Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 4-9-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Karen Forgette
Second Advisor
Ashley Jones-Bodie
Third Advisor
Carol Britson
Relational Format
Empirical Research Paper
Abstract
Scientific literacy is a term used to describe a person’s ability to understand scientific concepts, read and write those concepts, and link those concepts to situations outside of the classroom in order to make informed decisions in their daily lives. This research paper details a study observing how scientific literacy confidence varies among general biology and chemistry students at the University of Mississippi. The goal of this research is to determine if students in general biology and chemistry classes will have similar self-reported confidence in their science literacy. This research took place at the University of Mississippi amongst Biology 160/161 and Chemistry 105/115 students. Students were given a 10-question survey scored on a five-point Likert scale. This self-reported survey was an effective way of evaluating a student’s scientific literacy because it allowed the student to score themselves according to their confidence level. Survey responses were then analyzed for equivalence between groups. Study findings suggest that students who take general chemistry and biology courses like Biology 160/161 and Chemistry 105/115 have a higher confidence in their own scientific literacy, except when applying their learning outside of the classroom. This study will aid current and future research on scientific literacy by giving scientists an idea of how to increase scientific literacy more effectively amongst students and potentially the general population.
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Amy, "Examining Confidence in Scientific Literacy Amongst General Biology and General Chemistry Students" (2024). Honors Theses. 3040.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3040