Table 2.
Comparative analysis of research interest and involvement amongst medical students and non-medical students
| Total | Medical students | Non-medical students | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attitudes towards research | ||||
| Importance of research (mean score out of 10) | 8.77 | 8.66 | 8.89 | 0.140 |
| Interest in research (mean score out of 10) | 8.57 | 8.59 | 8.56 | 0.058 |
| The extent of research involvement | ||||
| Have attended a research module (n, %) | 259 (81.2) | 87 (80.6) | 172 (81.5) | 0.880 |
| Have participated in a research project (n, %) | 158 (49.5) | 50 (46.3) | 108 (51.2) | 0.478 |
| Have participated in … (n, %)a | 103 (72.0) | 34 (73.9) | 69 (71.1) | 0.843 |
| Data collection | 60 (42.0) | 20 (43.5) | 40 (41.2) | 0.857 |
| Study design and writing a study protocol | 49 (34.2) | 18 (39.1) | 31 (32.0) | 0.452 |
| Writing an abstract | 48 (33.6) | 21 (45.7) | 27 (27.8) | 0.039* |
| Data management and analysis | 32 (22.4) | 10 (21.7) | 22 (22.7) | 1.000 |
| Applying for ethical approval | 31 (21.7) | 10 (21.7) | 21 (21.7) | 1.000 |
| Grant writing | 22 (15.4) | 7 (15.2) | 15 (15.5) | 1.000 |
| Writing of a manuscript | ||||
| Presenting at a conference | 16 (11.2) | 5 (10.9) | 11 (11.3) | 1.000 |
| Being a co-author on a publication | 15 (10.5) | 5 (10.9) | 10 (10.3) | 1.000 |
*p-value < 0.05
aFor students who had previously participated in research