Attitude towards research among undergraduate dental students in Malaysia

Abstract

The participation of dentists in dental sciences research within Asian countries is still substantially below the target. Exposure to research may improve the quality of dental education, and potentially increase the participation of dental graduates' in academic dentistry. This study aims to evaluate the attitude of students towards scientific research during their study in the School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia as well as to identify the barrier that might affect their learning process in research. A cross-sectional, self-administered online questionnaire was distributed to 155 undergraduates among whom a total of 122 response were collected, between June to September 2016. In general, students demonstrated favourable attitudes about research integration in the undergraduate curriculum. The respondents also agreed that research is relevant to dental education (81.9%) and that participation in research activities may facilitate admission to postgraduate programs (77.7%). The effective presence of supervisors is a crucial element that affects student engagement in research, including the ability to provide proper training and guidance (61.7%) and flexibility for academic discussions (57.44%). Current data serve as an important evidence to evaluate the existing practice of delivering the research component to undergraduate dental students in Malaysia, which includes a proper project title, objectives, sampling population, literature review, analytical instrument, methodology and data analysis. In depth knowledge and improved research skills will allow for better participation of undergraduates in various dental sciences research, ranging from laboratory-based experiments to clinical and community-based research projects.