Barriers to research activities as perceived by medical university students: A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: The importance of research is revealed by the fact that the top seven science producing countries in the world are the same seven countries worldwide in terms of the research facilities. AIM: To explore the barriers to research activities among the students of the Hormozgan Medical University. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A total of 400 students affiliated with the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences participated in this cross-sectional study. METHODS: The sampling method was proportional stratified, and the data collection instrument was a tripartite questionnaire that comprised demographic information, personal barriers, and organizational barriers. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were statistically analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (V.16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) using descriptive statistics as well as the independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The most prevalent personal barriers were inadequate knowledge of research methodology (2.91±1.24) and inadequate skill in research conduction (2.89±1.36). In the realm of organizational barriers, limited access to information sources was the most prevalent barrier (2.75±2.27). The results showed that researcher students encounter more of the organizational barriers (56.13±13.90), whereas non-researcher students faced more of the personal barriers (53.80±10.95). CONCLUSION: Establishing access to high-speed Internet system, raising students’ awareness of research methodology through workshops, encouraging and motivating students for research work, and using online sources can help in removing the barriers to research activities.