Factors associated with knowledge of Sci-Hub in Peruvian dental students

Abstract

Introduction: It is necessary to keep up to date regarding scientific advances, even when having controversial options such as Sci-Hub. The scientific literature is generally limited to opinions about the website, and it is likely that certain personal or academic characteristics of undergraduate students are related to its knowledge. Objective: To identify some socio-educational and scientific factors associated with knowing Sci-Hub in Peruvian dental students. Material and Methods: The study uses a cross-sectional secondary data analysis design. In regard to the main variable, we asked about knowledge of the existence of Sci-Hub and calculated association statistics. Results: There were 263 participants and the average age was 21.7. Of the total, 75% were female, and 59% knew about Sci-Hub. The multivariate analysis showed that knowing scientific journals (aPR: 2.35; 95% CI: 1.43-3.84; p=0.001), publication of scientific articles (aPR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.00-1.54; p=0.046) and bibliographic search training (aPR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.14-1.86; p=0.003) were factors associated with a greater level of knowledge in regard to Sci-Hub. In contrast, there was a lower level of knowledge among those with a basic level of English (aPR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.50-0.82; p=0.001), adjusted for three variables. Conclusion: Slightly more than half of the students know this resource used for obtaining scientific information, and it was predominantly associated with having a scientific background.