Scientific inquiry in biology: exploring university students’ understanding of experiment planning, implementation, and interpretation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59923/sendja.v4i3.955Keywords:
Scientific Inquiry, University Students’ Understanding, Biological Experimentation, Data Interpretation, Inquiry-Based LearningAbstract
Scientific inquiry in biology: exploring university students’ understanding of experiment planning, implementation, and interpretation. Biology learning based on scientific inquiry requires university students to understand experimentation as a process involving planning, conducting, and interpreting results. This study aimed to analyze university students’ understanding of scientific inquiry through biological experiments and the relationships among these aspects. A descriptive correlational study used a survey of 41 first-semester Basic Biology students and assessment of 10 group experimental reports. Survey responses were analyzed descriptively and using Spearman’s correlation; report assessment provided a complementary descriptive perspective. Category means were 4.08 for planning, 3.96 for implementation, and 4.06 for interpretation, with positive correlations ranging from 0.748 to 0.861. Descriptive report observations indicated difficulties in linking data with biological concepts and supporting explanations with evidence. The study extends the cited outcome-oriented inquiry research by mapping associations among three experimental domains within introductory university biology and considering those perceptions alongside group written work. The findings suggest connecting experimental decisions and observations with explicit guidance for evidence-based explanations. Because survey responses and group reports represent different units of analysis, the findings do not establish an individual perception–performance discrepancy.
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