Attitude of dental students about study resources at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2016-2017

One of the main educational goals in universities is to enhance the quality of education and improve learning among students. The type of resources the students use might have an important role in effective learning and promotion of educational success. The present research was undertaken to investigate the attitudes of dental students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences toward their sources of study in the 2016‒2017 educational year. In this descriptive/cross-sectional study, a designed questionnaire was distributed among 661 undergraduate students of Dental School of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in the 2016‒2017 educational year. A total of 512 completed questionnaires were received and finally, 503 questionnaires were analyzed. Data were collected by a researcher-designed questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed and analyzed with SPSS 23, using descriptive and analytical tests such as chi-squared test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was set at
p value < 0.05. The results indicated that 429 (85.3%) of the students preferred the lecture notes as their primary source of study throughout the semester. This value, however, increased to 438 (87.1%) during the final exams period. The results also showed a significant correlation between the students’ average grades and the type of material they used as their primary source of study (p value = 0.048). The results showed that most dentistry students use lecture notes as their primary source for studying. Since use of inappropriate sources might limit the students’ knowledge, it is important for dental schools to take appropriate actions to revise educational policies in order to encourage the students to use textbooks in dentistry.