A Quantitative Analysis Examining Psychology Students’ Attitudes Towards Research Using an Independent T-Test.
A Quantitative Analysis Examining Psychology Students’ Attitudes Towards Research Using an Independent T-Test.
Abstract
Research
is important to students however studies have shown that students have a
negative attitude towards research. Therefore, the aim of this research was to
examine the attitude towards research in psychology students using an
experimental design. 34 participants had their attitudes towards research measured
using the Attitudes Toward Research Scale. Data was analysed using descriptive
statistics and an independent t-test to specifically look at the differences
between level 4 and level 5 students as well as males and females. Findings
show that there was no difference in males and females or level 4 and level 5
students.
Research is the process of collecting and analysing
information to help increase understanding of the topic or phenomenon that is
being studied (Shaukat et al., 2014). Research is significant in daily life and
in higher education (Landa-Blanco & Cortés-Ramos, 2021). It is essential
for a student to complete the core subject research psychology degree methods and statistics (Veilleux & Chapman, 2017). However,
there are a significant number of students who dread doing research (Kakupa
& Xue, 2019). Students regard research as difficult and dry (Shaukat et al,
2014). One study indicated that 70% of students had a negative attitude towards
research, 21.8% of students had neutral attitudes towards research and only
8.2% had a positive attitude (Torres et al., 2022). Kakupa & Xue (2019)
emphasized on the need to address research anxiety among graduate students as this
can be a barrier towards them learning effectively. Assessing how students feel
is important because this understanding will be used to help develop techniques
that can lessen the anxiety of students with hope to improve their attitude
towards research (Papanastasiou, 2005).
Attitudes are a way of thinking or feeling about something
(Butt & Shams, 2020). They are a learnt disposition to respond in a
favourable or unfavourable way. This leads to a response to a particular
situation or object and can influence overall performance and success (Butt
& Shams, 2020). Previous research examined undergraduate social science
students’ attitudes towards research (Wishkoski et al., 2022). It has shown
that psychology students dislike research methods (Landa-Blanco &
Cortés-Ramos, 2021) and dread doing research (Veilleux & Chapman, 2017).
Studies show that perceptions of research methods can change during a student’s
time on the course. In a study conducted by Wishkoski et al. (2022), they found
that the attitudes and perceptions towards research methods changed over the
semester, whilst anxiety decreased, positive attitudes increased.
A study of post-graduate students by Shaukat et al. (2014)
found that gender and university program affected attitudes towards research.
Significantly more positive attitudes were found amongst male students.
Findings by Maqsood et al. (2019) concurred that male students were more
positive in comparison to females. They also found that attitudes were positive
towards research, the higher the degree the more positive their attitude was to
research.
This review of the literature led to the hypothesis of the
study being students’ attitudes towards research will improve as the level of
studying increases. The current study will aim to investigate attitudes towards
research specifically among the difference between level 4 and level 5 students.
There will also be an analysis to see if there are statistical differences
between male and female. Research is an important part of knowledge-based
societies and conducting studies is vital for future improvements, therefore,
having a positive attitude towards research is the key to success (Butt &
Shams, 2020). This research will contribute and add to the knowledge of the phenomenon.
Method
Ethical
approval was granted on 14th November 2023 by the Psychology Wrexham University
Research Ethics Sub-committee to conduct the research. An invitation to
participate in the survey was distributed via Moodle to all psychology students
at Wrexham University and all of the students on module PSY508 at partner
universities. Participants were ensured of anonymity, confidentiality,
protection and had the right to withdraw from the study. All participants gave
informed consent prior to the study taking place. All information was stored in
accordance with the Data Protection Act (Act, 1998).
The 34
individuals who took part in the study were 23 female and 11 males, over the
age of 18 (M= 33.56 and SD= 12.023). All participants were psychology students
on either level 4 (N=10 students), level 5 (N=18 students) and level 6 (N=6
students). 67.9% were females and 32.4% were male. 29.4% were level 4 students,
52.9% were level 5 students and 17.6% were level 6 students. No participants
were removed from the study however, 1 missing value was noted and was assigned
a missing value. Attitudes were measured using the Attitudes Toward Research
Scale (Papanastasiou, 2005), a 32-item measure incorporating a 7-point Likert
scale. 1 indicated that they strongly disagree and 7 indicated strongly agree
with the measure statement. An example of the statements would be ‘I feel
insecure concerning the analysis of research data’ and ‘research scares me’.
