Article Type: Research Article Article Citation: Dr. Jorge Daher Nader, Dr. Amelia Patricia Panunzio, and Dr. Marlene Hernández Navarro. (2020). PROFESSORS'
PERCEPTION OF SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY IN THE FACULTY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF GUAYAQUIL. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(10),
70-76. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i10.2020.1709 Received Date: 22 September 2020 Accepted Date: 26 October 2020 Keywords: Research Scientific Activity Teachers Perception Research is considered a function aimed at obtaining new knowledge and its application for the solution to problems or questions of a scientific nature, The universities framed in the fulfillment of their social function have a complex task given by training a competent professional who assumes research as part of their training and who learns to ask questions that they are able to solve through scientific research. Scientific research is an indicator of the quality of processes in the university environment, so it must be increased by virtue of the results of the work carried out by research teachers and students the objective of this work is to know the perception of the teachers of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Guayaquil about the scientific activity. Objective: to know the perception of the teachers of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Guayaquil about the scientific activity. Methods: theoretical and empirical level were used, a questionnaire with closed questions aimed at knowing the opinions on the research activity in this institution was applied. Result: that of the sample analyzed 309 (39.3%) said they agreed with the training for the writing of scientific articles. 38.6% said they agree with the training on research projects. Conclusion: that teacher’s research should be enhanced to ensure the formation and development of research skills in students.
1. INTRODUCTIONScientific production is an indicator of the quality of processes in the university environment, so it must be increased by virtue of the results of the work carried out by research teachers and students. Taking into account that university research has a strategic nature given its importance in the search for answers and established solutions of science and society, it is established as the basis for the progress and improvement of health services and is related with the economic and social development of a country. Through its research processes, the university undoubtedly has a responsibility before society as a whole, since the latter requires the university to produce, among other things, socially valid scientific knowledge capable of generating creative solutions in the multiple areas of social endeavor. (González, J. 2017) The Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Guayaquil has a high level of relevance and its contributions become relevant, since they induce new perspectives and institutional efforts, basically in what has to do with its management processes, the tendency to become Entrepreneurial and innovative faculty; but in a special way, to look for mechanisms and specific experiences that help the University to improve its management processes based on the contribution to society. There must be transformation in the institutional culture and its members, which entails changes in the way of guiding, directing, in the ways of carrying out educational practices and management practices. Universities constitute the central nucleus that guarantee the technological scientific development of a country, they are the main generators of knowledge. This scientific development of an institution can be measured by scientific production, which is determined by the number of publications in scientific journals and constitutes an indicator that allows evaluating the scope of its contributions to the development of knowledge. (González-Saldaña J. et.al., 2017) In Ecuador, the main problems related to low scientific production are given by: Low number of research projects -Non-existence of research groups- Insufficient number of publications in regional and SCOPUS journals- Little motivation on the part of teachers to publish articles scientists - Insufficient training in research methodology and scientific writing - Lack of knowledge of the journal teachers where to publish - Insufficient knowledge of scientific research methodology - Lack of or little collaboration between national and / or international inter-institutional networks - Little participation in activities of teaching innovation -Large research funds in National and Autonomous calls - Lack of or scarce collaboration between national and international inter-institutional networks A great problem is the lack of incentive of teachers and students for scientific research. (Martinez-Folgara, & Salomón, 2016), if it is not attended to on time, it can negatively influence university development, by preventing the development of a research culture in this area. In the author's opinion, this problem should be addressed with priority by universities, must constitute a strategic objective within the management of university processes in the strategic plans of IES. It is important that the managers of scientific activity in universities, promote the development of methods and strategies that enable teachers and students to acquire research skills that allow them to investigate, with all the knowledge that comes from each of the subjects and to act as true seekers of the truth of science. (Mur Villar et. Al., 2016) The need to develop methodologies, models or strategies that enhance scientific production in the university setting is imminent, thus enhancing the scientific development of a country. It is necessary to promote multi and interdisciplinary research projects that strengthen professional training from the career and make possible the articulation of the undergraduate with the postgraduate and the scientific-technological and humanistic domains of the university. Interdisciplinary research should be structured, in relation to areas of knowledge for sustainable development oriented to the application of knowledge in solving the problems presented by the community and the environment. Research opens a new and interesting world in which
