Medical Students’ Attitudes and Influential Factors Towards Conducting Medical Research

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.1667

Keywords:

Research, Medical Students, Attitudes, Knowledge, Perception

Abstract

Background: Medical research has become an essential part of medical students’ curricula at several medical colleges in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess medical students' attitudes and identify factors influencing their willingness to conduct medical research.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2021 and April 2022 using the students' attitudes towards research and the students’ perceived influential factors toward participating in research activities questionnaires. A 5-Likert scale to calculate the average of the students’ responses, where 5 indicated ‘strongly agree’ and 1 indicated ‘strongly disagree’.  The survey was distributed to medical students at the College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Saudi Arabia.

Results: A total of 500 responses were collected from the students (67.2% male and 32.8% female). Most students agreed with the following statement: ‘Research is important for identifying and investigating problems in a subject matter’ (N=399, 79.8%). More than half of the students agreed with the following statement: ‘I am very interested in participating in research activities at the undergraduate level’ (N=318, 63.6%). The top three influential factors for conducting medical research were ‘to facilitate entry into competitive residency programs’, followed by ‘interest in specific research fields or medical topics’ and ‘to improve curriculum vitae (CV).’

Conclusion: The majority of the surveyed students showed a positive attitude towards conducting medical research in King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia. Most students conduct research to gain a competitive edge and explore specialties of interest.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Brownson RC, Fielding JE, Maylahn CM. Evidence-Based Public Health: A Fundamental Concept for Public Health Practice. Annu Rev Public Health.2009;30:175–201. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100134

Jacob H. Why all doctors should be involved in research. BMJ. 2016;352:i164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i164

Murdoch-Eaton D, Drewery S, Elton S, Emmerson C, Marshall M, Smith JA, et al. What Do Medical Students Understand By Research And Research Skills? Identifying Research Opportunities Within Undergraduate Projects. Med Teach. 2010;32(3):152–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/01421591003657493

Alkuwaiti A. Health science students’ attitude towards research training programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Reliability and validity of the questionnaire instrument. J Family Community Med. 2014;21(2):134-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8229.134775

Abu-Zaid A, Alnajjar A. Female second-year undergraduate medical students’ attitudes towards research at the College of Medicine, Alfaisal University: a Saudi Arabian perspective. Perspect Med Educ. 2014;3(1):50–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/S40037-013-0093-9

Basakran AM, Banjari MA, Almarghoub MA, Alzarnougi EM. Medical Graduates’ Research Practices and Perceptions: A comparative cross-sectional study between 2015 and 2017 graduates of King Abdulaziz University. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2019;19(1):e32-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18295/squmj.2019.19.01.007

Frishman WH. Student research projects and theses: should they be a requirement for medical school graduation?. Heart Dis. 2001;3(3):140–4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00132580-200105000-00002

Houlden RL, Raja JB, Collier CP, Clark AF, Waugh JM. Medical students’ perceptions of an undergraduate research elective. Med Teach. 2004;26(7):659–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590400019542

Alsayed N, Eldeek B, Tayeb S, Ayuob N, Al-Harbi A. Research practices and publication obstacles among interns at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2011-2012. J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2012;87(3–4):64–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.EPX.0000417978.44502.61

Almaghrabi N, Nour MO, Natto HA, Faden ah S, Almghrabi NA, Alqurashi AA, et al. Related papers Participation of Health Colleges’ Students in Research at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. IJIR. 2017;3.

Stone C, Dogbey GY, Klenzak S, van Fossen K, Tan B, Brannan GD. Contemporary global perspectives of medical students on research during undergraduate medical education: a systematic literature review. Med Educ Online. 2018;23(1):1537430. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2018.1537430

Mina S, Mostafa S, Albarqawi HT, Alnajjar A, Obeidat AS, Alkattan W, et al. Perceived influential factors toward participation in undergraduate research activities among medical students at Alfaisal University—College of Medicine: A Saudi Arabian perspective. Med Teach. 2016;38(sup1):S31–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2016.1142508

Solomon SS, Tom SC, Pichert J, Wasserman D, Powers AC. Impact of Medical Student Research in the Development of Physician-Scientists. J Investig Med. 2003;51(3):149–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jim-51-03-17

Möller R, Shoshan M. Medical students’ research productivity and career preferences; A 2-year prospective follow-up study. BMC Med Educ. 2017;17(1):51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-017-0890-7

Althubaiti A, Al Muqbil B, Al Buraikan D. Assessment of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Research and Perceived Barriers. Int J Med Stud.2017;5(3):95–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2017.28

Differentiation and Nomination Mechanism. Available from: https://www.scfhs.org.sa/en/MESPS/Admissions%20and%20Registration/The%20mechanism%20of%20differentiation%20and%20filtration/Pages/default.aspx. Cited May 6, 2022.

