Making graduate research in science education more scientific Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 1708, 020001 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941144 Published Online: 08 February 2016 Harry Firman ARTICLES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN Preface: International Seminar on Mathematics, Science and Computer Science Education (MSCEIS) AIP Conference Proceedings 1708, 010001 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941143 Synthesis and characterization of dihexyldithiocarbamate as a chelating agent in extraction of gold(III) AIP Conference Proceedings 1708, 040003 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941153 Self-assembly concepts in the formation of nanostructured particles using a liquid-phase synthesis method AIP Conference Proceedings 1708, 020002 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941145 AIP Conference Proceedings 1708, 020001 (2016); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941144 © 2016 AIP Publishing LLC. 1708, 020001 Making Graduate Research in Science Education More Scientific Harry Firman* Departemen Pendidikan Kimia, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi no 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia *Corresponding author: harry_firman@upi.edu Abstract. It is expected that research conducted by graduate students in science education provide research findings which can be utilized as evidence based foundations for making decisions to improve science education practices in schools. However, lack of credibility of research become one of the factors cause idleness of thesis and dissertation in the context of education improvement. Credibility of a research is constructed by its scientificness. As a result, enhancement of scientific characters of graduate research needs to be done to close the gap between research and practice. A number of guiding principles underlie educational researchs as a scientific inquiry are explored and applied in this paper to identify common shortages of some thesis and dissertation manuscripts on science education reviewed in last two years. INTRODUCTION One of learning outcomes of graduate program on science education is to be able to conduct scientific research for developing knowledge in science education as well as to improve quality of science teaching practices in schools1. Therefore, graduate students are required to take some courses which equip them with research skills in education as well as submit a thesis or dissertation as report of their research under supervision of experts in related field of studies. Scientificness of research is the main criteria for a graduate student’s research. Based on this criterion a thesis or dissertation is evaluated its quality. It will also be related to credibility of the research results for research consumers (policy makers and teachers). Without strong scientificness, it is quite hard for results of that research be utilized to improve science education practices at classroom level. Consequently, concept and indicators of research scientificness need to be in depth understood by graduate students who want produce quality and usable research to support research-based reform in science education. THE ROLE OF GRADUATE RESEARCH It is commonly believed that research is the systematic process of collecting and logically analyzing data for some purposes2, among other things to increase our understanding about a topic or an issue. According to Creswell3, a research is important for three reasons, namely research adds to our knowledge, research improves practice, and research informs policy debates. Research is addressing problems or issues and looking for potential solutions, suggests improvements for practice, and also offers results that can support policy makers in making decisions. There are four types of knowledge that research contributes to education (theory and practice), i.e. description, prediction, improvement, and explanation4. Descriptive studies have extremely improved our knowledge about what happens in schools. Prediction studies have generated predictive knowledge about factors that predict various outcomes of education (e.g. student's achievement, motivation, misconceptions). Many educational research studies Proceedings of International Seminar on Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science Education (MSCEIS 2015) AIP Conf. Proc. 1708, 020001-1–020001-3; doi: 10.1063/1.4941144 © 2016 AIP Publishing LLC 978-0-7354-1355-9/$30.00 020001-1 are done to identify interventions to improve students' performances. Besides, research establishes theory that function to explain a set of observed educational phenomena. It is obvious that for graduate students, the main reason for conducting research project is to accomplish the academic mission or to earn a magister or doctoral degree. However, it will be valued if graduate research on science education results knowledge that can be contributed to expand the body knowledge of the science of science education as well as to enhance science education practices in order to improve students’ achievement and competence. A good research project will definitely help to generate new insights for existing theories and practice5. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN EDUCATION There were strong debates on whether education research as a scientific enterprise, but many experts finally believes that educational research firmly within the domain of science6. There are two main reasons for their claims, namely science incorporates a self-correcting mechanism in which theories than cannot be reconciled with empirical data are not accepted, and using scientific approach enhance the reputation of education research in academia and in society in general. According to Shavelson and Townes7, scientific research, whether in education, physics, or economy, is a continual process of rigorous reasoning supported by a dynamic interplay among methods, theories, and findings. Although education is a social science, it can be investigated using method that works for “hard” science8. The Charles Dana Center at the University of Texas9) defines scientific education research as research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures in order to obtain valid and reliable knowledge, related to education activities and programs. In