Research fair: A three pronged innovative effort for fruitful publications out of post graduate dissertations

BACKGROUND: Medicine and research have almost become synonymous due to the emergence of evidence-based medicine. To keep up with the advancements in medical science, postgraduate students should learn the art and science of research. Postgraduate dissertations should take no longer a formality to acquire the degree but can be the best opportunity for disseminating their works as effective research publications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We adapted research fair intervention to encourage the postgraduate students to publish their dissertation work. Students were asked to convert their dissertation into poster, which was adjudged by the experts from within and outside the institution. Best dissertation award competition was held to encourage them to showcase their work. The manuscript writing workshop was conducted to orient them on preparing a research article by making them work for the small group with the expert mentor. RESULTS: Among 100 students who participated in the research fair, 88 completed the feedback survey. The majority of the participants, 71.6% and 59.1%, mentioned that poster presentation and the feedback by the judges were very useful. About 54.5% of the participants mentioned that the manuscript writing workshop was very useful. Out of 100 manuscripts drafted during research fair, 78 (78.0%) have been submitted to various national and international journals. Out of these 21 articles are accepted for publication, 12 are published and 45 are in the review process. The overall success rate of the intervention was 42.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The research fair intervention was successful in encouraging feedback from the participants and the higher rate of submission for publication.