continuous personal and professional improvement can be experienced and this is
a guarantee of quality for the institution. However, “the fact that a
university professor excels in research does not necessarily imply that he
possesses the skills for a the university teachers must have early contact with
research activities, particularly those organized in research groups to acquire
that kind of skill. On the other hand, research groups are potentialized with
the presence of young students. In the curriculum of medical science careers
there are subjects that are responsible for the formation of research skills in
students since the early years of the career. However, they are not enough to
train a professional with research skills. It is necessary that research be
promoted from all subjects of the curriculum, and that teachers include it as
transversal axes in the training of their students.5,6,7 Scientific production is defined as the result of written supports, of research work carried out by researchers, research group, department, center or university in which contributions that contribute to the growth and evolution of science are disseminated. Thus, scientific production includes the publication of articles in national and international journals indexed in the different databases. Also included in this category are published books or book chapters. To evaluate scientific production, there are quantitative indicators, the main ones are: impact factor, measures the frequency with which a journal has been cited in a specific year, immediacy index, which measures the speed with which the articles of a journal are cited. scientific journal and allows to identify leading journals in research, H index and G index, both based on the publication history of the authors and authors, and quartile that is an indicator or measure of the position of a journal in relation to all of its area. Scientific production is evaluated to establish criteria about scientific research in a country, plan the allocation of resources, justify investments and formulate policies with an objective basis, among other possibilities. On the other hand, this evaluation allows corroborating the materialization of the knowledge produced, as the result of all the academic and scientific activities of the researchers. Therefore, it deserves to be evaluated with the appropriate indicators, to analyze what, who, how, why and when it was produced, in order to infer developments in science as a social activity. It has been recognized that high-quality scientific production measured through publications is a source of high impact in the construction of the so-called world rankings of University institutions. A concept linked to satisfaction is perception. The concept of perception and social perception has been developed from social psychology. According to Baron and Byrne (2005) "social perception is the process by which we seek to know and understand other people." Teachers are not solely responsible for the results and the quality of the educational system, nor can they take on the challenge of change in an isolated and individual way; however, they have a leading role in shaping the learning experiences of students. The training of teachers on student scientific activity is important and necessary to promote this indicator in universities. Teachers must incorporate research in their professional performance in correspondence with the explicit mission to which future graduates are called in order to successfully face their work environment. 2. MATERIAL AND METHODThis is a non-experimental descriptive research conducted at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Guayaquil to a group of teachers the sample consisted of a total of 197 teachers from onwards to whom a questionnaire was applied with closed questions aimed at knowing their perception of the research activity in this institution. The main variables present in the questionnaire included objective questions about participation in training on scientific writing, in research networks, knowledge about the lines of research, motivation, knowledge of the journals to publish and the dissemination of research activities, among other. 3. RESULTSOf the sample studied, 197 teachers said they agreed with the training for the writing of scientific articles. Table 1 shows the graduates' perception of the training of scientific articles. The largest number of students felt that they agreed and strongly agreed with the same 2,79 ±1,241. To achieve the quality of any institution or process, permanent improvement must be an inseparable part of the procedures to be performed. According to goal objective about identify the perception of teachers of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Guayaquil regarding scientific production, Training on writing scientific articles, Training for project development. Budget allocation for publishing. Laboratory operation, Accompaniment in the development of research projects, Budget allocation to execute projects, Disclosure of magazines to publish, Disclosure of research activities, Availability of time for research, Knowledge of the research lines, Functioning of research groups and Existence of agreements or strategic alliances. Table 1: Mean and standard deviation for the indicators of the teacher’s perception dimension on scientific production
Own Elaboration (Daher J. 2019) Table 1.- shows in a general way the perception of teachers according to the mean score obtained from the responses given by the actors participating in the study; As can be seen, the means and SD obtained are between the medium levels (2 to 3.99) and low (1 to 1.99). Which denotes that there are shortcomings in the Faculty of Medical Sciences regarding the perception of users about scientific production. Below
is the analysis of the indicators of the subdimension perception of teachers on
scientific activity in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.
