The Importance of Medical Students' Attitudes Regarding Cognitive Competence for Teaching Applied Statistics: Multi-Site Study and Meta-Analysis

The scientific community increasingly is recognizing the need to bolster standards of data analysis given the widespread concern that basic mistakes in data analysis are contributing to the irreproducibility of many published research findings. The aim of this study was to investigate students'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-10, Vol.11 (10), p.e0164439-e0164439
Main Authors: Milic, Natasa M, Masic, Srdjan, Milin-Lazovic, Jelena, Trajkovic, Goran, Bukumiric, Zoran, Savic, Marko, Milic, Nikola V, Cirkovic, Andja, Gajic, Milan, Kostic, Mirjana, Ilic, Aleksandra, Stanisavljevic, Dejana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Achievement
Age Factors
Applied statistics
Attitude of Health Personnel
Biology and Life Sciences
Biostatistics
Cognitive ability
Colleges & universities
Computer and Information Sciences
Correlation
Correlation analysis
Correlation coefficient
Correlation coefficients
Data analysis
Data processing
Databases, Factual
Graduate students
Humans
Informatics
Information management
Learning
Mathematical models
Mathematics
Mathematics - education
Medical statistics
Medical students
Medicine
Meta-analysis
Physical Sciences
Public health
Regression analysis
Regression models
Research and Analysis Methods
Sex Factors
Social Sciences
Statistical analysis
Statistics
Student attitudes
Students
Students, Medical - psychology
Surveys
Systematic review
Teaching
Teaching methods
Universities
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Summary:The scientific community increasingly is recognizing the need to bolster standards of data analysis given the widespread concern that basic mistakes in data analysis are contributing to the irreproducibility of many published research findings. The aim of this study was to investigate students' attitudes towards statistics within a multi-site medical educational context, monitor their changes and impact on student achievement. In addition, we performed a systematic review to better support our future pedagogical decisions in teaching applied statistics to medical students. A validated Serbian Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS-36) questionnaire was administered to medical students attending obligatory introductory courses in biostatistics from three medical universities in the Western Balkans. A systematic review of peer-reviewed publications was performed through searches of Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Medline, and APA databases through 1994. A meta-analysis was performed for the correlation coefficients between SATS component scores and statistics achievement. Pooled estimates were calculated using random effects models. SATS-36 was completed by 461 medical students. Most of the students held positive attitudes towards statistics. Ability in mathematics and grade point average were associated in a multivariate regression model with the Cognitive Competence score, after adjusting for age, gender and computer ability. The results of 90 paired data showed that Affect, Cognitive Competence, and Effort scores demonstrated significant positive changes. The Cognitive Competence score showed the largest increase (M = 0.48, SD = 0.95). The positive correlation found between the Cognitive Competence score and students' achievement (r = 0.41; p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0164439