Relationships Between External Factors and University Students' Attitudes towards Academic Research

Abstract

Research is an important part of an academic career, yet it is not always frequently practiced by most students. This descriptive-correlational research aimed to find out the external factors that influence students’ attitudes toward research. We sampled 201 undergraduates at Wenzhou-Kean University and analyzed their responses to the questionnaire in order to determine the relationship between possible factors and their attitudes. The results revealed that the external factor of the training environment has a moderate positive influence on research attitude, while support from the university has a strong positive influence on research attitude. Specifically, factors of faculty support, curriculum design, on-campus academic activities, library service, and financial support all moderately influence students’ attitudes towards research in a positive way. The most salient influential factor of all is faculty support. The results suggested that to improve students’ attitudes towards research, sufficient support is vital, especially academic and financial support. Therefore, to externally encourage students to conduct academic research, faculty and university could give more consideration to support provision.