To do or not to do a thesis: reasons by medicals students at a public university and factors related

Abstract

To determine the reasons to do or not to do a thesis and factors related to this decision in pre-internship medical students from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru. We surveyed all students, 102 agreed to participate (72%) and 9 were eliminated. Twenty-two (23.7%) had the intention to prepare a thesis. Main reasons for not to do it involved from self-perception of research knowledge deficiencies to scare financial resources. The main reason for conducting a thesis was that the student enjoys doing research (76.2%). Multivariated analysis showed that had taken extracurricular courses related to research was the only factor associated to the intention to prepare a thesis (RPa = 2.54; IC95% = 1.19 to 5.43). Strategies to increase the number of thesis should involve strengthening knowledge of scientific methodology using new teaching experiences; and motivation of alumni by the example, use of mentorship and active participation in research projects, research institutes or in the scientific student associations.