Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that there is no “short-cut” way to obtain valid and reliable data from an interview study. Time needs to be spent in developing the interview schedule which must be trialled not only for its content validity but also to see how interviewees will react emotionally to its approach. The skill of effectively conducting a clincial interview of this type is not easily acquired and needs practice and critical feedback from an informed observer over a period of time in order to be mastered. Research interviews need to be monitored in some way by an external observer to ensure that all aspects of the research questions are covered in every interview. It is unwise to attempt to interpret interview data without having a complete transcript of each interview.
In spite of the limitations of this study, it did reveal several aspects of the topics covered which indicated why students rated the survey items from which the interview schedule was derived as “extremely difficult” or “very difficult”. These impliciations can be taken into account by chemistry teachers in the teaching of these topics in the future. Futhermore, the nature of the misconceptions revealed has suggested a series of alternative responses which will be made use of in devising a diagnostic survey instrument for identifying the difficulties which individual students have in understanding the relationship between the structure and properties of ionic and molecular compounds.
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References
BUTTS, B. aND SMITH, R. (1987) What do students perceive as difficult in HSC chemistry?The Australian Science Teachers Journal, 32, 4, 45–51.
OSBORNE, R. (1980) Some aspects of students' views of the world.Research in Science Education, 10, 11–18.
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Butts, B., Smith, R. HSC chemistry students' understanding of the structure and properties of molecular and ionic compounds. Research in Science Education 17, 192–201 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02357187
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02357187