Improvement Of Research Skills Research Articles

Cross-disciplinary CURE Program Increases Educational Aspirations in a Large Community College.

Undergraduate research experiences have been widely demonstrated as a beneficial and essential component of the college experience. However, many community colleges face barriers and lack of support in implementing such research programs, which means a significant number of community college students miss out on these impactful experiences. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) represent a feasible way to increase access to research experiences within community colleges. To investigate whether these CURE opportunities resulted in comparable to 4-year university CURE students, a CURE program was developed across various disciplines in a large community college and the impact on community college students was assessed. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data showed that students reported improvement in research skills, increases in confidence, and increases in educational aspirations. Peer interactions and instructor relationships in CUREs were identified as key factors associated with increases in research skills. Key factors associated with increases in educational aspirations included confidence in research-based courses, seeking additional research opportunities, and building a meaningful relationship with the instructor, but only if confidence increased as well. Our findings indicate that CUREs positively impact student outcomes in the community college setting and may provide increased access to research experiences.

Nurturing Students’ Academic Research writing through Experiential Learning: Work-based Teaching for Research Skill Development

Experiential or work-based learning is deemed essential for the completion of formal higher education qualifications, in particular postgraduate degrees. The aim of these research degrees is to develop the intellectual capacity of individuals to become independent researchers. This target is achieved by teaching courses on research methods. The current study is exploratory in nature that aims to explore change in the knowledge and skills of students through the experiential instruction method. Thirty students from a doctoral program were included as a sample of the study. Continuous feedback was taken from students through social media tools. The focus of feedback was targeting the dimensions of engagement of students in the research course. The discourse analysis of WhatsApp chat was used to analyze the data. In addition to this, further interviews were carried out to understand the progression and improvement in research skills.

Philippine Normal University Alumni Tracer Study

This study aimed to determine the extent of satisfaction and adequacy of the knowledge and skills that graduates have obtained from PNU in connection to their current employment. The data were gathered through a validated survey questionnaire and were interpreted using frequencies and percentages. The study made use of convenience sampling and the survey was administered both online and face to face. There were 1,826 PNU alumni from various programs, both graduate and undergraduate levels from 2010 to 2018 who served as respondents of this study. Findings revealed that competencies and skills learned by PNU alumni at the university, Human Relations Skills, Communication Skills, and Knowledge and Technical Skills have been considered as the most recognized and relevant of all the skills as viewed to a large extent. In terms of adequacy of the skills learned at PNU, the alumni respondents indicates that critical thinking skills, communication skills, human relations skills, and content knowledge are adequate at great extent. Still, it is highly recommended that improvement of research skills and ICT skills shall be given emphasis in the curricular enhancement.

Abstract PO-057: Éxito! The Latino cancer research leadership training program: Motivating Latinx students toward the doctorate

Abstract Introduction: The Latino cancer burden is expected to rise 142% by 2030. Cancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos who represent 18% of the population and are the majority minority population in the US. Yet, they represent the most underrepresented among those with a doctoral degree. This under-representation and the increasing Latino health disparities is a multifaceted issue. There is thus a clear need for a robust pipeline of Latino health professionals trained across the many disciplines needed to truly address health disparities. Methodology: Éxito! annually selects 25 master’s-level participants to an intense five-day Summer Institute (SI). The interactive sessions promote collaboration between trainees, presenters, and mentors. Sessions are led by successful Latino health professionals in a culturally congruent atmosphere that enhances academic self-efficacy to overcome barriers, provide social support, networking and mentoring. To enhance research skills, competitive internships are awarded to 10 of the alumni of the SI working with a mentor focused on researching Latino health disparities. Program success is measured by changes in academic self-efficacy, e.g. “accepted into program of choice”; confidence to overcome academic barriers, e.g. “applying to a program”; improvement in research skills (internships); and, successful acceptance into a doctoral degree program. Results: Since 2010, 200 individuals have completed SI training and 49 internships have been awarded. Éxito! has improved academic self- efficacy (p < .001), improved confidence toward obtaining a doctoral degree (p < .001) and improved research skills (p < .001). Of the 200 Éxito! alumni, 26% (n=53) have successfully enrolled in doctoral programs. Thus far 12 have received their doctoral degrees. Conclusions: Health disparities are largely determined by many interactive social factors including cultural incongruence between affected populations and those conducting the research. Éxito! is a successful model for increasing the pipeline of Latino health disparities researchers. Citation Format: Amelie G. Ramirez, Daniel C. Hughes, Arely Perez, Stacy L. Cantu-Pawlik, Rena J. Pasick. Éxito! The Latino cancer research leadership training program: Motivating Latinx students toward the doctorate [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-057.

