Study guide usability survey: Perception of students and teachers of an undergraduate medical college

Objectives: To explore the perception about usability of study guide from students and teachers of an undergraduate medical college. Methods: The cross-sectional study was done at Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi, in May 2012 and comprised 2nd, 3rd and 4th year medical students and faculty members. Data was analysed on SPSS 16. Analysis of variance was used for looking at differences in perceptions of the three groups of students and among different cadres of faculty, while tukeys test was used for individual differences. Results: Of the 300 students initially enrolled, 257(85.6%) represented the final study sample. There were 147(57.2%) females and 110(42.8%) males. Reliability of the questionnaire by Cronbach s alpha was 0.889. Besides, 150(58.3%) students agreed that layout and content of the study guide helped in self-directed learning, while 128(50%) said that information about books and resources was not mentioned in it. The faculty overall appreciated the study guide except on information about identification of resources in it. Conclusion: The perception about the usability of study guide was well appreciated by both students and teachers. Their content will be reviewed and improved based on the results of this study.