Transparent methodology

How topics are assigned

Topics are optional navigation aids assigned automatically from available source keywords, titles, and abstracts. They may be incomplete or incorrect. They are not an editorial judgment, a quality assessment, or official indexing by MeSH, DeCS, ERIC, or the journals.

Available metadata

The monitor uses source keywords when supplied, then checks the article title and abstract. Missing abstracts reduce the available evidence.

Rule-based matching

Publisher terms receive the greatest weight, followed by title phrases and then abstract phrases. Ambiguous single words are avoided.

Conservative assignment

A paper may receive up to five topics. If the evidence does not reach the threshold, the paper remains unclassified.

Reference vocabularies

The controlled topic list is adapted primarily from the US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings and its multilingual DeCS extension maintained by BIREME/PAHO/WHO. Education-specific concepts are supplemented with ERIC Thesaurus descriptors.

The monitor uses a small, practical subset for medical education. Referencing a vocabulary does not mean that its maintainers reviewed or endorsed these assignments.

MeSH medical education DeCS/MeSH ERIC Thesaurus

Topic list

Each topic retains its reference term and identifier.

Method version 2026-07-22.1

Assessment

MeSH

Educational assessment, examinations, scoring, and evaluation of learner performance.

Reference: Educational Measurement · D004521

Simulation

MeSH

Simulation-based teaching, standardized patients, prebriefing, and debriefing.

Reference: Patient Simulation · D016544

Curriculum

MeSH

Curriculum design, reform, mapping, implementation, and evaluation.

Reference: Curriculum · D003479

Competency-based education

MeSH

Competency frameworks, entrustment, and outcomes-based education.

Reference: Competency-Based Education · D003162

Feedback

ERIC Thesaurus

Feedback, feedforward, coaching conversations, and feedback literacy.

Reference: Feedback (Response) · Feedback (Response)

Artificial intelligence

ERIC Thesaurus

Use, teaching, evaluation, or governance of artificial intelligence in education.

Reference: Artificial Intelligence · Artificial Intelligence

Online learning

MeSH

Distance, online, blended, hybrid, and digitally mediated learning.

Reference: Education, Distance · D020375

Problem-based learning

MeSH

Problem-, case-, team-, and inquiry-based active learning.

Reference: Problem-Based Learning · D018794

Interprofessional education

MeSH

Learning with, from, and about other health professions.

Reference: Interprofessional Education · D000081784

Faculty development

ERIC Thesaurus

Development of teachers, supervisors, preceptors, and educational leaders.

Reference: Faculty Development · Faculty Development

Residency education

MeSH

Graduate medical education, residency, internship, and specialty training.

Reference: Education, Medical, Graduate · D004503

Undergraduate education

MeSH

Medical student education, clerkships, and undergraduate clinical training.

Reference: Education, Medical, Undergraduate · D004504

Continuing education

MeSH

Continuing medical education and continuing professional development.

Reference: Education, Medical, Continuing · D004502

Clinical teaching

ERIC Thesaurus

Teaching and supervision in clinical workplaces and at the bedside.

Reference: Clinical Teaching · Clinical Teaching

Communication skills

ERIC Thesaurus

Clinical, interpersonal, team, and patient communication education.

Reference: Communication Skills · Communication Skills

Professionalism

ERIC Thesaurus

Professional identity, ethics, values, and professional behaviour.

Reference: Professionalism · Professionalism

Learner wellbeing

ERIC Thesaurus

Wellbeing, burnout, stress, mental health, and mistreatment among learners.

Reference: Student Well Being · Student Well Being

Equity and inclusion

ERIC Thesaurus

Equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and discrimination in education.

Reference: Equal Education · Equal Education

Qualitative research

ERIC Thesaurus

Qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to medical education research.

Reference: Qualitative Research · Qualitative Research

Limitations and corrections

Automated terminology matching cannot fully understand context. Papers with short titles, missing abstracts, uncommon terminology, or mixed languages are more likely to be unclassified or assigned imperfectly.

Topic rules are versioned so existing papers can be reviewed again when the vocabulary improves. Reports of an incorrect topic should include the paper DOI, assigned topic, and suggested correction so the curator can adjust the shared rule rather than only one user's feed.

Return to feed