Comparison of Research Self-Efficacy of Graduate Students and the Effectiveness of their Supervisors in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background: Quantitative and qualitative improvement of graduate student projects requires recognizing the problems of the target group perspective. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the research self-efficacy of students and the effectiveness of their research professors. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on all graduate students of basic sciences at the medical school by census method (116 people) in 2019 who were in dissertation compiling process with their supervisors. Two separate questionnaires were designed for professors and students. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS Software Version 16 and their relationship were examined by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: According to the data collected from 116 students, 65.5% were female, 69% were single, 91.4% were master's, and 8.6% were doctoral. The self-efficacy was divided into 7 areas, which was assessed based on the students' point of view. The highest score was in ethics (3.77 ± 0.9), and the lowest score was in qualitative research and statistical methods (3.01 ± 0.8). Regarding the evaluation of professors from students, self-efficacy in ethics (4.67 ± 0.66) and implementation method had the highest scores, and self-efficacy in statistics and analysis had the lowest score (3.25 ± 1.18). Pearson correlation measurements indicated that the score of the students' research method had a significant relationship with areas, including conceptualization, report writing, and translation of English texts (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Getting a good grade from students, especially high score in ethics, shows the effectiveness of the activities and the weakness in qualitative research and statistical analysis.