Exploring primary care physician experiences conducting practice-based research on adult vaccination: a qualitative evaluation study in Greece.

Research in primary care is necessary to empower its role in health systems and improve population health. The aim of this evaluation study was to assess the experiences of primary care physicians who participated as researchers in a multi-centre, mixed-methodology study on adult vaccination supported by a newly established practice-based research network. Twenty-three physicians participated as researchers, operating in their own practices in 10 different prefectures of Greece. After the completion of the study, they were asked to reflect on their experiences in the research by providing written responses to the questions on the evaluation tool of the study. The open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Mean age of the researchers was 42.9 years old (±3.9, min 35, max 49) and 11 (47.8%) were male. Six themes emerged as beneficial for the participating researchers: (i) raised awareness of patients' needs, (ii) enhancement of clinical practice and services offered, (iii) positive impact on the doctor-patient relationship, (iv) personal satisfaction, (v) enrichment of their curriculum vitae and (vi) improvement of research skills. All researchers were interested in participating in future studies. The experience of conducting clinical research on adult vaccination in their own practices within a network was reported to be very rewarding. The benefits gained from their participation could be a valuable tool in promoting research and enhancing the quality of primary health care.

Development and evaluation of a six-day training program in supportive oncology research.

Early career investigators have few opportunities for targeted training in supportive oncology research. To address this need, we developed, implemented, and evaluated an intensive, six-day workshop on methods in supportive oncology research for trainees and junior faculty across multiple disciplines. A multidisciplinary team of supportive oncology researchers developed a workshop patterned after the clinical trials workshop offered jointly by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Association of Cancer Research. The curriculum included lectures and a mentored experience of writing a research protocol. Each year since 2015, the workshop has accepted and trained 36 early career investigators. Over the course of the workshop, participants present sections of their research protocols daily in small groups led by senior researchers, and have dedicated time to write and revise these sections. Primary outcomes for the workshop included the frequency of completed protocols by the end of the workshop, a pre- and posttest assessing participant knowledge, and follow-up surveys of the participants and their primary mentors.ResultOver three years, the workshop received 195 applications; 109 early career researchers were competitively selected to participate. All participants (109/109, 100%) completed writing a protocol by the end of their workshop. Participants and their primary mentors reported significant improvements in their research knowledge and skills. Each year, participants rated the workshop highly in terms of satisfaction, value, and likelihood of recommending it to a colleague. One year after the first workshop, most respondents (29/30, 96.7%) had either submitted their protocol or written at least one other protocol.Significance of resultsWe developed a workshop on research methods in supportive oncology. More early career investigators applied for the workshop than capacity, and the workshop was fully attended each year. Both the workshop participants and their primary mentors reported improvement in research skills and knowledge.

African emergency care providers’ attitudes and practices towards research

IntroductionEmergency care research in Africa is not on par with other world regions. The study aimed to assess the perceptions and practices towards research among current emergency care providers in Africa.MethodsA survey was sent to all individual members of the African Federation of Emergency Medicine. The survey was available in English and French.ResultsOne hundred and sixty-eight responses were analysed (invited n = 540, responded n = 188, 34.8%, excluded n = 20). Responders’ mean age was 36.3 years (SD = 9.1); 122 (72.6%) were male, 104 (61.9%) were doctors, and 127 (75.6%) were African trained. Thirty-seven (22%) have never been involved in research; 33 (19.6%) have been involved in ⩾5 research projects. African related projects were mostly relevant to African audiences (n = 106, 63.1%). Ninety-four (56%) participants have never published. Forty-one (24.4%) were not willing to publish in open access journals requesting a publication fee; 65 (38.7%) will consider open access journals if fees are sponsored. Eighty responders (47.6%) frequently experienced access block to original articles due to subscription charges. Lack of research funding (n = 108, 64.3%), lack of research training (n = 86, 51.2%), and lack of allocated research time (n = 76, 45.2%) were the main barriers to research involvement. Improvement of research skills (n = 118, 70.2%) and having research published (n = 117, 69.6%) were the top motivational factors selected. Responders agreed that research promotes critical thinking (n = 137, 81.5%) and serve as an important educational tool (n = 134, 80.4%). However, 134 (79.8%) feel that emergency care workers need to be shown how to use research to improve clinical practice. Most agreed that insufficient emergency care research is being conducted in Africa (n = 113, 67.3%).DiscussionThere is scope to increase research involvement in emergency care in Africa, but solutions need to be find to address lack of research-related funding, training and time.

