Attitudes of Students at Al-Ghad International College for Applied Medical Sciences in Saudi Arabia towards Biostatistics

Abstract

The study aimed to showcase the attitudes of students at Al-Ghad International College for Applied Medical Sciences in Saudi Arabia towards biostatistics and developing a valid scale to measure the degree of these attitudes. To that aim, the descriptive analytical approach was used in addition to a 23-paragraph scale developed by the researchers in which validity and reliability were verified. The study gathered survey data from (205) male and female students who were randomly selected from the biostatistics course in the first semester of 2018-2019. The findings of the study mainly showed that the attitudes of students at Al-Ghad International College towards biostatistics was medium, approximately half of the students' had a medium level of attitude, a quarter had a high level of attitude and almost the same had a low level of attitude towards biostatistics. The results also revealed that five paragraphs received a high degree of attitude, seventeen paragraphs received a medium degree, while none of the paragraphs classified in the low attitude degree. Based on the results, the study recommended that statistical activities should be linked with students' life and specializations, focusing on practical skills rather than theoretical ones, conducting a periodic and continuous evaluation for the university students to identify their attitudes towards statistics and strengthening the role of academic guidance and counseling to enhance students' positive attitudes towards their statistical capabilities.