Factors leading to Topic Selection for Dissertation writing by Post Graduate Medical Residents

help provided by supervisor during proposal writing. Place and Duration: Multi-centre cross sectional study conducted over a period of six months (April-September 2010) at tertiary care hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Materials and Methods: 436 postgraduate medical residents were included in the study. The factors leading to selection of dissertation topic were identified. The time interval between start of postgraduate training and submission of research proposal was plotted in months while the help provided by the supervisor was graded as maximum to minimum. Both these parameters were cross tabulated with each of the individual factor leading to dissertation topic selection. Descriptive statistics were applied. Differences in qualitative data between groups were analyzed with the Chi-square test. Stata version 10 was used for all statistical analysis. Results: Research proposal was submitted within 6-12 months by 43.5% by the residents who had chosen a topic of their personal interest (p~0.001). When the topic was selected on supervisor’s advice, the interval for submission was longest although the supervisor help was maximum (P~0.001). Residents who selected the topic from medical journal, submitted research proposal earlier, however they received minimum input from supervisor. Only 3.7% residents had chosen a topic from ongoing research project of the department. Conclusion: Most of the topics were selected on supervisor’s suggestion. Residents who selected the topic of their own interest performed better while writing the research proposal for dissertation. The supervisors provided maximum help when they have their own interest in the topic selected.