Participants’ responses to the attitude items.

Objective
This study aimed to assess the confidence, attitude, and scientific research practices of undergraduate students of different health profession specialties.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, an online-based questionnaire was distributed as a Google Form via groups and pages of medical universities available on social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter to the second- to sixth-year students of different health profession specialties in different universities across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the period from October through December 2023 using the convenience sampling technique. The questionnaire included four parts that assessed socio-demographics and custom-designed research-related questions (6 items), perceived confidence (8 items), attitudes (14 items), and the practice in the context of scientific research and its implementation (9 items). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the variables associated with the study outcomes, including confidence, attitudes, and practice levels.
Results
The study included 522 undergraduate students. The participants reported low confidence, a negative attitude, and low scientific research practice. Regression results revealed that individuals without prior research experiences were less likely to have high confidence and practice compared to those with previous research experience (OR = 0.634, 95% CI: 0.426–0.945, p = 0.025; and OR = 0.139, 95%Cl: 0.090–0.216, P<0.001, respectively). Additionally, participants who reported difficulty in differentiating between various literature resources were less likely to have high confidence and practice compared to those who reported the ability to differentiate (OR = 0.627, 95% CI: 0.42–0.935, p = 0.022, and OR = 0.370, 95%Cl: 0.237–0.579, p<0.001, respectively). Furthermore, individuals who had not taught research methods in their undergraduate studies were less likely to have high practice (OR = 0.505, 95%Cl: 0.309–0.823, p = 0.06).
Conclusions
Undergraduates of different medical specialties in the UAE demonstrated acceptable levels of confidence and attitude toward scientific research, with several areas for practice improvement. Education and training courses focusing on various aspects of scientific research should be incorporated into the medical curricula in order to enhance students’ confidence and practice of scientific research.

研究目标
本研究旨在评估不同健康专业本科学生对科学研究的信心、态度及科研实践行为。

研究方法
本研究为横断面研究（cross-sectional study），于2023年10月至12月期间，通过Facebook、WhatsApp、Twitter等社交媒体平台上的医科大学群组与主页，以谷歌表单（Google Form）形式发放在线问卷，采用便利抽样法（convenience sampling technique），针对阿拉伯联合酋长国（United Arab Emirates，简称UAE）境内多所高校不同健康专业的大二至大六本科学生开展调研。问卷共包含四个模块：分别用于评估社会人口学特征、定制化科研相关问题（共6个条目）、感知信心（共8个条目）、态度（共14个条目），以及科研实践与应用场景（共9个条目）。本研究采用多元逻辑回归分析（multivariate logistic regression analysis），探究与研究结局（包括信心、态度及实践水平）相关的影响变量。

研究结果
本研究共纳入522名本科学生。调研对象的科研信心、态度及科研实践水平均偏低。回归分析结果显示，与具备既往科研经历的学生相比，无既往科研经历的学生拥有较高科研信心与实践水平的概率更低（比值比OR=0.634，95%置信区间CI：0.426~0.945，p=0.025；OR=0.139，95%CI：0.090~0.216，P<0.001，分别对应科研信心与实践水平）。此外，自述难以区分各类文献资源的学生，与能够区分文献资源的学生相比，拥有较高科研信心与实践水平的概率更低（OR=0.627，95%CI：0.42~0.935，p=0.022；OR=0.370，95%CI：0.237~0.579，p<0.001，分别对应科研信心与实践水平）。进一步分析显示，本科阶段未修习科研方法课程的学生，拥有较高科研实践水平的概率更低（OR=0.505，95%CI：0.309~0.823，p=0.06）。

研究结论
阿拉伯联合酋长国境内不同医学专业的本科学生，对科学研究的信心与态度处于可接受水平，但科研实践仍存在多处可优化空间。建议将涵盖科研多维度内容的教育与培训课程纳入医学课程体系，以提升学生的科研信心与实践能力。