Knowledge and Experiences of Undergraduate Dental Students and Interns toward Research: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and experiences of undergraduate dental students and interns toward research at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by using a self-explanatory questionnaire consisting of 14 questions and was mailed as Google e-forms.

Results: The response rate for the survey was 72.1%. A vast majority (97.5%) considered conducting research very important and agreed that research learning constituted a part of their dental curriculum. A significant fraction of the population (73.8%) did not conduct any research during their undergraduate course, and the majority (75.5%) agreed that they enjoyed doing research. Disappointingly, a very small fraction of the study participants (8.9%) had knowledge about scientific manuscript writing. The majority (89.6%) interestingly stated that they would undertake research in the future.

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that dental students at the University of Jazan exhibited a high level of interest and knowledge in the realm of research. Despite the recognition of research's significance in education, the study revealed that a relatively small proportion of students actually engaged in research activities. To foster a favorable attitude toward scientific research among undergraduate students, it is crucial to cultivate critical thinking and reasoning skills.

How to cite this article: Vishwanathaiah S, Maganur PC, Alali MA, et al. Knowledge and Experiences of Undergraduate Dental Students and Interns toward Research: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(6):824-828.