Symposium: What Is Research in Chemistry Education?
Introduction to the Symposium Patricia A. Metz Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 The following paper set was part of a Division of Chemical Education symposium addressing the question, 'What is Chemistry Education Research?" This symposium was presented a t the 205th American Chemical Society meeting held in Denver in March 1993. Interest in chemistry education is on the rise. The ACS education offices and Division of Chemical Education are thriving. Chemical education projects are winning support a t the local, state, and national level. Several universities now recognize chemical education a s a division of chemistry the same a s they do organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, and biochemistry. There has been a steady stream of students completing Masters and PhD degrees in chemistry education; and more employment opportunities exist for chemistry educators-especially tenure-track positions a t four-year colleges and universities. This increase in tenure-track positions indicates that chemical educators are recoenized a s valuable assets to departments of chemistry; however, there is cause for concern by hoth parties over the issue of tenure. Tenure decisions are based on faculty teaching, research, and service. Teaching and service are rarely a problem with chemistry education posirions, but research sometimes is. ~ h e m i s t 6 departments worry that chem~caleducation lsculty will be denied tenure because they are unable to do real chemistry research that involves the investigation of chemical systems. They also worry that the chemical educationresearch is fuzzy research that will not hold up to scientific scrutinv. The chemical educators. on the other hand. worm because traditional chemistry fa<y lack the expe;tise to iudee their research: in fact. most traditional facultv have dif~cultydistinguishing between chemistry education and chemistry education research. Before examining chemistry education research, the term research needs to be defined. Research is a quest for the answers to meaningful questions through the application of scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the process of moving inductively from observations to a hypothesis and then moving deductively from the hypothesis to its logical implications (11. When scientific inquiry is applied to questions about the nature of matter, the result is chemistry research. When it is applied to questions about teaching and learning, the result is educational research. I n its broadest sense, chemistry education research is the systematic and objective search for answers to meaningful questions about the teaching and learning of chemistry. Educational research like chemical research involves a s importnumber of staees (13).The first and o e r h a ~most ant stage is c&osing a problem. ~ e s k r c h e i begin s wiih an issue of sufficient consequence to warrant investiaation. They must pose a for which the answer isnot already known, but is possible to find through observation and experimentation. After the problem is identified, a thorough study of all previous research is done. This literature investigHtion sgould give the researcher insight into the problem and provide background for formulating the hyp,;thcsis or t h i d stage. ~ e x ~ t researcher hc a i k i , what wm~ldI ot~serw!if the hypothesis were true?The answer to this questwn helps determine the research method, the de-
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Journal of Chemical Education
tails of the studv desim. and ~roceduresfor measurine variables. The fifih stepis data iollection. Contrary to pop': ular belief, data collection usually takes less time than the design and analysis stages; furthermore, data collection alone does not constitute research. The act of recording observations and measurements is merely experimentation, not research. Once data is collected the analysis phase hegins. The point here is to show evidence that supports or fails to support the hypothesis. One should never try to claim proof of the hypothesis. The last stage of research is reporting the results. Researchers must make their procedures, findings, and conclusions available in a clear and concise manner so that others can replicate it. When these steps are applied to the physical sciences, the knowledge gamed usually is accepted without question hecause the reliahilitv and valid~tvof the work is hirh. " When applied to edkcation, hoGever, t h e knowledge gained often is held suspect because of the limitations of scientific inquiry in the behavioral sciences. These limitations include (13):
(1) Complexity ofHuman Subjects. Everyone is unique mentally, emotionally, and socially. When researching people, many variables are acting independently and interaetively. Classmates, teachers, and learning environments are all variables of a learner's behavior and development. (2) Difficultiesirz Observation. When observing the actions and reactions of subjects, the observations are subject to interpretationby the observer.As a result personal values and attitudes may influence both the observations and assessment of the study. (3)Difficulties in Replication. Teaching and learning processes are singular events that can never be truly replicated. As a result one must exhibit caution when generalizing one's findings. (4) Interaction ofthe Observerand Subjects.In addition to observer bias. the mere act of observation mav, oroduce changes in hehavmr and lrnrnlng that m~ghtnut have trcurred othenwe T h ~ rphenommn 1- refrrrcd to aa rhr Hawthorne effect (4). ( 5 ) Difficultiesin Control. To complicate matters more, educational researchers must deal with many variables simultaneouslv and must work under conditions that are much less precise than those of thrir rollrngues in the phydlral mences. Every attempt rs made tn tdenrify and contrul as many variables as possible, but the task is sometimes very difficult. (6)Problems of Measurement. The tools for measurement in educational research are imperfect and imprecise. The equivalent of micrometers and analytical balances does not exist; however, the combination of carefully designed instruments and multivariate analysis gives the researcher confidence in the outcomes.
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Despite these handicaps i t is possible for chemistly educators to conduct research into the teachine .
