Introduction:
In the Digital Era, besides the advantages that technologies give for the development of evidence-based medicine, even experienced scientists might face specific problems with the compilation of the information and finding interrelations between its aspects. This is especially the case in student studies performed by students for their Medical Doctor, Master of Sciences in Medicine, or Master of Public Health degrees. In this situation, clear study protocols planned before the beginning of the student’s study help their understanding of the entire research, emphasize ethical aspects of it, and make the communication between the student and the supervisor more effective.

Aim:
We aimed to develop a student protocol and trackability form (SPTF) for thesis research which contains all the necessary aspects to be considered and discussed before the beginning of the study.

Methods:
We developed an easy-to-use form for student research using the STROBE checklist for manuscripts as a basis. We maximally detailed the SPTF to help the student make the right decision on each detail of the protocol. In addition to the study protocol, we developed the data diary form for students’ statistical analysis where students should describe each step during a data analysis. We further surveyed students concerning (1) their difficulties with planning scientific research, and (2) their need for multiple consultations with the supervisor (each one of 14 questions) before and after experiencing SPTF. The survey was conducted in 5th and 6th-grade medical students who had already completed their pre-clinical studies and were planning their doctoral thesis. We assessed the reliability of the answers using the Alpha-Cronbach test and checked the differences between local and international students in their baseline demographic parameters and research experience using Mann-Whitney and Chi-Square tests. We analyzed the answers of students in both surveys using the Wilcoxon test. In addition, we assessed the differences in these two parameters between the students with and without previous research experience using the Mann-Whitney test. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:
SPTF consists of two sheets: the detailed plan of the study and the diary of statistical analysis. The detailed plan of the study includes three major parts: introductory (title, background, aims and objectives, ethical problems, etc.), technical and statistical (sources of information, list of variables, major and sensitivity analyses), and prognostic (possible use of results in future). The statistical diary consists of two parts: operations with variables (data cleaning and transformation) and a description of the analyses according to the plan.
The reliability of both parts of the survey was high (Alpha Cronbach 0.81 and 0.95). Of students without previous experience in research, almost all subjects had improved after familiarizing themselves with SPTF (92.8%), but in those with previous experience, only two of 14 subjects were improved. The number of students who needed multiple consultations with the supervisor decreased for all subjects after students familiarized themselves with SPTF.

Conclusions:
SPTF should help to provide structured discussion between a student and the supervisor and to fix mistakes found in analyses performed by a student. This is especially true for students without previous experience in scientific research.

Keywords: Documentation of statistical analysis, medical students’ research, reproducibility of studies, Student Protocol and Trackability Form, STROBE checklist.