Table 2.
Attitudes and perceived barriers among Jordanian medical students stratified by gender
| Item | Total (n = 636) Mean ± SD |
Women (n = 332) Mean ± SD |
Men (n = 304) Mean ± SD |
p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attitudes | ||||
| Mentorship is important in completing high quality research/scholarly activity | 4.54 ± 0.74 | 4.60 ± 0.72 | 4.50 ± 0.75 | 0.109 |
| Research/scholarly activity promotes critical thinking and sound reasoning | 4.30 ± 0.86 | 4.35 ± 0.82 | 4.22 ± 0.91 | 0.044 |
| Completing research/scholarly activity during residency is important for obtaining a job in a desirable department/location | 4.30 ± 0.93 | 4.33 ± 0.90 | 4.22 ± 0.95 | 0.121 |
| I consider research/scholarly activity to be an important part of my residency training | 4.02 ± 1.05 | 4.11 ± 1.04 | 3.91 ± 1.06 | 0.018 |
| I consider research/scholarly activity during residency is important for obtaining fellowship | 4.20 ± 0.95 | 4.20 ± 0.96 | 4.20 ± 0.93 | 0.818 |
| I consider research/scholarly activity during residency is important for achieving an advanced degree | 4.15 ± 0.97 | 4.20 ± 1.00 | 4.12 ± 0.95 | 0.598 |
| I would pursue research/scholarly activity even if it were not a mandatory component of residency | 3.61 ± 1.30 | 3.70 ± 1.32 | 3.54 ± 1.30 | 0.123 |
| The research/scholarly activity expectations of my department are a source of stress for me | 3.53 ± 1.14 | 3.60 ± 1.11 | 3.50 ± 1.16 | 0.142 |
| Research/scholarly activity (e.g., publishing an article) grants me personal gratification | 3.94 ± 1.04 | 4.03 ± 0.97 | 3.85 ± 1.10 | 0.033 |
| I consider research/scholarly activity as tools that facilitate providing better health services and increase patient care | 4.25 ± 0.90 | 4.31 ± 0.90 | 4.20 ± 0.92 | 0.106 |
| Research/scholarly activity should be MANDATORY for medical students and/or residents | 3.70 ± 1.24 | 3.78 ± 1.22 | 3.60 ± 1.25 | 0.070 |
| Knowledge barriers | ||||
| I lack experience in creating a research/scholarly activity proposal/methodology | 3.53 ± 1.26 | 3.65 ± 1.26 | 3.41 ± 1.24 | 0.016 |
| I lack experience and training in medical writing/manuscript creation | 3.60 ± 1.19 | 3.68 ± 1.19 | 3.51 ± 1.18 | 0.066 |
| I have Inadequate linguistic skills (inadequate English) to use academic resources | 2.13 ± 1.25 | 2.15 ± 1.26 | 2.12 ± 1.24 | 0.698 |
| I am unable to identify areas of research or formulate research questions | 2.87 ± 1.22 | 2.93 ± 1.27 | 2.80 ± 1.17 | 0.177 |
| I am unfamiliar with statistical principles | 3.32 ± 1.27 | 3.46 ± 1.25 | 3.16 ± 1.27 | 0.003 |
| Organizational barriers | ||||
| There is lack of protected time for resident research/scholarly activity | 4.01 ± 0.89 | 4.06 ± 0.88 | 3.96 ± 0.91 | 0.117 |
| The clinical workload is too high (i.e., interferes with research/scholarly activity time) | 4.12 ± 0.90 | 4.21 ± 0.83 | 4.03 ± 0.97 | 0.013 |
| There are too many educational activities (e.g., exams and clinical rotations) | 4.15 ± 0.92 | 4.26 ± 0.89 | 4.04 ± 0.95 | 0.002 |
| There is a lack of funding for research/scholarly activity in my department | 4.12 ± 0.91 | 4.14 ± 0.90 | 4.09 ± 0.93 | 0.500 |
| There is a lack of laboratories and other facilities in my department | 3.89 ± 1.02 | 3.96 ± 1.04 | 3.83 ± 0.99 | 0.096 |
| There is a lack of faculty members experienced in conducting research | 3.41 ± 1.22 | 3.43 ± 1.24 | 3.38 ± 1.20 | 0.593 |
| There is a lack of statistical support | 3.84 ± 1.03 | 3.91 ± 0.98 | 3.75 ± 1.07 | 0.048 |
| There is lack of ‘‘credited authorship’’ when I participate in research projects | 3.46 ± 1.04 | 3.56 ± 1.05 | 3.35 ± 1.02 | 0.011 |
| There is difficulty in obtaining data/data collection or inability to recruit participants | 3.54 ± 1.09 | 3.54 ± 1.09 | 3.54 ± 1.10 | 0.980 |
| There is a lack of available research/scholarly activity in my department | 3.48 ± 1.09 | 3.51 ± 1.11 | 3.46 ± 1.08 | 0.578 |
| Research/ scholarly activity is not perceived to be important by my program/ department | 2.94 ± 1.18 | 2.85 ± 1.17 | 3.05 ± 1.18 | 0.033 |
| There is difficulty obtaining ethical approval (IRB) | 2.99 ± 1.04 | 2.99 ± 1.07 | 2.99 ± 1.01 | 0.997 |
| My program doesn’t have a research/scholarly activity curriculum | 2.68 ± 1.21 | 2.61 ± 1.24 | 2.75 ± 1.16 | 0.148 |
| There is a lack of input from research supervisors | 3.55 ± 1.07 | 3.64 ± 1.09 | 3.45 ± 1.05 | 0.029 |
| There is a lack of cooperation from the authorities of health centers and health staff | 3.59 ± 1.04 | 3.65 ± 1.07 | 3.52 ± 1.01 | 0.125 |
| Misc. barriers | ||||
| The research/scholarly activity projects available are of low quality | 3.28 ± 1.07 | 3.22 ± 1.11 | 3.34 ± 1.01 | 0.161 |
| I find it hard to publish projects after completion | 3.48 ± 0.96 | 3.56 ± 0.96 | 3.39 ± 0.95 | 0.024 |
| I lack encouragement from a mentor | 3.61 ± 1.15 | 3.71 ± 1.13 | 3.51 ± 1.18 | 0.034 |
| There is difficulty in finding same-gender research mentors | 2.61 ± 1.20 | 2.75 ± 1.24 | 2.45 ± 1.13 | 0.001 |
| I do not have a personal interest in research/ scholarly activity | 2.65 ± 1.44 | 2.66 ± 1.42 | 2.65 ± 1.45 | 0.921 |
| I’m afraid from sexual harassment in research environments | 1.81 ± 1.14 | 2.00 ± 1.18 | 1.16 ± 1.06 | < 0.001 |
| Research/scholarly activities are boring | 2.87 ± 1.36 | 2.83 ± 1.33 | 2.91 ± 1.40 | 0.478 |
| Gender perceptions | ||||
| My gender is currently a barrier to my career aspirations/advancement | 1.77 ± 1.13 | 1.92 ± 1.15 | 1.61 ± 1.07 | < 0.001 |
| People’s attitudes about my gender are currently a barrier to my career aspirations/advancement | 1.89 ± 1.22 | 2.09 ± 1.26 | 1.68 ± 1.15 | < 0.001 |
*Mean differences between women and men responses to each item were examined by the independent sample t-test