Table 2 Summary of basic information, characteristics and main conclusions of included literatures
From: The picture of undergraduate dental basic research education: a scoping review
Author, year | Type of articles | Type | Location reported | Education goals | Curriculum forms | Teaching program | Assessment method | Assessment indicators | Educational Outcome | Barriers | Main conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divaris, 2008 [10] | Working group report | EGC, DP, IB | International | Overall competences | ECA | MgSRP | / | / | / | ECB, LFS | The group summarized students’ views on the academic environment and proposed the integration of research components into the curriculum by research projects. |
Rushton, 2008 [6] | Review | IB | Britain | / | / | / | / | / | / | TS | The review pointed to problems affecting academic dentistry in the UK and the lack of academic staff. |
Scott and de Vries, 2008 [13] | Quantitative research | DP, AS, SO | Canada | / | ECA | MgSRP | Oral presentation, thesis | The number of participants, career choice, GPA | Participants had better academic performance, won more prizes, and showed more willingness to further study and retention. | / | In the BSc Dent program, dental undergraduates did research in laboratories and completed with presentations and articles. The program is flexible in time without specific courses. |
Scott, 2008 [27] | Report | EGC, DP, AS, SO | Canada | SRW, PSI | ECA | MgSRP | Competitions | Research competition awards | Some students won prizes in scientific research competitions for outstanding work. | / | This article shows the cases and experiences of distinguished members of the BSc Dent program. |
Grossman, 2009 [18] | Quantitative research | DP, AS, SO, IB | South Africa | / | CC, EC | TC, MgSRP | Questionnaire, competitions, presentations, thesis | Self-assessment | Most agreed they would do research in the future and 1/3 students were satisfied with the research experience. | TS, LFS | South Africa combined research components into the undergraduate dental curriculum, including lectures, experiments, written assignments, and presentations. Students assist in established projects or undertake new studies individually. |
Guven, 2011 [11] | Quantitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO | Turkey | RD, SRW | ECA | MgSRP | Questionnaire | Self-assessment, number of funds, future career choices, GPA | Club members showed the improved ability of research design, experiment operation, and scientific report writing, with higher GPA, higher retention rates, and increasing funded projects. | / | 409 different students presented 193 research projects in the Student Research Club. Students applied for research projects voluntarily and present their research in 10 to 15 minutes of speeches. Financial support was provided by each department. The club is proved to be beneficial to the academic career. |
Franzén, 2013 [19] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS | Sweden | BRPD, LR, SRW | CC | MgSRP | Thesis | / | / | / | Undergraduate research project in Swedish dental schools includes accomplishing experiment and writing papers under the teachers’ guidance. This project was integrated into the Swedish dental curriculum system. |
Jeelani, 2014 [14] | Quantitative research | DP, AS, SO, IB | Pakistan | / | ECA | TC | Questionnaire | Self-assessment, attendance rate | 59.2% of students knew how to plan a study, 46.7% knew how to write the article, 68.7% had research experience. | ECB, LFS | The dental school introduced a research methods course for third-year dental undergraduates. Most surveyed students complained about the lack of funds and academic load. |
Franzén, 2014 [20] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO | Sweden | SRW | CC, | MgSRP | Thesis | / | Students focused on different topics but showed inadequate reflection on the link between research and clinic. | / | This study investigated the choice of topic and research method, and students’ awareness of the clinical significance of research results. |
Ping, 2015 [15] | Quantitative research | DP, AS, SO, IB | China | / | ECA | TC, MgSRP | Questionnaire | Self-assessment | 50% of non-participated students admitted they had no interest in scientific research, especially senior students. | SK, IG | Chinese dental undergraduates applied for student research programs or participated in research programs of teachers. |
Habib, 2018 [29] | Quantitative research | AS, SO, IB | Saudi Arabia | / | / | / | Questionnaire | Self-assessment | Students showed mediocre attitudes toward scientific research. | ECB, TS, ISK | The survey found students faced barriers like curriculum burden, lack of interest and scientific knowledge, and faculty staff shortage. |
Costa-Silva, 2018 [16] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO | Brazil | ET | CC | TC, EST | Experiment report, exam, oral presentations, questionnaire | Experiment lesson scores, experimental reports, self-assessment | Attended students had higher experimental course scores, and more content of methodology and literature support was found in their experimental report. | / | The Cell Biology course includes theoretical and experimental parts. Students focused on biocompatibility assay of dental biomaterials, searched the literature, conducted experiments, collected data, and finished experimental reports. |
Kyaw, 2018 [21] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO, IB | Malaysia | BRPD, LR, RD, SRW | CC | MgSRP | Questionnaire | Self-assessment | Half of the students had moderate knowledge and attitude toward research and believed they can critically appraise literature to a certain degree. | LFS, ISK | The student research project was an integrated final-year curriculum in the college, and it was encouraged to publish their work. Barriers like lack of skills and knowledge, funds, and time were found. |
Nieminen, 2020 [17] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO, IB | Malaysia and Finland | LR | CC | TC | Questionnaire | Selfassessment | 80% of students perceived their literature retrieval skills were good or passable in Finland and Malaysia | ISK | The Malaysian schools conducted 12-week lessons on literature retrieval. The Finnish schools conducted courses on scientific thinking and the principles of scientific research. |
Otuyemi, 2020 [22] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO | Nigeria | SRW | CC | MgSRP | Questionnaire, thesis | Self-assessment | The students understood the research project well and showed moderate satisfaction. | / | The last-year undergraduates should finish the scientific research project and thesis. |
Yu, 2020 [23] | Qualitative research | EGC, DP, AS, SO, IB | China | BRPD, RD, ET, SRW, PSI | ECA | MgSRP | Questionnaires, oral presentations, midterm assessment | Funded projects, publications, participants, attendance rate, Self-assessment GPA, | Attended students improved ability in research design, experiment operation, and report writing, with increasing funded projects and published papers. They had higher GPAs and won more scholarships with a high satisfaction rate. | LFS, IG, ISK | In the two-year period undergraduate research program, the Office of Dental Education recommended advisors to students and provided funds and laboratory support. Guided by mentors, students accomplished the program and finished the midterm assessment and final report. |