Using Q methodology to investigate undergraduate students’ attitudes toward the geosciences

Abstract

Undergraduate students have different attitudes toward the geosciences, but few studies have investigated these attitudes using Q methodology. Q methodology allows the researcher to identify more detailed reasons for students' attitudes toward geology than Likert methodology. Thus this study used Q methodology to investigate the attitudes that 15 undergraduate students had toward the geosciences. Three different groups of undergraduates were sampled: geoscience majors, science majors, and nonscience majors. Three distinct perspectives emerged from the analysis: (1) knowledgebased outlook, (2) class isolated knowledge, and (3) specific geoscientific interests. Even though all students see value and importance in learning geoscience concepts, several students suggested that a better connection of the geosciences to their everyday lives would improve their attitude toward geology. K E Y W O R D Sgeosciences, student attitudes, undergraduate

Appreciating small-group active learning: What do medical students want, and why? A Q-methodology study

“…This aligns with the aim of this study. Q-methodology has been used in (medical) education research before, for example to understand graduate medical trainee's attitudes towards teaching (Dotters-Katz et al 2016), to inform curricular change (Roberts et al 2015), and to elicit student attitudes towards their studies (Young and Shepardson 2018). Other aspects of education that have been studied using Q-methodology are e-learning (Khatri 2010), assessment (Fokkema et al 2014), and self-regulated learning (Berkhout et al 2017).…”

Using Q Methodology to Explore Science Teachers’ Socioscientific Decision-Making

“…As a result of the analysis carried out, two different perspectives were obtained (see Figure 3). Perspectives emerging in Q method studies are generally named by the researchers in deference to the distinguishing statements (Young & Shepardson, 2018). The perspectives emerged in this study were named as "Traditional"…”

“…Even though Q methodology has been in use for many years, its applications in science education are so rare. Except for the study by Young and Shepardson (2018), where Q methodology was used to investigate the attitude of undergraduate students towards geology, it is difficult to talk about the use of Q methodology in science education research. Nonetheless, despite the strength of Q method in investigating decision-making processes (Durning & Brown, 2007), it has not been found to be used in the studies related to SSIs.…”

“…The 22 statements that participants sorted in this study are listed in Table 1. The statements in a Q study can be formed by taking them directly from the related literature (Young and Shepardson, 2018) or they are produced by the researcher if the literature on the subject is limited (Yıldırım, 2017). In this study, the related literature was examined, and categories affecting individuals' decision-making processes regarding SSIs were determined.…”

Science teacher’s perceptions of the nature of technology: a Q-methodology study

“…In Q methodology, a 3:1 ratio of statements to the number of participants is offered but a ratio of 2:1 is also accepted (Webler et al, 2009, as cited in Young & Shepardson, 2018. For a Q-sort with 36 statements, the optimal number of participants is 12, but an acceptable number of participants is between 12 to 18 (Young & Shepardson, 2018). Throughout the study, no identifying information about the participants is given but the participants are coded depending on their year of experience as a teacher and their gender.…”