Evaluation of Teacher Candidates' Views on Scientific Research Methods

The purpose of this study is to explore the views of teacher candidates against a research method course. The study employs qualitative research methods. An open-ended protocol was used to collect the data. A total of 93 teacher candidates participated in the study. Forty-five (45) teacher candidates came from the Science and Technology Education Department, while forty-eight (48) of the participants were from the Turkish Language Education Department. An open-ended survey instrument was applied to teacher candidates enrolled in research method courses during the spring semester of 2011-2012. During the course, students were also asked to plan and implement a small scale research project in groups of three or four. The responses were gathered at both the beginning of the semester before the course content was introduced and once again at the end of the semester after the completion of the course. The results were compared by the researchers and meaningful re-occurring themes were established from the data. The results revealed that the students' perceptions toward scientific (academic) research had changed considerably. Students reported that academic research was not as easy as they had previously thought, nor could the results be predicted from the beginning.