Middle school students’ attitudes toward science, scientists, science teachers and classes

Appendices

Appendix A
List of quantitative instruments developed over recent years to evaluate features of the nature of science.

*Instrument*	*Target population*	*Type*	*Source*
Nature of Science/Physics Profile	Students and teachers	Likert	Nott & Wellington (1993)
Understanding the Nature of Science	Secondary school	Multiple choice	Solomon, Scott & Duveen (1996)
Beliefs About Science and School Science Questionnaire (BASSSQ)	High-school	Likert	Aldridge, Taylor & Chen (1997)
The Thinking about Science Survey Instrument (TSSI)	College students	Likert	Cobern (2000)
Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science (EBAPS)	College students	Likert and MC	Elby, Frederiksen, Schwarz & White (2001)
Epistemological Beliefs	Students (5th grade and higher)	Likert	Elder (2002)
Scientific Epistemological Views (SEV)	High-school students	Likert	Tsai & Liu (2005)
Views on Science and Education (VOSE) Questionnaire	College students and adults	Likert	Chen (2006)
Nature-of-Science Literacy Test (NOSLIT)	Students and teachers	Likert	Wenning (2006)
Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI)	College students	Likert	Liang et al. (2008)
Science Knowledge Survey	Students	True / False	Flammer (2008)
The Nature of Science Test	Students	Likert	Suzuri-Hernandez (2010)
Students’ Ideas about Nature of Science (SINOS)	Elementary students	Likert	Chen et al., 2013

Appendix B
Text of the seven items on the epistemology of science applied in the study (bold / italicized / normal sentences represent the sentences categorized as adequate / plausible / naïve).

F190211 Many scientific models used in research laboratories (such as the model of heat, the neuron, DNA, or the atom) are copies of reality.
Scientific models ARE copies of reality:
A. because scientists say they are true, so they must be true.
B. because much scientific evidence has proven them true.
C. because they are true to life. Their purpose is to show us reality or teach us something about it.
D. Scientific models come close to being copies of reality, because they are based on scientific observations and research.
Scientific models are NOT copies of reality:
E. because they are simply helpful for learning and explaining, within their limitations.
F. because they change with time and with the state of our knowledge, like theories do.
G. because these models must be ideas or educated guesses because you can’t actually see the real thing.

F190411 Even when scientific investigations are done correctly, the knowledge that scientists discover from those investigations may change in the future.
Scientific knowledge changes:
A. because new scientists disprove the theories or discoveries of old scientists. Scientists do this by using new techniques or improved instruments, by finding new factors overlooked before, or by detecting errors in the original “correct” investigation.
B. because the old knowledge is reinterpreted in light of new discoveries. Scientific facts can change.
C. Scientific knowledge APPEARS to change because the interpretation or the application of the old facts can change. Correctly done experiments yield unchangeable facts.
D. Scientific knowledge APPEARS to change because new knowledge is added on to old knowledge; the old knowledge doesn’t change.

F190621 The best scientists are those who follow the steps of the scientific method.
A. The scientific method ensures valid, clear, logical and accurate results. Thus, most scientists will follow the steps of the scientific method.
B. The scientific method should work well for most scientists; based on what we learned in school.
C. The scientific method is useful in many instances, but it does not ensure results. Thus, the best scientists will also use originality and creativity.
D. The best scientists are those who use any method that might get favourable results (including the method of imagination and creativity).
E. Many scientific discoveries were made by accident, and not by sticking to the scientific method.

F290111 Scientific observations made by competent scientists will usually be different if the scientists believe different theories.
A. Yes, because scientists will experiment in different ways and will notice different things.
B. Yes, because scientists will think differently and this will alter their observations.
C. Scientific observations will not differ very much even though scientists believe different theories. If the scientists are indeed competent their observations will be similar.
D. No, because observations are as exact as possible. This is how science has been able to advance.
E. No, observations are exactly what we see and nothing more; they are the facts.

F290311 When scientists classify something (for example, a plant according to its species, an element according to the periodic table, energy according to its source, or a star according to its size), scientists are classifying nature according to the way nature really is; any other way would simply be wrong.
A. Classifications match the way nature really is because scientists have proven them over many years of work.
B. Classifications match the way nature really is because scientists use observable characteristics when they classify.
C. Scientists classify nature in the most simple and logical way, but their way isn’t necessarily the only way.
D. There are many ways to classify nature, but agreeing on one universal system allows scientists to avoid confusion in their work.
E. There could be other correct ways to classify nature, because science is liable to change, and new discoveries may lead to different classifications.
F. Nobody knows the way nature really is. Scientists classify nature according to their perceptions or theories. Science is never exact, and nature is so diverse. Thus, scientists could correctly use more than one classification scheme.