ERIC - ED424840 - Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities., 1998. Available from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED424840. Cited May 6, 2022.

Roche S, Bandyopadhyay S, Grassam-Rowe A, Brown RA, Iveson P, Mallett G, et al. Cross-sectional Survey of Medical student Attitudes to Research and Training pathways (SMART) in the UK: study protocol. BMJ Open. 2021;11(9):e050104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050104

Osman T. Medical students’ perceptions towards research at a Sudanese University. BMC Med Educ. 2016;16(1):253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0776-0

Noorelahi M, Soubhanneyaz A, Kasim K. Perceptions, barriers, and practices of medical research among students at Taibah College of Medicine, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2015;6:479-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S83978

Funston G, Piper RJ, Connell C, Foden P, Young AMH, O’Neill P. Medical student perceptions of research and research-orientated careers: An international questionnaire study. Med Teach. 2016;38(10):1041–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2016.1150981

el Achi D, al Hakim L, Makki M, Mokaddem M, Khalil PA, Kaafarani BR, et al. Perception, attitude, practice and barriers towards medical research among undergraduate students. BMC Med Educ. 2020 ;20(1):195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02104-6

Siemens DR, Punnen S, Wong J, Kanji N. A survey on the attitudes towards research in medical school. BMC Med Educ. 2010;10:4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-10-4

Baig S, Hasan S, Ahmed S, Ejaz K, Aziz S, Dohadhwala N. Reasons behind the increase in research activities among medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan, a low-income Country. Educ Health (Abingdon). 2013;26(2):117-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1357-6283.120705

Nikkar-Esfahani A, Jamjoom AAB, Fitzgerald JEF. Extracurricular participation in research and audit by medical students: Opportunities, obstacles, motivation and outcomes. Med Teach. 2012;34(5):e317–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2012.670324

Al-Halabi B, Marwan Y, Hasan M, Alkhadhari S. Extracurricular research activities among senior medical students in Kuwait: experiences, attitudes, and barriers. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2014;5:95–101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S61413

Shah Mardan QNM, Alamari NA, Alzahrani HM, Almarghoub MA, al Saud NA, Alqahtani MS. The Ideal Applicant to the Saudi Plastic Surgery Residency Program. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2021;9(2):e3441. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000003441

Almatrodi M, Aldammas F, Alqarni A, Alwarhi F, Alotaibi A, Alqarni A, et al. Applicant Selection for Anesthesiology Residency Programs in Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2022;14(10):e30071. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30071

Alyami F, Almuhaideb M, Alzahrani M, Althunayan A, Almannie R. Survey of Saudi urology program directors: What do you look for in a candidate?. Urol Ann. 2021;13(3):272–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/UA.UA_146_20

Alhefzi A, Alsaleem S, al Humayed R, al Khathami MM, Ali Alwalan A, Saaed Al Mufarrih W, et al. Challenges and difficulties in research facing by Saudi board postgraduate residents in Aseer region. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10(3):1485-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1721_20

Freshman RD, Cortez XC, Kim HT, Feeley BT, Zhang AL, Lansdown DA. The Outcomes of “Submitted” Publications From Applicants to Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs: A Retrospective Review of 1303 Residency Applications. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. 2020;4(7):e2000112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-20-00112

Seaburg LA, Wang AT, West CP, Reed DA, Halvorsen AJ, Engstler G, et al. Associations between resident physicians’ publications and clinical performance during residency training. BMC Med Educ. 2016;16:22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0543-2

Published

2023-03-09 — Updated on 2023-03-31

How to Cite

AlRajhi, B., Omer, I., Abualnaja, R., Alqahtani, F., & Hakami, A. Y. (2023). Medical Students’ Attitudes and Influential Factors Towards Conducting Medical Research. International Journal of Medical Students, 11(1), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.1667

Issue

Section

Original Article

Categories

Most read articles by the same author(s)