Q-Test of Undergraduate Epistemology and Scientific Thought: Development and Testing of an Assessment of Scientific Epistemology

Authors: Matthew J. Zagumny

Abstract:

The QUEST is an assessment of scientific epistemic beliefs and was developed to measure students’ intellectual development in regards to beliefs about knowledge and knowing. The QUEST utilizes Q-sort methodology, which requires participants to rate the degree to which statements describe them personally. As a measure of personal theories of knowledge, the QUEST instrument is described with the Q-sort distribution and scoring explained. A preliminary demonstration of the QUEST assessment is described with two samples of undergraduate students (novice/lower division compared to advanced/upper division students) being assessed and their average QUEST scores compared. The usefulness of an assessment of epistemology is discussed in terms of the principle that assessment tends to drive educational practice and university mission. The critical need for university and academic programs to focus on development of students’ scientific epistemology is briefly discussed.

Keywords: Scientific epistemology, critical thinking, Q-sort method, STEM undergraduates.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1124261

References:

[1] Kroll, B.M., Teaching Hearts and Minds: College Students Reflect on the Vietnam War in Literature. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992.
[2] B.K. Hofer, “Personal epistemology as a psychological and educational construct: An introduction,” In B.K. Hofer & P.R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; pp.3–13, 2002.
[3] B.K. Hofer, “Epistemological understanding as a metacognitive process: Thinking aloud during online searching,” Educ. Psych., vol. 39, 43–55, 2004.
[4] S.A. Karabenick, and S. Moosa, “Cultural and personal epistemology: US and Middle Eastern students’ beliefs about scientific knowledge and knowing,” Social Psychology of Education, vol. 8, 2005, pp. 375-393.
[5] W.G. Perry, Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years: A Scheme. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1970 (updated and reissued in 1998).
[6] M.F. Belenky, B.M. Clinchy, N.R. Goldberger, and J.M. Tarule, Women’s Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1986 (reissued 1997).
[7] P.M. King, and K.S. Kitchener, Developing Reflective Judgment: Understanding and Promoting Intellectual Growth and Critical Thinking in Adolescents and Adults, San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1994.
[8] M.B. Baxter Magolda, Knowing and Reasoning in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992.
[9] W. Stephenson, The study of behavior: Q-technique and methodology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1953.
[10] K. M. La Paro, K. Siepak, and C. Scott-Little, "Assessing Beliefs of Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers using Q-Sort Methodology," J. of Early Child. Teach. Ed., vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 22-36, Feb. 2009.
[11] L.W. Gane, et al, "Assessment of Patient and Caregiver Needs in Fragile X-Associated tremor/ataxia Syndrome by Utilizing Q-Sort Methodology," Aging & Mental Health, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 1000-7, Nov. 2010.
[12] D.W. Wright, L. A. Simmons, and K. Campbell, "Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? using Q-Sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults’ and Professional Educators’ Views on Healthy Marriages," Contemporary Family Therapy, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 223-36, Dec. 2007.
[13] B. Daniel, "Using Q-Sort Methodology as an Educational Tool in Post-Qualifying Education Whilst Simultaneously Gathering Research Data about Views on Parenting," Social Work Education, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 265-77, Jun. 2000.
[14] J. Preskitt, M. Fiflot, P.M. Ginter, A. Rucks, and M.S. Wingate, “Identifying Continuous Quality Improvement in Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting,” J. Health Pub. Mgmt. Prac., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 12-20, 2016.
[15] K. Lobinger and C. Bratner, “Likable, Funny, or Ridiculous? A Q-sort study on audience perceptions of visual portrayals of politicians.” Visual Communication, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 15-40, Feb. 2015.
[16] R. Frascona, Effects of Data Collection Methodology on the Assessment of Situations using the Riverside Situational Q-sort, MA thesis. Florida Atlantic University, 2014, Ann Arbor: UMI: 1527054. Print.
[17] J.F. Rauthmann, D. Gallardo-Pujol, E.M. Guillaume, E. Todd, C. S. Nave, R.A. Sherman, M. Ziegler, A.B. Jones, and D.C. Funder, “The Situational Eight DIAMONDS: A taxonomy of major dimensions of situation characteristics.” J. Pers. Soc. Psych., vol. 107, no. 4, pp. 677-718, Aug. 2014.
[18] P.M. ten Klooster, M. Visser, M.D.T. de Jong, “Comparing Two Image Research Instruments: The Q-sort Method versus the Likert Attitude Questionnaire,” Food Qual. Pref., vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 511-518, Oct. 2008.
[19] K. Eyvindson, A. Kangas, T. Hujala, and P. Leskinen, “Likert versus Q-approaches in survey methodologies: Discrepancies in Results with Same Respondents,” Qual. Quant., vol. 49, pp. 509-522, Feb. 2014.
[20] M.J. Zagumny, “Preliminary Testing of a Q-Sort Instrument for Cultural Values,” Crit. Convers., submitted for publication.
[21] F. Machlup. Knowledge Production and Distribution in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962.
[22] P. Earle and B. Vickery, “Social Science Literature Use in the U.K. as Indicated by Citations,” J. of Documentation, vol. 25, no. 2. pp. 123-141, Feb. 1969.
[23] R. Tang, “Citation Characteristics and Intellectual Acceptance of Scholarly Manuscripts,” Coll. & Res. Lib., vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 356-369, Jul. 2008.
[24] I. Clark, “Formative Assessment: Policy, Perspectives and Practice." Florida Jour. of Educ. Admin. & Policy, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 158-180, Spring 2011.
[25] H. Lee, "Outcomes-Based Education and the Cult of Educational Efficiency: Using Curriculum and Assessment Reforms to Drive Educational Policy and Practice." Educ. Research & Perspec., vol. 30, no. 2, Dec. 2003.
[26] S. Adams, “The 10 skills that employers most want in 2015 graduates,” Forbes, Nov. 14, 2014, Downloaded March 4, 2015 http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/11/12/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-2015-graduates/#55879d5719f6