Statistical analysis
Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of the two groups and Chi-square test/Fisher exact test, or independent samples t test used to explore differences between the groups. The scores of the MCQ final exam were compared using independent samples t test. The questionnaire data given to students were analysed using Mann-Whitney-U tests, to explore potential differences between the groups. Data was collected from each staff member in relation to both teaching methods and hence the staff questionnaire data were analysed using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. No adjustment was made for multiple comparisons. During analysis responses for the ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ categories were combined, similarly responses for ‘disagree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ category were combined. All statistical analyses were performed in GraphPad Prism V5 or Stata v13.