Background: Consideration of medical research scenario in India makes us aware about the fact that quality research in India is limited and a number of research articles published are also few. It is felt that awareness regarding medical research methodologies is lacking in medical students due to outmoded medical education system in India and also because of various obstacles the students face while carrying out the research activities.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the awareness about medical research among postgraduate students of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India.
Materials and Methods: The present observational questionnaire-based study involved 60 postgraduate students. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from students. The questionnaire consists of three parts. The first part pertained to a collection of demographic information and the second part contained questions regarding knowledge, attitude, and practice of postgraduate students toward medical research. The third part of the questionnaire consists of obstacles preventing medical students from doing medical research.
Results: In the present study, mean age of the students was 26.13 ± 1.94 years. Majority of students in the present study had good knowledge regarding medical research. About 68.3% of the students were aware of the procedure for seeking the approval for conducting the clinical research using new drugs in India. In the present study, according to 73.3% of the students, medical research should be made compulsory. Only 23.3% of students had publications. Lack of time was cited as a major obstacle for research by 88.3% of the residents.
Conclusion: In the present study, it was found that postgraduate students had fairly good knowledge and had a positive attitude toward conducting research, but they were unable to inculcate this attitude into their actual practice due to various obstacles they encounter such as lack of time, lack of facilities, and lack of research curriculum.
Key words: Medical Research; Postgraduate Student; Knowledge, Attitude, Obstacles
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