The experiment
took approximately 20 minutes for the participants to complete and was
within-subjects. The survey was hosted on the ‘Online Surveys’ platform.
Participants were given an information sheet and a privacy notice to read
before being asked to complete the consent form. Any student who did not
complete the consent form was screened out and given a message to thank them
for their time. Demographic data was then collected from the remaining
students, consisting of age, sex, and level of study before they were presented
with the Attitude Towards Research Scale. Once they had completed the scale,
they were provided with an ID number and sources of support in case the study
had caused the participant any distress or concern. The ID could also be used
if the participant wanted to withdraw their data. These participants received a
debriefed about the aims of the study. A full debrief was provided to all of
the participants on completion of the study.
Results
The data was analysed using
descriptive statistics, normality test, reliability test and an independent
t-test. No participants were removed from the dataset. When conducting the
reliability analysis, some questions from the Lickert scale (Taherdoost, 2019).
where required them to be reversed from negative to positive statements so they
matched. Excellent reliability (a=.92) was calculated using a Cronbach’s Alpha (Taber,
2018). A normality test found that the data is normally distributed therefore parametric
testing would be the appropriate analysis for this. An independent t-test was
used to compare the difference in levels of study and gender differences.
A Levene’s test revealed that equal
variances are assumed because the sig level test is above 0.5. An Independent
samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference in the attitudes
towards research, t(25)=0.23 p=0.818 ; 95% CI[-.49, 0.62] between Level 4
students (M=4.62, SD=0.45) and Level 5 students (M=4.6, SD=0.74). For the sex
differences analysis, a Leavens test revealed that equal variances are assumed and
an independent t-test showed no statistically significant difference between
males and females, t (31)=1.73 p=0.94 :95% CI[-0.09, 1.04]
between male (M=4.88, SD=0.63) and female (M=4.40, SD=0.79).
Discussion
The aim of this study was to investigate
attitudes towards research of the differences between level 4 and level 5
students as well as comparing males and females. This was to investigate to see
if there are any statistical differences between the two. The data analysis
showed there was no statistical difference between male and female attitudes
towards research, this finding does not agree with previous literature (Shaukat et al., 2014; Maqsood et
al., 2019). Shaukat et al (2014) found males had more positive attitudes
as well as Masood et al (2019). In this experiment the findings suggest that males
and females have the same attitudes towards research. Moreover, the sample size
may not have been sufficient enough to be able to test these differences. This
was a smaller sample size so it could be possible that males have a more
positive view in comparison to females.
No change was found in students’ perceptions
towards research methods over time and between levels of study. This
contradicts previous research findings which showed attitudes becoming more
positive over time and anxiety levels decreasing (Wishkoski et al., 2022). The
findings could be different because of statistical power. Low powered
experiments are less likely to detect the true effects of the population (Baker
et al., 2021). Focusing on recruiting
larger sample sizes will increase statistical power in the future.
A limitation to the study is a
small sample size. It is important to have as many participants as possible
when conducting a quantitative study so it does not affect study design, incorrect
sample size can lead to inadequate results (Serdar et al., 2021). A
recommendation for future research is to have a more equal ratio of each gender
and level of study, as well as increasing the sample size. It would be
beneficial for future researchers to look at students on other courses to see
what their perspectives are. An experiment could be done to see if attitudes
increase in the second semester or at the end of the year or taking the
questionnaire at various time points across the course. Evidence shows that basic
methodology courses can improve students’ attitudes towards research (Sobczuk
et al., 2022), this could be implemented to improve the attitudes towards
students in the future.
This study was to compare level 4
and level 5 students as well as females and males. Although the results did not
give any indication of there being a statistical difference, there has been recommendations
for future research, which can be replicated or be used as a guide for
improvements. Results do not support
existing theories, but it builds on the existing evidence and research of student’s
attitudes towards research.
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