Abstract:

Background:
Medical students’ confidence in their ability to conduct research has been speculated to be a significant factor influencing successful engagement of research. Given the demands and competing interests of formulating an undergraduate medical curriculum and results of attitudes of learners during medical training, it appears pivotal to investigate factors that promote student research during the undergraduate years.

Objective:
The objective of this study was to investigate medical students’ experience and attitudes towards learning about and conducting research and their perceived goals and barriers to such endeavors during their preclinical medical training.

Methods:
Quantitative data were collected from 360 preclinical medical students (2019-2020) via an online questionnaire asking about their perceptions towards engaging in research while in school. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine if certain perceptions and self-reported abilities would be associated with research confidence in conducting autonomous research while in school. Hypothesis testing was conducted using Pearson correlation coefficients (r) and multiple regression analysis. Additionally, three focus groups were conducted with 30 students via Zoom online meeting platform to elicit rich descriptions to assess student attitudes towards research. An inductive thematic analysis (ITA) was performed to allow for the patterns, themes, and categories to emerge and to reveal data about participants’ views, opinions, knowledge, experiences, or values that may not be captured in quantitative assessments. Content from the interviews were coded by the researchers and cross referenced to uncover and evaluate emergent themes. Using an iterative process, the coded data were organized into themes.

Results:
Regression modeling successfully explained 70% of the variance in predicting research confidence F(3,347) = 277.016, p<0.01 with an R2 = .705 (adj. R2=.703). Feeling secure in one’s own knowledge about research, greater belief in ability to conduct research, and feeling research was important in their future career significantly contributed to greater research confidence. All the participants were interested in learning about and conducting research while in medical school, but most reported low confidence in doing so. Five themes emerged from the qualitative group interviews that were related to attitudes, knowledge, and barriers to doing research in medical school: (1) competing priorities, (2) low confidence in conducting research, 3) time constraints, (4) research not part of the curriculum, and (5) difficulty finding accessible research mentors with compatible interests.

Conclusion:
Findings from this study may help medical educators better understand which attitudes and beliefs are prevalent among medical students that may influence their confidence and ultimately affect their engagement in research while in school. Incorporating innovative curricular strategies to help students understand the relevance of research and how it impacts daily medical practice may be warranted. To develop the next generation of physicians who will think critically, practice evidence-based medicine, participate in meaningful and ethical research, and pose thoughtful questions as life-long learners to enhance the care of patients, more thought needs to be given to how best to engage students in research early during the preclinical phase of medical training.

Keywords:

Research confidence, preclinical medical education, curriculum, medical student, barriers, focus group, mixed methods.