Undergraduate science research projects and students - School of ...

Undergraduate Learning in Science Project Working Paper 5TABLE 1: HOW DO SCIENTISTS DECIDE WHICH QUESTIONS TOINVESTIGATE?A B C D E F G I J K L M pre post(a) Curiosity led pre • na na na na na • • • • 5post • • • • • na 5(b) Extending knowledge pre • • na na na na na • 3post • • • • • • • • na 8(c) Utilitarian pre • • na na na na na • • • 5post • • • • • • na 6(d) Financial benefit pre • na • na na na • • • • 6post • • • • • na 6TOTALS 19 25KEYna = not asked this question3.2 Question 2: Why do scientists do experiments?Students talked about the role of experiments at various points during theinterviews. Our analysis includes statements in response to the question‘Why do scientists do experiments?’ and also other statements relating tothis question found elsewhere in the transcripts. To avoid confusion thosestatements not given in response to the direct question are marked ‘Not Q2’.Our data are necessarily restricted to each student’s brief description of theirviews. Phrases or terms such as ‘what is happening’, ‘the argument’, ‘find amechanism’, ‘understand’, ‘have an idea’ and ‘generate a hypothesis’ wereall used by students in the interviews. Given the breadth of discussion ineach interview it was not possible in all cases to clarify the students’meanings of these terms.This section starts with a description of the four ways in which the studentsin our sample used the term ‘experiment’. This is followed by thedescriptions and illustration of eight categories of response - two related toexperiments and ‘information’, the remaining six related to experiments andscientific theory.3.2.1 Types of ‘experiments’A) Experiments as deliberately designed and controlled measurements of realworld phenomenaThis was the dominant view. Even though students were not explicitlyasked ‘what is a scientific experiment’ it is clear that ‘deliberately measuring20