Scientific initiation: the perception of academic interest of dentistry of a Brazilian university

Abstract

Undergraduate research is an opportunity for students to develop critical, ethical and professional thought, in order to increase the scientific disclosure and conducts in accordance to the best dental practice available. The university is an important scenario where to stimulate and encourage research, playing a key role in the development of this activity; for that, institutional support and interested teachers is necessary. The objective of this research is to know the interest of undergraduate students of Dentistry at the Federal University of Espirito Santo regarding scientific research. The study is characterized as a cross-sectional, quantitative / qualitative approach. Data collection was conducted with 101 students of Dentistry at Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES) through a semi-structured, pre-validated questionnaire, including questions about the interest in research, participation in scientific conferences and Graduation Monography. The results were: 79.2% reported liking for scientific research and has 81.19% interest in research. It is mainly in the 3rd and 4th periods that students begin to attend scientific meetings, and mostly on the 5th and 6th period begin to prepare and present scientific papers. It is concluded that considerable number of dental students shows interest and participate in scientific research, in spite of the lack of financial incentive, teacher support and infrastructure, which do not facilitate the conduction of studies collecting more scientific evidence.