Barriers to Research Publication for Undergraduate Medical Students in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Scientific research is an approach to acquiring information to enhance the quality of the world. The aim of this study was to identify the obstacles among undergraduate medical students to publish their study papers. Materials and methods This was a web-based descriptive cross-sectional study that used an online survey to collect data from medical students of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The minimum sample size required for the study calculated by the Raosoft website was 323. Statistical analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25 (Released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results A total of 337 medical students were included in the study. The frequencies of male and female students were relatively comparable, with a marginally greater proportion of male students (177, 52.5%). The majority of students (294, 87.2%) had participated in at least one research project. Notably, 159 (47.2%) students had engaged in more than three research projects, whereas 42 (12.4%) had experience with only one previous research project. A notable peak in publication rate was observed for the year 2023, indicating the highest rate within the study period. The most frequently encountered obstacle in research publication was poor academic teaching, as reported by 133 (39.5%) students, followed by lack of active research groups (130, 38.6%), lack of time (122, 36.2%), and lack of supervisors in their preferred specialty (91, 27%). Associations were found between students' participation in research projects and various demographic characteristics. Among medical students who had previously participated in a research group, 174 (51.7%) were female, and 163 (48.3%) were male (p=0.001). In terms of academic year, most students who participated in a research project were in their sixth year (143, 42.5%), followed by medical interns (81, 24.1%) and fourth-year medical students (54, 16%), with these differences being statistically significant (p=0.001). Finally, the medical students' grade point average showed no statistically significant association with participation in a research project. Conclusion To boost publication rates and research experience of graduating medical students, it is important to articulate the barriers that prevent them from publishing their research. Educators and supervisors of medical research should strongly consider developing a framework that addresses current and future obstacles.