Students' reasoning in choosing measurement instruments in an introductory physics laboratory course

TL;DR

This study examines how undergraduate students choose measurement instruments in physics labs, showing that targeted instruction shifts their reasoning towards prioritizing data quality and evidence-based decision making.

Contribution

It introduces a coding manual for analyzing students' reasoning and demonstrates that specific lab instruction influences students' decision-making towards data quality considerations.

Findings

Students consider data quality, practical, and personal factors.

Instruction increases emphasis on uncertainty reduction.

Students justify choices mainly based on data quality after instruction.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the decisions and reasoning of undergraduate students when choosing simple measurement instruments in an introductory physics laboratory course. For this study, we have developed a questionnaire and implemented it in a pre-/post-test manner to analyze the influence of lab instruction on both students' decisions and reasoning. To characterize students' justifications, we have inductively developed a coding manual that captures the nuances of students' reasoning when choosing an instrument. It shows that students consider different aspects for their decisions, such as data quality, practical and personal considerations. We have also found that laboratory instruction influenced both students' decisions and justifications, leading to a stronger emphasis on data quality. In fact, after instruction, the majority of students choose the instrument with lower uncertainty and base their justifications mainly on the aim of reducing uncertainties, avoiding systematic effects or mistakes in the instrument reading, and less often than before instruction on personal experience and intuition. These findings suggest that dedicating specific laboratory instruction sessions on measurements and data quality, and having students choose between different instrumentation and provide a justification for their decision, can positively impact students' habits in the laboratory and encourage them to base their choices on evidence rather than intuition.