Abstract
BACKGROUND
Nursing students do scientific research at the university level not only contributing to the development of the nursing profession but also helping themselves to practice more useful skills for future work. A positive attitude toward scientific research has been shown to motivate students to practice research.
AIM
The objectives of the study were to assess attitudes toward scientific research and explore associated factors of nursing students in Vietnam.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study design was adopted and conducted on 238 nursing undergraduate students. Study samples were collected from October to November 2021 through a face-to-face meeting with study subjects and an accidental sampling technique. Attitudes toward Research Scale were used in this study.
RESULTS
The study showed that 76.1% of nursing students had a positive attitude toward scientific research. Through simple linear regression analysis, it showed that having been or participating in scientific research projects (p = 0.044), scientific research activities (p = 0.013); intending to pursue a postgraduate degree (p = 0.021); being introduced/invited to participate in scientific research projects (p = 0.012), understanding that scientific research is important to get a good job and improve professional qualifications (p = 0.026), and year of the study program (p < 0.001) was the factors that affect nursing students’ attitudes toward scientific research.
CONCLUSIONS
Many associated factors influence the attitude towards scientific research of nursing students. Further effective interventions are needed to address this issue.