Abstract:

Any University that does not promote research in its community is at a disadvantage compared to others, because the generation of knowledge is important for empowerment as an academic and competitive institution. In the Peruvian reality, the institutional and program licensing processes, as well as the upcoming accreditation processes, demand important work from universities in the development of research skills in students. Working on the development of research skills through formative research contributes to the development of a professional profile, but this is not only achieved by teaching research methodology courses, it is also important to take into account the personal characteristics and specific interests of the student, in addition to a close accompaniment of a mentor who is a researcher, who must show willingness to this training activity. Results from previous studies suggest that students' favorable attitudes toward research may be due, in part, to perceiving the research as relevant and useful to their lives and careers. Furthermore, the lack of time and monetary incentives towards research activity in undergraduate studies are the main limitations when conducting research, which determines a low-interest attitude. The objective of this study is to determine attitudes towards research in nursing students from a private university in Lima. The scope used is quantitative. 534 nursing students distributed in the 10 academic semesters participated. Students were asked to complete the Attitudes Toward Research Scale questionnaire consisting of 32 items grouped into 5 dimensions, which measured their research attitudes. The instrument has adequate levels of validity and reliability. The results showed that the majority of students have a fairly favorable attitude towards research. Regarding the dimensions, the favorable level predominates in research utility, the moderately favorable prevails in research anxiety, the favorable one prevails in positive attitudes, the moderately favorable prevails in the relevance for life and the unfavorable in the research difficulty. These findings show that this university must continue making efforts to strengthen its formative research system, to ensure that students show favorable attitudes towards the development of research activities that allow them to strengthen their professional profile in the research area.

Keywords:

Attitude, Research, Students, Nursing.