Measuring High School Students' Self-Perception as a Researcher: Development and Validation of the Researcher Identity Scale

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Validity and Assessing Survey Data in Educational Research

Abstract

Often students choose careers that complement who they perceive themselves to be (identity) and what they are capable of (ability). While “ability” can be measured through cognitive assessments, measuring student’s identity is a formidable task. In this backdrop of identity and individuality, we seek to understand the “Researcher Identity” of secondary school students i.e to what extent do they identify themselves as researchers. We have developed a Researcher Identity Scale (RIS) to assess student’s identity as a researcher which is novel for pre-college-age students. This study describes a four phase iterative process to develop the scale and collect valid and reliable evidence for interpretation and use of scale data.

Authors

• Shruti Bathia, University of California - Berkeley

• Linda Morell, University of California - Berkeley

• Rebecca Smith, University of California - San Francisco

• Ben Koo, University of California - San Francisco

• Mark R. Wilson, University of California - Berkeley