Comparison of Critical Thinking and Learning Styles of Researcher and Non-Researcher Students of Gonabad University of Medical Sciences in 2017

Introduction: Critical thinking leads to motivation for learning, problem-solving skills, decision making and creativity. This study aims to Comparison of critical thinking and learning styles of researcher and non-researcher students of Gonabad University of Medical Sciences in 2017. Methods: In This analytical-cross sectional study, The statistical population were all students of Gonabad University of Medical Sciences is studying in the first semester of the academic year 2016-2017. Sampling in this research were for non-researcher students was stratified and for researcher students by census method. The data collection tool was California Critical Thinking Questionnaire and VARKchr('39')s Learning Style Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 21 using independent t-test, one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and significance level less than 0.05. Results: The results of this study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean of critical thinking in both researcher and non-researcher students (P <0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship between the mean of learning styles in the two groups (P <0.05) except for the visual style (P >0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that researcher students had higher critical thinking than non- researcher students, Also, learning styles were more active in the group of researcher students and perhaps the tendency to research activities was a factor in this. The attention of educational and research officials to encouraging students to research activities and providing ground for this, can greatly help to improving critical thinking and improving learning styles.