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Public Health Commons

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Selected Works

San Jose State University

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Public Health

Student Evaluations Of Teaching Effectiveness: The Interpretation Of Observational Data And The Principle Of Faute De Mieux, B. Burt Gerstman Jan 1995

Student Evaluations Of Teaching Effectiveness: The Interpretation Of Observational Data And The Principle Of Faute De Mieux, B. Burt Gerstman

B. Burt Gerstman

Student opinion surveys are important but widely misunderstood tools for evaluating teaching effectiveness. In this brief review, an analogy is drawn between the use and interpretation of observational data for public health and biomedical research and the use of student opinion data in evaluating teach ing effectiveness. Sources of systematic error in the form of selection bias, information bias, and confounding are defined and illustrated. Original data concerning intermittent "quid pro quo" confounding (i.e., the effect of expected grades on student evaluations of teaching) are presented. Finally, the principle of faute de mieux ("lack of anything better") and the interpretation …


Sources Of Nosocomial Infections In Immunocompromised Patients (Letter), B. Burt Gerstman Jan 1983

Sources Of Nosocomial Infections In Immunocompromised Patients (Letter), B. Burt Gerstman

B. Burt Gerstman

No abstract provided.