First-year physics students' perceptions of the quality of experimental measurements

This paper reports an investigation into the procedural understanding of first-year university science students at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Written probes were used to explore ideas regarding the reliability of experimental data, in particular the need for repeating measurements an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of science education 1998-04, Vol.20 (4), p.447-459
Main Authors: Allie, Saalih, Buffler, Andy, Campbell, Bob, Lubben, Fred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive Processes
College Students
Concept Formation
Context Effect
Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods
Educational sciences
Exact and natural sciences
Foreign Countries
Great Britain
Higher Education
Misconceptions
Prior Learning
Reliability
Science Education
Scientific Literacy
Scientific Methodology
South Africa
Student Attitudes
Teaching methods
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Summary:This paper reports an investigation into the procedural understanding of first-year university science students at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Written probes were used to explore ideas regarding the reliability of experimental data, in particular the need for repeating measurements and the implications of the spread associated with data. The types of reasoning underlying the responses are discussed. The findings suggest an extension of a recently proposed model of progression of understanding of empirical evidence. Equally, they show that the use of procedural understanding is context dependent, and that students' intuitive ideas about improving precision and accuracy of measurements are not distinct.
ISSN:0950-0693
1464-5289
DOI:10.1080/0950069980200405