Effects of a Research Requirement for Dental Students: A Retrospective Analysis of Students' Perspectives Across Ten Years

Impact of Undergraduate Research as a Compulsory Course in the Dentistry Study Program Universitas Indonesia

Undergraduate (UG) research is regarded as a fundamental component in dental education. The present study was designed to examine the perception of the clinical students and the graduates of dentistry profession programs in the past 10 years on UG research as a compulsory course at the Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia. A total of 310 respondents, consisting of clinical students (64.8%) and alumni (35.2%), participated in this study. The majority of respondents (81.3%) agreed to UG research as part of compulsory courses in the curriculum of dentistry study programs. The positive impact of UG research on their professional careers was perceived by 78.3% of participants. Only 11.6% of participants responded that UG research experiments were not important in dental education, and 18.7% preferred UG research as an elective course. UG research as a compulsory course in the dental curriculum was well received by the majority of participants. Recommendations included student autonomy to select research topics of interest, longer duration to complete UG research, and more opportunities to present the research results in scientific conferences and to publish in scientific journals. Dental schools and their faculties play essential roles in improving the research environment for undergraduate dental students.

Eleven-year experience implementing a dental undergraduate research programme in a prestigious dental school in China: Lessons learned and future prospects

OBJECTIVE

To summarise the lessons learned from implementing a dental undergraduate research programme over the past eleven years and identify key elements to guarantee the success of dental undergraduate research in the future.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An overview of 80 research projects from 2007 to 2017 was provided, consisting of 239 participating undergraduates and 47 faculty advisors. Students' academic performance was compared between participating and non-participating undergraduates. An anonymous questionnaire was designed and distributed to participants, with VAS satisfaction assessment, Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Questions focused on overall satisfaction, motivation, benefits to student career development and essential elements for the dental undergraduate research programme in the future.

RESULTS

The undergraduate participants had significantly better scores of GPAs (3.41 vs 3.21; P < 0.0001), obtained more awards on the honour rolls (0.53 vs 0.30; P = 0.0171) and published more peer-reviewed articles (1.62 vs 1.31; P = 0.0253) than non-participants. Seventy-two undergraduates (75.79%) and thirty-eight advisors (80.85%) responded to the questionnaire. The overall satisfaction was scored as 78.18/100 and 72.36/100 amongst advisors and students, respectively. Interest was considered the best motivation for participation by students (3.81/5.00) and advisors (4.00/5.00). The research programme was beneficial to students' overall career development. Essential roles played by the dental school, faculty and undergraduates were suggested to improve the research environment.

CONCLUSION

The dental undergraduate research programme has positive effects on students' academic performance. The support of the dental school, the engagement of qualified faculty, the interest and autonomy of students and camaraderie amongst these three key elements are essential for the research programme in the future.