Research self-efficacy in dental students at a peruvian university

Introduction: Experiences in undergraduate research allow the research culture in graduate school to be favorable, and the thesis is developed with more motivation and confidence. These skills improve the ability to perform scientific activities. Objective: To identify the factors associated with self-efficacy for research in dental students. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out with 126 undergraduate students of the School of Dentistry of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, in the city of Lima, Peru. A questionnaire was used to describe age, sex, academic year, membership in a student scientific society, academic performance, research experiences, among others. A scale was also used to identify "research self-efficacy" according to the dimensions of design, practical research, quantitative, computer and writing skills. The characteristics were related to the scores through Spearman's correlation test. Results: The average score for "self-efficacy to conduct research" was 193.07 ± 13.89. Males outperformed females (p > 0.05). Students in the student scientific society had higher scores (197.82 vs 195.71) (p < 0.05); as well as those who published a scientific article (194.57 vs 191.17) (p < 0.05). Students with publication experiences had better scores in research design (50.85 ± 6.41), practical research (49.23 ± 9.04), and quantitative and computer skills (47.61 ± 7.17). Conclusions: Self-efficacy for conducting research in dental students was found to be adequate. These evaluations were significantly associated in participants of a student scientific society and authors of scientific articles.