accordance with this definition, scientific research in education applies scientific principles, including, but not limited to, the experimental and quasi-experimental designs. In essence, scientific research is not relying on kinds of research paradigm and research design, but on how far the research is conducted using systematic, rigorous, and objective procedures. Shavelson and Townes7 and Shavelson10 stated that there is no universal accepted description of the elements of scientific inquiry, but it convenient to describe the scientific process in terms of six interrelated principles of scientific inquiry in educational research, which is called “guiding principles”. These principles are as follows: 1. Pose significant questions which can be empirically investigated Questions are presented in order to fill a gap in existing knowledge or to find out the new knowledge, to pursue in identifying the causes of some phenomena, or to test hypothesis formally. Testability of hypothesis or scientific claims is a significant feature of scientific investigations. Research needs to be grounded in observational and experimental data collected from multiple sources, and ensure that claims are supported by measurable evidence. 2. Link research to relevant theory. Research need have strong theoretical foundations. Each scientific inquiry connected, either implicitly or explicitly, to some overarching theory or conceptual framework which guides a whole investigation. 3. Use methods that permit direct investigation. The research design should maximize the opportunity to answer the questions of the study and/or to test a hypothesis. Data should be collected preciously with highly reliable and valid instruments to ensure that repeated measurements under similar conditions produce similar results, and that the collected data measure the outcomes they were designed to measure. 4. Present an explicit and coherent chain of reasoning. Inferential reasoning is a core of scientific inquiry, including explanations, conclusions, or predictions based on what is known and observed. Creating scientific inferences is not accomplished only by applying an algorithm for using accepted techniques in correct ways. Rather, it requires the development of logical chain of reasoning from evidence to theory and vice versa. Research needs to utilize rigorous data analysis with appropriate methods, account for complexities of the data, and justify the conclusion drawn from the study. 5. Replicate and generalize over studies. Scientific inquiry emphasizes on checking and validating of results and individual findings. Since all studies depend on a limited set of observations, a key question is how individual findings generalize to broader populations 020001-2 and setting. Research should present results with sufficient detail to ensure that replication and extension studies can be undertaken, and that the results are accessible and useful to practitioners. 6. Disclose research to embolden the professional scrutiny and critique. Scientific studies do not provide contribution to a larger body of knowledge until they are widely disseminated and subjected to professional scrutiny by peers. Research should undergo quality control from independent evaluators, such as peer reviews from a scientific journal or an independent panel of experts. COMMON SHORTAGES Evaluation of some manuscripts of theses and dissertation in last two years using guiding principles of scientific research mentioned above indicate that there were a number of common shortages as follows: (1) Almost of them did not explore state of the art of the field of study and position of the research has been done so that it is not quite clear which gap in existing knowledge to be closed by the research. (2) Many problem statements were not formulated as empirical research questions, such as: “Which instructional model suitable for developing …..” or “How does instructional design of …… increases student’s learning? With such kinds of problem statements a hypothesis cannot be formulated. (3) Almost all literature review presented concepts which related to variable of the study without any explanations about the relationships among independent and dependent variable as predicted by theory. As a result, there is no strong theoretical basis for formulating a hypothesis. (4) In some cases a causal relationship between defined variables were explored using correlation and preexperimental research design, hence the claim of its causal relationship is not supported with reasonable arguments. (5) In many cases instruments (test & scale) for collecting data were not evaluated their validity (content or construct) and reliability with appropriate method, so that the goodness of data from which conclusions have been drawn is questionable. CONCLUSION Graduate research on science education is expected to contribute in expanding body of knowledge of science education as well as improving science education practices in schools. For this reason graduate research on science education need to enhance its scientificness with referring to the six guiding principles proposed by Shavelson and Townes. REFERENCES 1. UPI Graduate Study Program on Science Education (2015). Learning outcomes for magister and doctoral study program. 2. J. H. McMillan and S. Schumacher. Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry (Pearson Education, Boston, 2006). 3. J. W. Creswell. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 2008). 4. M. D. Gall, J. P. Gall, and W. R. Borg. Educational research: An introduction (Pearson Education, Boston, 2003). 5. K. L. Kee amd T. S. Hoon. From literature review to developing a conceptual framework and to journal writing (McGraw-Hill, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2009). 6. R. E. Mayer. Educational Researcher 29, 38-39, 2000. 7. R. J. Shavelson and L. Towne. Scientific research in education (National Academy Press Washington, DC, 2002). 8. S. Zucker Scientifically based research: NCLB and assessment (Pearson Education, San Antonio, TX, 2004). 9. The Charles Dana Center (2003). Making sense of research for improving education. Austin: The Charles Dana Center at the University of Texas 10. R. J. Shavelson (2011). Issues in conducting rigorous and relevant research in education. Seminar Report on Norwegian Research Toward 2020. Oslo: The Research Council of Norway. 020001-3