Table 1. Characteristics of published studies included in this meta-analysis.
| Study | Course name | Number of students (E/C) | Major of students | School system | Students matched for | Educational approach (E/C) | Duration of study | Outcome measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An 2012 | Clinical diagnostics | 30/30 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | Age, Sex, ES | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Chen 2014 | Physical diagnostics | 60/60 | Medicine | Not described | Age, Sex, BS | PBL/Traditional teaching | Unclear | KS, SS |
| Guan 2007 | Clinical diagnostics | 48/46 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | Not described | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Hou 2012 | Physical diagnostics | 60/60 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | BS | PBL/Traditional teaching | Unclear | KS, SS |
| Lai 2012 | Physical diagnostics | 100/100 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | Not described | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Li 2007 | Physical diagnostics | 130/122 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | BS | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Liu 2007 | Physical diagnostics | 93/95 | Clinical medicine | Three-year system | Age, Sex, ES | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Liu 2014 | Physical diagnostics | 20/25 | Clinical medicine | Mixed | Not described | PBL/Traditional teaching | Unclear | KS, SS |
| Mo 2011 | Physical diagnostics | 54/52 | Clinical medicine | Five-year system | Not described | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Nie 2012 | Physical diagnostics | 230/229 | Clinical medicine | Three-year system | Age, Sex, ES | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Wu 2012 | Clinical diagnostics | 60/60 | Clinical medicine | Mixed | BS | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
| Xu 2013 | Physical diagnostics | 40/40 | Clinical medicine | Not described | Age, Sex, ES | PBL/Traditional teaching | Unclear | KS, SS |
| Zuo 2011 | Clinical diagnostics | 32/210 | Clinical medicine | Eight-year system | Sex, BS | PBL/Traditional teaching | One semester | KS, SS |
E/C, experimental group/control group; ES, college entrance exam scores; PBL, problem-based learning; KS, knowledge scores; SS, skill scores; BS, basic medical knowledge test scores.