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Assessing beliefs: the epistemological scenario.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Epistemological beliefs are difficult to measure because they are covert, unconscious, and because effect of context or domain on beliefs is unclear. Current research on epistemological beliefs has primarily used three methods of data collection: Interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and Likert-scale questionnaires. This study investigated the use of scenarios as an assessment of epistemological beliefs. Results indicate that epistemological scenarios are a viable measure for assessing beliefs within a domain.

Introduction

Epistemological beliefs are an individual's conception about knowledge and the conditions for acquiring knowledge (Hofer, 2002). These beliefs are challenging to measure because they are covert, unconscious, and because the effect of context or domain on beliefs is unclear (Clarebout, Elen, Luyten, & Bamps, 2001). Current research on epistemological beliefs has primarily used three types of data collection: Interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and Likert-scale questionnaires. Although all of these methods have merit, some researchers have suggested that a combination of methods within a specific context may provide a more effective means of assessment (Clarebout, et al, 2001; Hofer & Pintrich, 1997; Pajares, 1992). The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of scenarios as an assessment of epistemological beliefs that addresses these concerns.

Perry (1970) used unstructured interviews so college students could contextualize their beliefs about knowing and knowledge. The goal of these interviews was to allow students to express their beliefs without their responses being guided by a standard set of interview questions. Later studies (Baxter Magolda, 1992; Belenky et al., 1986; King & Kitchener, 1994) built on Perry's approach but began to use more structured interviews. Interview protocols and sets of open-ended questions were created, which continued to allow students to express their beliefs but focused the scope of the responses to topics such as gender, relationships, or ill-structured problems. The use of structured interviews has led to some valuable longitudinal research.

There are several problems inherent in using either structured or unstructured interviews to study epistemological beliefs. First is the issue of replicability and generalizability. Despite valuable findings in the interview research, there has been little follow-up to determine if the results can be replicated or generalized beyond the interview participants (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). Many of these studies have been massive longitudinal investigations, which do not lend themselves to replication. Second, some interview methods require special training (e.g., the Reflective Judgement Interview; King & Kitchener, 1994), which may limit their use. Third, interview data require intensive interpretation; therefore, only small samples can be involved in research studies (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997).

The desire to study larger groups led researchers to develop more structured open-ended questionnaires. Most of these measures are based on Perry's...

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