Developing research skills in medical students online using an active research study

Abstract Developing research skills and scholarship are key components of medical education. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated that all teaching be delivered online. The purpose of our study was to use an online questionnaire to quantitatively evaluate medical student perspectives on development of their research and scholarship skills, teaching content and format, and tutor performance. In addition, we captured free text responses from both students and tutors on the positives and negatives of online teaching and suggested improvements. We also compared summative assessment marks for the online course with those obtained from previous in-person teaching sessions. Students were largely positive about most aspects of the online course utilising an active research study. Students agreed that they were able to acquire research skills, particularly related to data analysis, transferable skills, and giving scientific presentations. The assessment marks for the online course were comparable between the online course and the in-person laboratory teaching from previous years. Students enjoyed the convenience of online teaching and the availability of course resources, but least liked the lack of in-person interaction and laboratory training. Tutors enjoyed the collaborative aspects of online teaching, but least liked the lack of face-to-face interactions with students. Our study demonstrates that delivering online teaching, which involves students in active research, engages and motivates them to develop their research and scholarship skills. We recommend that educators consider incorporating a current research study in their undergraduate courses as this can enhance the student learning experience as well as the research project itself.