ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: In the growing field of medical education research, participant recruitment can be challenging. Incentives, either tangible or intangible, may be offered to encourage participation. This study aimed to understand these incentives and explore the relationship between study quality and incentives in medical education research. METHODS: We reviewed research studies examining medical trainees published in five major journals in 2008. Tangible and intangible incentives used in recruitment were extracted by two researchers. For each quantitative article, medical education research quality instrument (MERSQI) score was calculated and citation counts for all articles were compiled. RESULTS: Of 215 included articles, 8% explicitly reported incentives. Tangible incentives (value range $15-$60 USD) were offered in 7.9% of studies. Intangible incentives were identified in 30% of studies but only one specifically discussed their use. Tangible incentives correlated with a higher MERSQI score (p < 0.001) and with citations (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Most studies in medical education did not describe incentives for participation. Information regarding incentives should be reported in all studies to help inform future recruitment efforts and also to understand the study context including factors that may influence participants motivation.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical , Motivation , Personnel Selection/methods , Research , Students, MedicalABSTRACT
Habitat burning may cause significant population and community changes in animals and plants, specially when the humans increase fire frequency. We mist-netted the understory birds of a gallery forest from the cerrado region of central Brazil before and after a fire of unknown cause which burned the Ecological Reserve of the University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, in September 1987. We conducted mist-netting mostly during the morning, using 12 mist-nets distributed on 2.5 ha in the interior and border of the forest. We captured 137 individuals of 37 species, 51 individuals of 21 species during 135.5 net/h before the fire, and 98 individuals of 33 species during 233 net/h after the fire. The bird community as a whole did not change after the fire. The observed changes in the bird community were related to the type of habitat used by some species of birds than to their diet. Species typical to gallery forests are probably less adapted to habitat burning than species that occur in other habitats and may be suffering a decrease or a disturbance in their population structure, revealing an important problem of cerrado bird conservation.
