| Sumario: | LEARNING OBjECIVES Identify CLS practitioners' sources of knowledge of research principles and hands-on research training. List activities that CLS practitioners believe would help improve their research skills. Describe research components of CLS educational programs. Characterize acttvltles included in CLS undergraduate and master's student research projects. List perceived barriers to research participation by undergraduates and master's students in CLS educational programs. OBJECTIVE: To describe the educational preparation of CLS professionals for conducting research. DESIGN: A link to 3-part online survey was sent by electronic mail to 7,572 members of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science and 500 program directors SETTING: email message, on-line survey PARTICIPANTS: all ASCLS members and all directors of accredited clinical laboratory educational programs MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quantitative and qualitative measures of professionals' educational preparation for conducting research and descriptions of program curricula in research. RESULTS: 556 of 7572 (7.3%) persons completed the survey. Twenty-two percent of CLS undergraduate educational programs offer a separate research course in the curriculum, and 37% require completion of a research project. Barriers to participation in research by undergraduates include time limitations within the curriculum, insufficient faculty time, and lack of funds, space, and equipment. Increased emphasis on developing research skills is found in educational programs at the master's degree level. CONCLUSIONS: The formal educational background of many CLS professionals may leave them unprepared or underprepared for conducting research. Although there was broad representation among participants across educational levels, employment settings, and job positions, the number of survey respondents was limited. Possible directions for future research include conducting this survey using members of additional professional organizations.
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