title: Research practices and publication obstacles among interns at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2011-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medical students can play a vital role in health research at any institute. Moreover, scientific publication by medical students is a strong indicator of students' knowledge, skills and attitudes towards scientific research. Very little information exists, however, on this matter in Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the publication practices of medical interns who graduated from King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine and to investigate barriers to conducting and publishing research during their medical studies. A questionnaire was distributed to 394 interns and 249 (63.2%) responded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About 31% of the responding interns started research during their undergraduate study years. About 12% discontinued their research, whereas only 7% submitted their research for publication. Only 3.2% of the interns had their research papers published and 3.2% had their research paper accepted for publication; 2% had research papers under revision. Interns had positive attitudes towards research, although only a few of them had submitted their papers for publication. Furthermore, interns expressed the need for training in research design, scientific paper writing and publication practice. They recommended devoting slots in medical school curriculum, in addition to other extracurricular training workshops, to teach and train students on such practices and also to provide more convenient opportunities for student participation in conferences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interns in King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine have a positive attitude towards research; however, few students submit papers for publication. Lack of time and training in research methods were the main obstacles cited by the interns for conducting and publishing research. Interns welcome training in research, scientific writing and publication practice. These requirements will be issued to the main curriculum committee at the faculty of medicine and recommendations on possible actions will be discussed with the administration.
authors.affiliation: aMBBS, King Abdulaziz University bMedical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine c5th Year Medical Students, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia dFaculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nouf
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alsayed
authors.forename: Basem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eldeek
authors.forename: Safwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tayeb
authors.forename: Nasra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ayuob
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Harbi
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires