Resident, research, and rewards

Factors Predictive of Medical Student Involvement in Research: Results from a New Zealand Institution

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have elucidated several benefits of engagement in research by medical students. The aim of the current study was to assess if any factors influenced the student's actual involvement (not mere interest) in scholarly activities during medical school.

METHODS

All medical students at the University of Otago were invited via e-mail to complete an online questionnaire. The outcome was a substantial contribution to a research project. The predictors were prior research experience, student's entry route, and planned career type. Multiple regression analysis was undertaken to control for any confounding factors influencing medical students' involvement in research.

RESULTS

Valid responses were gathered from 669 students (yielding a response rate of 44.8%). Of those, 254 students (38.3%) had engaged in one or more research activities. Students who engaged in research activities indicated a higher likelihood of future involvement in research but expressed less interest in internal medicine sub-specialties as potential future careers.

CONCLUSION

A sizeable proportion of our samples has been involved in the research. Targeting medical students not yet involved in research may necessitate additional curricular and faculty support in order to stimulate their research curiosity.

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation as Drivers for Early Engagement in Research by Medical Students

BACKGROUND

A student's motivation is a key factor in their success in undertaking an education endeavour. However, how this relates to involvement in research by medical students is unclear.

METHODS

An electronic questionnaire was sent to all medical students at our institution. To ascertain students' motivation to undertake research, they were asked an open-ended question to describe the single major factor that would encourage them to get involved in research as a medical student. A framework of self-determination theory was used to deductively code the responses as intrinsic motivation ("IM"; e.g., interest/passion) or extrinsic motivation ("EM"; e.g. improving CV). The two groups were then contrasted in relation to their research engagement.

RESULTS

A total of 348 students were included in the survey, of whom 204 were coded as IM responses, and 144 were coded as EM responses. Students who engaged in extra-curricular research activities were more likely to report an underlying EM (48% vs 36%, p = 0.03). They were also older (23.7 ± 3.5 vs 21.9 ± 3.7, p = 0.005), and more likely to have completed a prior research degree (15% vs 3%, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

In this study, EM was a bigger influencer on research involvement by medical students than IM. Future studies should explore promoters of IM, and include longitudinal data in order to assess whether EM students continue to be involved in research long-term.

Factors Influencing Decisions to Become Involved in Research: a Study of Pre-clinical Medical Students from New Zealand

BACKGROUND

The rate of medical student participation in research remains relatively low despite the number of benefits it affords. The aim of the current study was to explore the factors influencing the decision to become involved in research as it pertains to pre-clinical medical students at our institution.

METHODS

An anonymous questionnaire was handed to second and third year (i.e. pre-clinical) medical students.

RESULTS

A total of 249 students returned the completed questionnaire (response rate of 42%). A sizeable proportion of the respondents (40.2%) indicated an interest in being involved in research (e.g. ethics application, data collection or reporting of results), as medical students. Neither age nor debt-burden seemed to influence the students' interest in research. Intrinsic interests in research and career progression were cited as the main motives for involvement in scholarly activities. On the other hand, the main barriers to research participation were time and financial costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Creative solutions specifically addressing the obstacles identified by medical students are needed in order to enhance their participation in research early in their careers. Given the limitations of this study, further research is required to corroborate our findings.