Abstract Purpose/Aim: Knowledge of research methods is essential to appraise published literature and conduct good-quality research. Studies have shown that many postgraduate trainees lack adequate research knowledge. The aim of this study was to assess baseline knowledge of research methods and the impact of a structured training program on knowledge of research methodology among anesthesiology trainees at a tertiary referral cancer center. Methods: This prospective study included 60 1 st - and 2 nd -year anesthesiology residents. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire with 50 questions divided into 5 sections of 10 questions each: protocol writing/study conduct, study designs, research ethics, biostatistics, and research publication. This was followed by 12 webinars discussing these topics. At the end, the same questionnaire was administered as a posttest. Pre- and post-test scores were compared using the paired t -test for numerical data and Mcnemar’s test for categorical data. Results: The mean test scores showed a significant improvement from 28.5/50 in the pretest to 35.5/50 in the posttest with a P < 0.0001 (95% confidence interval for difference: 4.2–9.6). Research ethics and study designs sections had the highest scores whereas statistics, and protocol writing/study conduct had the least scores. All 5 sections of the questionnaire showed improvements between 10% and 16%; however, these individual section differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Postgraduate trainees in anesthesiology have variable and inadequate knowledge of research methods. A structured training program helps to reduce these knowledge gaps.
Sivateja et al. (Thu,) studied this question.