The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements

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dc.contributor.advisorBuffler, Andyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorIbrahim, Bibi Bashirahen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-21T06:53:41Z
dc.date.available2014-10-21T06:53:41Z
dc.date.issued2005en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 124-132).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis study builds on the work started by a collaboration between researchers at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the University of York, UK, which focused or undergraduate physics students' understanding of measurement and uncertainty. The work led to the development of a paradigmatic model which has been found to be useful for classifying students' views on measurement during experimental work. In brief, in the "set" paradigm the ensemble of data is modelled by theoretical constructs from which a "best estimate" and the degree of dispersion (an interval) are reported. However, the majority of students who arrive at university operate within the "point paradigm". They subscribe to the notion that a perfect measurement is one which has no uncertainty associated with it. For many students, therefore, the ideal is to perform a single "correct" measurement with the utmost care. When presented with data that are dispersed, they often attempt to choose the "correct" value (for example the recurring value) from amongst the values in the ensemble. The present work explored the relationship between students' views on the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of scientific measurement. Modifying and supplementing existing diagnostic items in both areas of measurement and nature of science, the VASM (Views About Scientific Measurement) questionnaire was developed, piloted and administered to 179 first year physics students at the University of Cape Town. An analysis of the responses resulted in four profiles of students' views on the nature of science. It also revealed that students who view measurement according to the point paradigm generally have an objective view about science, perceive the purpose of scientific experiment to prove a phenomenon to be correct and use the ‘scientific method' to get a predicted answer in order to be consistent and successful in the scientific endeavour. Set paradigm students acknowledge the importance of human inference in science and scientific experiment is considered as a tool to understand the behaviour of nature. The consequences of this work for the teaching and learning of physics at a tertiary level are discussed.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationIbrahim, B. B. (2005). <i>The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Physics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationIbrahim, Bibi Bashirah. <i>"The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Physics, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationIbrahim, B. 2005. The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ibrahim, Bibi Bashirah AB - This study builds on the work started by a collaboration between researchers at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the University of York, UK, which focused or undergraduate physics students' understanding of measurement and uncertainty. The work led to the development of a paradigmatic model which has been found to be useful for classifying students' views on measurement during experimental work. In brief, in the "set" paradigm the ensemble of data is modelled by theoretical constructs from which a "best estimate" and the degree of dispersion (an interval) are reported. However, the majority of students who arrive at university operate within the "point paradigm". They subscribe to the notion that a perfect measurement is one which has no uncertainty associated with it. For many students, therefore, the ideal is to perform a single "correct" measurement with the utmost care. When presented with data that are dispersed, they often attempt to choose the "correct" value (for example the recurring value) from amongst the values in the ensemble. The present work explored the relationship between students' views on the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of scientific measurement. Modifying and supplementing existing diagnostic items in both areas of measurement and nature of science, the VASM (Views About Scientific Measurement) questionnaire was developed, piloted and administered to 179 first year physics students at the University of Cape Town. An analysis of the responses resulted in four profiles of students' views on the nature of science. It also revealed that students who view measurement according to the point paradigm generally have an objective view about science, perceive the purpose of scientific experiment to prove a phenomenon to be correct and use the ‘scientific method' to get a predicted answer in order to be consistent and successful in the scientific endeavour. Set paradigm students acknowledge the importance of human inference in science and scientific experiment is considered as a tool to understand the behaviour of nature. The consequences of this work for the teaching and learning of physics at a tertiary level are discussed. DA - 2005 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2005 T1 - The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements TI - The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationIbrahim BB. The relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurements. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Physics, 2005 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8661en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Physicsen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPhysicsen_ZA
dc.titleThe relationship between views of the nature of science and views of the nature of scientific measurementsen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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