ERIC Number: EJ1260756
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2469-9896
EISSN: N/A
Examination of Quantitative Methods for Analyzing Data from Concept Inventories
Burkholder, Eric; Walsh, Cole; Holmes, N. G.
Physical Review Physics Education Research, v16 n1 Article 010141 Jan-Jun 2020
Physics education research (PER) has long used concept inventories to investigate student learning over time and to compare performance across various student subpopulations. PER has traditionally used normalized gain to explore these questions but has begun to use established methods from other fields, including Cohen's "d," multiple linear regression, and linear mixed effects models. The choice of analysis method for examining student learning gains in PER is a current subject of debate. We synthesize this debate here by focusing on the research questions and interpretations that can be drawn using various statistical tools. We focus particularly on how results can be interpreted through an equity lens and what questions can and cannot be answered using different methods. Our results demonstrate the importance of clearly defining a research question and using appropriate tools to answer that question.
Descriptors: Physics, Science Education, Educational Research, Science Tests, Data Analysis, Student Evaluation, Research Methodology, Data Interpretation, Test Results, Regression (Statistics), Scores
American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: http://prst-per.aps.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A