Conclusion:
Conclusion:
For this research, a qualitative and cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine the factors that influenced recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training. The data for this study was a reproduced study that consisted of a population that contained orthodontists who graduated in the years of 2006, 2007 and 2008 from the United States and Canadian ADA accredited postdoctoral programs. The results of the study are based on the questionnaire created on an online survey provider www.surveymonkey.com. The questionnaire contained seventeen statements developed to investigate the factors that influenced recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training. From the results collected, it is evident that most of the respondents have a positive perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training. From the data, it is clear that there are factors that influenced recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training.
The first factor is the contribution that their research contributed to them becoming better orthodontists. This is mainly because based on the Likert scale developed for the questionnaire 28.1 % of the respondents believe that their graduate research contributed to them becoming better orthodontist. In addition, 40.5% and 43.8% strongly agree and agree respectively that their graduate research provides meaningful contributions to the field of orthodontics. This indicates that the graduates learnt a lot during the period that they undertook their research. The second factor that influenced recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training is the help that they receive from their supervisor during the period of their research. This is mainly because of the respondents who showed positive perceptions of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training 84% of them received help from their supervisors.
The third factor that influenced recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training is the relevance of the research that they carrying out. It is evident that as long as the research being carried out is relevant then the students have a positive perception of the research they carry out. This is apparent because 37% of the respondents agreed that if their research project would have been more meaningful if it had been more clinical. This means that most of the respondents believe that clinical research would have been more meaningful. This is further enhanced by the fact that 100% of the respondents disagreed that their research project would have been more meaningful if it had more basic science emphasis. Further, 88% of the respondents denied that their project was not relevant to clinic studies. This shows that the respondents prefer relevant research studies as compared to general studies. It also shows that the respondents believe that clinical based research have positive perceptions as compared to other research carried out.
The fourth factor that recent orthodontic graduates’ perception of research during postdoctoral orthodontic training is the experience that they had during this period. This is enhanced by the fact that 53% and 78% of respondents agreed that their research experience had helped them evaluate new clinical techniques as well as reinforcing a desire to teach at some point in their career. Based on the results it is clear that many of the respondents had an excellent experience during the time that they spent carrying out their research. From the data, 61% of the respondents disagree that the time spent on their research project would have been better spent on some other aspects of orthodontic training. 88 % indicated that their project was interesting. This shows a level of satisfaction among the graduates.
References:
Sheridan, J., Weinberg, R., Lancaster D., & Gibson W., (1988) The perceived value of required research in orthodontic postdoctoral training: Journal of Dental Education 52(4):202-4
SurveyMonkey: Free online survey software & questionnaire tool (2012). SurveyMonkey: Free online survey software & questionnaire tool. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.surveymonkey.com/