Fostering research skills in undergraduate medical students through Mentored Student Projects: Example from an Indian medical school

Healthcare decision-making is largely reliant on evidence-based medicine; building skills in scientific reasoning and thinking among medical students becomes an important part of medical education. Medical students in India have no formal path to becoming physicians, scientists or academicians. This study examines students' perceptions regarding research skills improvement after participating in the Mentored Student Project programme at Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Campus, India. Additionally, this paper describes the initiatives taken for the continual improvement of the Mentored Student Project programme based on faculty and student perspectives. At Melaka Manipal Medical College, Mentored Student Project was implemented in the curriculum during second year of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme with the intention of developing research skills essential to the career development of medical students. The study design was cross-sectional. To inculcate the spirit of team work students were grouped (n=3 to 5) and each group was asked to select a research project. The students' research projects were guided by their mentors. A questionnaire (Likert's five point scale) on students' perceptions regarding improvement in research skills after undertaking projects and guidance received from the mentor was administered to medical students after they had completed their Mentored Student Project. The responses of students were summarised using percentages. The median grade with inter-quartile range was reported for each item in the questionnaire. The median grade for all the items related to perceptions regarding improvement in research skills was 4 which reflected that the majority of the students felt that Mentored Student Project had improved their research skills. The problems encountered by the students during Mentored Student Project were related to time management for the Mentored Student Project and mentors. This study shows that students acknowledged that their research skills were improved after participating in the Mentored Student Project programme. The Mentored Student Project programme was successful in fostering positive attitudes among medical students towards scientific research. The present study also provides scope for further improvement of the Mentored Student Project programme based on students' and faculty perspectives.

Becoming teacher educators: an innovative approach to teacher educator preparation

This paper describes an initiative, Becoming Teacher Educators (BTE), which is a group for doctoral students who want to become teacher educators. The group is composed of two professors and 12 doctoral students. The various activities in which the group has engaged over the past three years are described. This article brings to light a few key elements of the BTE group, namely, its strengths as a community, the importance of shared leadership, the opportunity to develop knowledge of teacher education, the improvement of research skills, the influence on identity, and improvement in practices as beginning teacher educators.

Multisite international collaborative clinical trials in mania

Multi-regional collaborative clinical trials include those conducted across heterogeneous areas of the world under common protocols. Such trials appear to be driven primarily to provide data required for regulatory approval or licensing of new drug products in a relatively rapid and presumably efficient and cost-effective manner. Commonly, they include underserved populations and areas where costs of trials are lower than in most developed countries. In addition, such studies can potentially make innovative treatments widely and rapidly available in vast, international markets. Other potential benefits to collaborating sites may include diffusion of knowledge and improvement of research skills, as well as improvement of treatment and a broader salutary impact on health services and perhaps on employment opportunities and economic growth (Demol +6; Weihrauch, 1997; Glickman et al. 2009; Gopal et al. 2005; Greco +6; Diniz, 2008; ICH Guideline, 2002; Smulevich et al. 2005; U.S. FDA, 1998). Successful conduct of international trials requires compliance with varying local and international laws, regulations and ethical requirements, and confronting a range of systems of review of ethical aspects of subject recruitment, compensation, consenting procedures, research protocols, and provision of aftercare – all which can add complexity. In addition, there is variance among regions, countries and cultures in levels of education, and in the nature of information, financial inducements, clinical care and aftercare provided to research subjects. Complexities arise also from culture-dependent conceptualizations of mental disorders, criteria for diagnosis, and efforts at validating, interpreting and scoring of symptom ratings designed to characterize changes during treatment, and methods for detecting adverse events. In the continuing quest to define core or universal features of psychiatric disorders, it is crucial to consider the anthropological and cultural context in which they develop and are modified (Karno +6; Jenkins, 1993; Lopez-Ibor, 2003; …

Developing research capacity in health librarians: a review of the evidence

This critical review considers current issues of research capacity development in UK health care and the role of health librarianship in this context, placing particular focus on the use of research networks. There is a growing literature base recognising the need for librarians to engage more with research. The concepts of evidence-based health librarianship and clinical librarianship are discussed in the context of research and examples of existing good practice are reviewed. It is suggested that librarians should build on this through better consideration of evidence based methodologies, hierarchies of evidence, improvement of research skills, and a collective endeavour to identify research priorities. The importance research capacity is being given in the Department of Health R&D strategy and the use of networks in achieving this is discussed, and it is suggested that the utilisation of networks and collaboration should be undertaken and explored in more depth in developing research capacity in health librarianship. Areas where librarians currently engage with research and use networks and collaborative practices to contribute to the research base are reviewed. A co-ordinated approach to developing research capacity is called for and it is argued that the use of networks would be beneficial in assisting the process.