status of research among medical students of urmia university medical sciences in (knowledge, attitude and practice)

status of research among medical students of urmia university medical sciences in (knowledge, attitude and practice)     ghaffarzadeh sh [1] , nazari h * [2] , ghasemi r [3] , ahmadi doyran z [4]     received: 3july, 2011 accepted: 23september, 2011     abstract:   background & aims : research is one of the most influential tools for developing students’ potential talents. this study aimed to assess students’ awareness, attitude, and performance regarding researching activities in the urmia university of medical sciences.   materials & methods : totally, in this descriptive-analytic study, we randomly selected 70 male and female students of medicine. they were (35 male and 35 female) between 21 and 36 years old. likert question type inventories were used to determine students’ awareness and attitude toward the importance of research and their performance in this case. findings were presented based on descriptive data analysis and tests.   results : the sum of positive responses to the question: “are you interested in researching activities?” were 52 (74.3%) and the rest 18 students (25.7% of all test subjects) responded negatively. when they were asked: “do you have enough time for researching activities?” the answer of 16 students (22.8%) was positive versus 54 (77.2%) of negative responses. totally 8 students (11.4% of all test subjects) believed that there are enough lab equipment and facilities available. however, 48 students (68.6% of all test subjects) believed otherwise, and 14 students (20%) had no idea in this case. the research performance of students was evaluated as follows: poor for 35 students (50%) moderate for 28 students (40%) good for 5 students (7.1%) and excellent for 2 students (2.9%). the total average of attitude appraisal value was 77.85% for all 70 students.   conclusion: the majority of students has plenty of time for doing research and do not have living and occupational difficulties. the lack of proper informing policy and integrated motivating programs are the cause for the lack of interest toward researching activities among students.   keywords : research, awareness, attitude, performance     address: deputy for research affairs, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia, iran   tel : (+98441) 2240643     email: [email protected]   [1] phd in anthropology, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia, iran   [2] ma student information systems management, islamic azad university, mahabad, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia, iran (corresponding author)   [3] bs, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia, iran   [4] ma student, islamic azad university, urmia branch, urmia, iran