Own Elaboration
(Daher J. 2019) n = 197 teachers Regarding training on student scientific activity and on writing scientific articles, the mean and SD obtained were 2.90 ± 1.244 and 2.48 ± 1.264 respectively (medium level), which denotes that the training received by the students is insufficient. teachers in these topics, on the other hand training for research projects was also shown at a low level 1.66 ± 1.050. These results differ from those published by Mendoza Valladares, J, L) and Ruth Roux 2016) who refer that the continuous professional development of teachers is considered a fundamental piece for the development of countries. Starting from the understanding that teachers are the ones who train future members of a society by interacting directly with students, it is recognized that their continuing education is crucial to strengthen the development of society. The development of policies and strategies for continuous professional improvement not only allows teachers to stay at the forefront and continue with their preparation throughout their careers, but also helps teachers offer quality academic and research services that favorably influence the training of students (Mendoza Valladares, J, L and Ruth Roux 2016). The training of trainers program established at the university does not include the subject of writing scientific articles or student scientific activity, this program includes the subject of preparing degree projects, despite these, this does not justify the poor teacher improvement in this area When inquiring about the budget allocation and the operation of laboratories and physical spaces for research, levels were obtained below 1.72 ± 1.039 and 1.32 ± .843, which indicates that there are serious deficiencies in this area, on the other hand the allocation of budget to execute the projects obtained an average of 2.91 ± 1.358, these data behave in a similar way to the investigation entitled Perception and attitudes towards scientific research, (Ortega Carrasco, RJ, 2018) who obtained as a result that less than 20% of those surveyed consider that their faculty has infrastructure suitable for scientific research, which has been significantly influenced by the lack of budget allocated for research. Participation in research networks and scientific societies was another indicator to take into account, the mean and SD obtained were 3.11 ± 1.508 and 2.49 ± 1.198, medium and low level respectively, in these indicators it is necessary to point out that constitute a flaw today. The participation of teachers in scientific societies is very scarce. These results coincide with González SJ, 2017 who, in a study entitled Scientific production of the medical school of a Peruvian university in SCOPUS and Pubmed, suggests that the scarce scientific production can be explained by a lack of collaboration networks between institutions and researchers, the shortcomings in the training of students and teachers on research topics, the low availability of research funds and the precarious research culture. The support in the development of research projects as well as the budget allocation for them obtained an average of 2.39 ± 1.592 and 2.91 ± 1.358 (medium level) respectively, which denotes that the support given to them is insufficient. performs the teachers for the development of research projects by the department's research department, as well as the budget allocation, both elements are essential to achieve quality scientific activity. On the other hand, the motivation towards research obtained an average of 3.48 ± 1.409, the teachers in many cases are motivated, which could negatively influence the insufficient knowledge in research methodology that in some cases exists. Knowledge of the lines of research and the dissemination of the journals in which to publish obtained a mean of 2.21 ± 1.333 and 2.94 ± 1.441 (medium level) respectively. The need for a greater socialization of the lines of research and of the journals where to publish in the Faculty of Medical Sciences is notorious. In the results obtained when surveying the teachers, the time of dedication could have influenced, since the highest percentage was represented by part-time teachers, a total of 97 teachers for 49.2%. These teachers have less time dedicated to research activities, which may be an influencing factor in these results. On the other hand, a total of 57 part-time teachers had a master's degree and 40 were specialists, which also at the author's discretion could affect scientific production. Table 3: Anova of the indicators of the teachers' perception
subdimension
Own Elaboration (Daher J. 2019) When analyzing the ANOVA applied to the indicators of the teachers' perception subdimension, it can be observed that there are statistically significant differences in the indicators: training on student scientific activity, operation of laboratories and training for the preparation of projects, since the results were be less than 0.001. 4. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSThe motivation for greater scientific production should be instituted with the endorsement of the university authorities, thus in this way, The teachers who are the work tutors, They must guarantee that for each thesis that they tutor their interns, they must prepare manuscripts to publish in indexed journals in a manner, when medical professionals graduate, they must compulsorily have their degree work tutors, in order to be able to incorporate, elaborate and publish scientific articles of their thesis in indexed journals, this would contribute to the strengthening of the scientific productivity of the Faculty of medical knowledge of the University of Guayaquil, would help a lot to the accreditation of the Institution against the CASES. In the field of Medical Education, health research has been recognized as an important component in the training of students, being essential for scientific advancement and health care12 However, there are few researches that students publish during their University education SOURCES OF FUNDINGThis research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe author have declared that no competing interests exist. ACKNOWLEDGMENTNone. REFERENCES
[1]
Baron,
Robert and Byrne and Donn. (2015). Social psychology. Mexico: Pearson. Prentice
Hall. Spain. Madrid
[2]
Bordons, Zulueta (1999). Evaluation of scientific activity through
bibliometric indicatorsRevEspCardiol. ; 52: 790-800 -
Vol. 52 No. 10.
