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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 10, Issue 1, Article 11
(June, 2009) |
The study was held in Turkey, during April and May 2007. The study’s sample was composed of 173 student science teachers studying primary school science education. The average age of the student science teachers was 20, with the youngest being 18 and the oldest being 25. The time to answer related questions was 20-25 minutes.
Student science teachers who participated in the study filled out a questionnaire composed of open-ended questions and word associations. The words, Chukar partridge and Hermit ibis were given to all participants, and they were asked, “What are the best ways for protecting the endangered species?” Participants were allowed to freely express their opinions. This data collection method provides the opportunity to participants’ opinions (Sato & James, 1999; Koskinas, 2000).
Data obtained from word associations and the open-end question were analysed. Word associations with the same meanings were encoded together. Words with the same meanings as frequently used words, but used less frequently were grouped into subsets of the more common words. Words were categorized using a semantic correlation criterion (Sato & James, 1999; Flogaitis & Agelidou, 2003) and usage frequency of words in each category were calculated. Answers given to the open-end questions were also divided into categories. Answers with the same meanings were encoded in the category of frequently given answers. For example, answers such as “feeding in winter” or “filling up birds” were replaced by the encoding “feeding birds”. Answers, and their usage frequency, constituted an indicator for what the answers given to the questions meant.
