clinical students when choosing an educational resource. A resource being “Recommended by the University” was significantly more influential (p<0.001) for the preclinical group than in the clinical group. Conclusion Preclinical chiropractic students may rely more on university-recommended and topic-specific resources than clinical students. This may reflect the directed nature of preclinical education. Understanding these preferences can help educators tailor educational resources better to meet student needs at different stages of their studies.

Educational Resource Use and Perceived Effectiveness Among Chiropractic Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

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