F290521 When developing new theories or laws, scientists need to make certain assumptions about nature (for example, matter is made up of atoms). These assumptions must be true in order for science to progress properly.
Assumptions MUST be true in order for science to progress:
A. because correct assumptions are needed for correct theories and laws. Otherwise, scientists would waste a lot of time and effort using wrong theories and laws.
B. otherwise society would have serious problems, such as inadequate technology and dangerous chemicals.
C. because scientists do research to prove their assumptions true before going on with their work.
D. It depends. Sometimes science needs true assumptions in order to progress. But sometimes history has shown that great discoveries have been made by disproving a theory and learning from its false assumptions.
E. Scientists do not make assumptions. They research an idea to find out if the idea is true. They don’t assume it is true.

F291011 For this statement, assume that a gold miner “discovers” gold while an artist “invents” a sculpture. Some people think that scientists discover scientific LAWS. Others think that scientists invent them. What do you think?
Scientists discover scientific laws:
A. because the laws are out there in nature and scientists just have to find them.
B. because laws are based on experimental facts.
C. but scientists invent the methods to find those laws.
D. Some scientists may stumble onto a law by chance, thus discovering it. But other scientists may invent the law from facts they already know.
E. Scientists invent laws, because scientists interpret the experimental facts which they discover. Scientists don’t invent what nature does, but they do invent the laws which describe what nature does.
F. It depends; laws are discovered and theories and hypothesis are invented.

Appendix C
Structure matrix of the 3-factor solutions of the principal component analysis of the item sentences, using oblimin rotation with the Kaiser criterion.

Form 1 (sentences)	Factor Components			Form 2 (sentences)	Factor Components
Form 1 (sentences)	1	2	3	Form 2 (sentences)	1	2	3
F1_C_90211C_I_ scientific models	0.672	-0.285	0.316	F2_C_90311E_A_ classification schemes	-0.673
F1_C_90211B_I_ scientific models	0.651	-0.274	0.406	F2__90311C_P_ classification schemes	0.606
F1__90621B_I_ scientific method	0.613			F2__90311D_A_ classification schemes	-0.601
F1_C_90621A_I_ scientific method	0.601			F2__91011D_P_ epistemological status	0.573	0.291
F1__90411C_I_ Tentativeness	0.552		-0.236	F2_C_90521D_A_role of assumptions	-0.549
F1_C_90211A_I_ scientific models	0.533			F2__91011C_P_ epistemological status	0.525	0.376
F1_C_90411D_I_ tentativeness	0.476		-0.245	F2_C_90311F_A_ classification schemes	-0.465		-0.255
F1__90621D_P_ scientific method		-0.695		F2_C_91011E_A_ epistemological status	-0.445
F1__90621E_P_ scientific method		-0.681		F2__91011F_I_ epistemological status	0.318
F1__90411A_P_ tentativeness		-0.579		F2_C_90311A_I_ classification schemes		0.727	-0.328
F1__90211G_P_ scientific models		-0.554		F2_C_90521B_I_role of assumptions		0.711
F1__90211D_P_ scientific models	0.363	-0.495	0.349	F2_C_90521A_I_role of assumptions		0.704
F1_C_90411B_A_ tentativeness	-0.218	0.373		F2_C_90311B_I_ classification schemes		0.657	-0.369
F1_C_90621C_A_ method scientific	-0.222	0.313		F2__91011B_I_ epistemological status	0.320	0.549
F1__90211F_A_ scientific models			0.834	F2__90521C_P_role of assumptions	0.385	0.420
F1__90211E_A_ scientific models			0.807	F2_C_91011A_I_ epistemological status	0.226	0.378
				F2__90521E_I_role of assumptions		0.283
				F2__90111B_A_ observations		-0.261	-0.700
				F2_C_90111A_A_ observations		-0.335	-0.680
				F2_C_90111D_I_ observations		0.247	-0.671
				F2_C_90111E_I_ observations			-0.589
				F2__90111C_I_ observations	0.346	0.401	-0.481

Note. Cells with blank data correspond to factor loadings < 0.20.