Knowledge, skills, and attitudes of postgraduate nursing students regarding scientific research

Abstract

Objective: To describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students of a postgraduate program in Critical Care Nursing at a private institution in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires have regarding scientific research, in the first semester of 2023. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study with a purposive sample of 43 postgraduate nursing students. Two instruments were implemented and validated between March and April 2023, designed for the self-assessment of research skills and to evaluate the perceptions of the process of teaching and learning about research. A descriptive and inferential analysis was conducted using the Infostat software. Informed consent was obtained from the participants, and no personal data were collected. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 34.14 years, who were in their majority women, single, without children, and had 8.98 years of work experience. The attitudes and skills that received the worst evaluation were the limited approach to research in the curriculum and the knowledge of statistical analysis, while the best evaluated were the link of research to the profession and interpretation of results. Although 48.84% reported participating in research activities, only 6.98% had published a scientific article. Conclusions: An overall positive perception of scientific research was found, while the self-assessment of research knowledge and skills was moderately adequate. Gender, age, and professional seniority correlated with the participants’ knowledge and skills regarding research.