[3]
De las
Salas, (2014). Attitude of the university student towards research in the Luz
nucleus - Eastern Coast of the Lake Legal Deposit: PPI200802ZU2980 / ISSN:
1856-9331. Edition No 18 - Year 9 - October 2014 - March 2015.
[4]
Jiménez, Terriquez,
Robles, (2011). Evaluation of the academic satisfaction of the students of the
Autonomous University of Nayarit. Revista Fuente, 2
(6), 46-56 López, (2014). Quality management models. European Model of
Excellence. Spain: Colegio Sagrado Corazón Jesuitas León. Available
at: http://www.jesuitasleon.es/calidad/Modelos%20de%20gestion% 20de%
20calidad.pdfMantilla, (2007)
[5]
Research
management: differentiations and relationships. Available at:
http://revistas.usta.edu.co/index.php/hallazgos/article/viewFile/1668/1817Molero,
Contreras, Casanova, (2016).
[6]
Knowledge
management as a tool for research productivity in the university sector. Legal
Deposit: PPI200802ZU2980 / ISSN: 1856-9331. Edition No 21 Muñoz, (2000).
[7]
Towards
an intercultural education: Approaches and Models. Complutense
University of Madrid: Education meetings. 1, 81-106.D Dipsonible
at: http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/628/1/sedano.pdfPezántez,
(2011).
[8]
Management
and quality indicators of Higher Education. Master in Integrated Quality,
Environment and Safety Management SystemsTeach to
investigate. A new didactics in the training of researchers in social and human
sciences. Mexico. Plaza and Valdés Editores Sancho,
(1990).
[9]
Bibliometric
indicators used in the evaluation of science and technology. Bibliographic
review. Rev. Esp. Doc. Cient., K3, 3-4, 1990Oñate,
Urdaneta, (2016).
[10] Knowledge management for the training of
researchers in university environments. Legal Deposit: PPI200802ZU2980 / ISSN:
1856-9331. Edition No 21 Ucrós, Sanchez and Cardeño, (2015).
[11] job satisfaction in teaching, research and
extension, of higher education professors in Guajira Colombia. International
Journal Administration & Finance Vol. 8, No. 4, 2015, pp. 107-116.
Available at:
ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePEc/ibf/riafin/riaf-v8n4-2015/RIAF-V8N4-2015-7.pdfVanderZanden,
James, (1990).
[12] Manual of social psychology. Madrid: Paidos IbéricaAlonso, Tannuri, Cabrini, Pandiella, and Benavent. (2016)
[13] A bibliometric analysis in the area of
Medicine: scientific collaboration between Brazil and Spain (2002-2011).
[14] Library Research: Archivonomy,
Library Science and Information. Volume 30, Issue 69, May – August 2016,
Pages205-230. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0187358X163002
Alvarado, Morales, Aguayo, (2016).
[15] Perception of educational quality: case
applied to students of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and the
Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey.Revistadelaeducación
superior printed version ISSN 0185-2760. Rev. educ. sup vol.45 no.180,
Available at:
http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0185-27602016000400055&script=sci_arttex,
(2000).
[16] The Leadership of Educational Processes. In:
A. Villa. (Coord). Leadership and Learning Organizations. III International
Congress on Center Management. (1st ed., Chap. ISBN: 84-271-2338-00, pp.
299-330). Bilbao. Spain: Editorial Messenger Álvarez, Juncosa,
(2014).
This work is licensed under a: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License © Granthaalayah 2014-2020. All Rights Reserved. |