Abstract

RUIZ BOLIVAR, Carlos  and  TORRES PACHECO, Virginia. THE TEACHING OF REASEARCH IN UNIVERSITIES: CASE OF LISANDRO ALVARADO WESTERN UNIVERTY. Investigación y Postgrado [online]. 2005, vol.20, n.2, pp.13-34. ISSN 1316-0087.

The purpose of this work was to study how professors teach research methods in the university. A survey on a sample of 18 faculty that teach Research Methods in 10 different majors, in a Venezuelan public university, with 69 structured open and mixed questions survey, was used. An Instructional Modernity Index (IMI) was constructed, based on the "teaching-learning process dimension" of the instrument that included 30 items. This allowed the evaluation of methodological tendencies used by the professors in the teaching of research methods. The results indicate that: (a) none of the teachers reach the criteria to be classified in the category of "instructional modernity"; (b) differences were found when the IMI of the professors of similar majors were compared; (c) the variables: academic category, years of experience, and training on research seem to be associated with the IMI; (d) the characteristics of students that applied to a program are, in most of the cases, below the university standards; and (e) such characteristics do not appear associated, in the present study, with the results of the academic achievement of the students.

Keywords : research methods; teaching research methods.