First - year physics students' perceptions of the quality of experimental measurements


Published: Sep 17, 2024
Keywords:
perceptions measurement physics
Konstantinos Georgopoulos
Georgios Stylos
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8036-8427
Dimitris Panagou
Konstantinos Kotsis
Abstract

This paper explores the perceptions of 70 first-year students of the Physics Department regarding the reliability of experimental data, particularly the need to take repeated measurements and the implications of the range associated with the data. The research tool consists of 6 working scenarios (open-ended questions) in which respondents select and justify how student groups work (in cartoon form) in recording, processing and analyzing experimental data. Their responses were categorized into two groups: The "point paradigm" and the "set paradigm". The survey results indicate that the procedures followed and the students' justifications regarding the experimental measurements and the comparison of the data as a whole are mainly characterized by the perception of the "point paradigm".

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References
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