ERIC Number: EJ1164087
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jan
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1560
EISSN: N/A
Evaluating Research-Oriented Teaching: A New Instrument to Assess University Students' Research Competences
Böttcher, Franziska; Thiel, Felicitas
Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, v75 n1 p91-110 Jan 2018
Several concepts have been developed to implement research-oriented teaching in higher education in the last 15 years. The definition of research competences, however, has received minor attention so far. Some approaches to modeling research competences describe these competences along the research process but either focus on a specific academic discipline and/or specific facets or offer no empirical verification for cross-disciplinary approaches. We have developed a new approach to model research competences across various academic disciplines in form of a competence model--the RMRC-K-model. This model comprises five dimensions: skills in "r"eviewing the state of research, "m"ethodological skills, skills in "r"eflecting on research findings, "c"ommunication skills, and content "k"nowledge. In this study, we present an instrument ("R-Comp") developed on the basis of this cross-disciplinary competence model. The factorial structure of the "R-Comp" was examined with data from 391 university students in three groups, either enrolled in a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, or a PhD program. The sample represented various academic disciplines. Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesized structure of the "R-Comp" for the five dimensions in accordance with the RMRC-K-model. Additionally, results provided evidence for a more detailed differentiation of all dimensions with sub-dimensions reflecting theorized facets of the model. Both Cronbach's a and construct reliability "H" indicated overall good reliability. Despite limitations to this study, there is some first evidence of a valid and reliable assessment of student research competences.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, Student Evaluation, Research Skills, Models, Factor Analysis, Factor Structure, Measures (Individuals), Test Reliability, Test Validity
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A