Perceptions, attitudes and practices toward research among senior medical students

We aimed to explore perceptions, attitudes and practices toward research among medical students. A self- administered questionnaire was distributed among senior medical students at the King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hundred and seventy two students participated in the study, with 97 males (65.5%). The majority of the students agreed that research is important in the medical field (97.1%, 167/172). A total of 67.4% (116/172) believed that conducting research should be mandatory for all medical students. During medical school, 55.3% (88/159) participated in research. The obstacles that prevented the students from conducting research included lack of professional supervisors (84.7%, 143/169), lack of training courses (88.8%, 151/170), lack of time (72.3%, 123/172) and lack of funding (54.1%, 92/170). Although the majority of students believe that research is important in the medical field, only around half of the students participated in research during medical school. (c) 2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.