GSE/RES Measurement matters: Developing new scales to evaluate undergraduate students' images and attitudes in STEM fields

北卡罗莱纳州立大学将开发一个心理测量学上可靠有效的标准量表，用于测量学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）专业的刻板印象，以及与女性和有色人种参与STEM领域的态度有关的专业人士。该项目的目标是：(1)为研究人员提供一个标准的调查量表（STEM量表），以捕捉本科生对性别和民族/种族多样性的态度背景下的科学/工程和科学家/工程师的当代形象；(2)为研究人员提供特定于领域/学科的标准调查量表和子量表，如果/如果存在显著的领域差异。(3)推动一场关于学生对STEM专业和专业人员的先入之见和态度的普遍的、基于经验的全国性讨论。知识价值。虽然现有的量表可以测量科学家的形象，或对女性的态度，或民族/种族身份，但这些都没有被开发出来，以解决性别和种族/种族与对STEM领域的形象和态度的交叉点。项目活动的速度和范围是在从地方和探索性测试到全国验证研究，然后到公众传播的过程中定义的。在第一年，该团队将收集当地STEM焦点小组产生的100多个项目，并从现有量表中收集，然后在当地STEM课程的大部分课程中进行试点、测试和修订，以确定对关键结构有重大贡献的项目。第二年，该小组将整合剩余的项目，并通过全国合作教师网络分发一种改进的调查工具。预计样本量为1万名学生。通过探索性和验证性因素分析的结合，对国家数据集（通过在线分发和响应收集）的分析将确定核心STEM量表和特定学科的子量表，如果以及在哪里存在学科差异。在第三年，项目活动的目的是传播有关STEM量表及其心理测量特性的信息，在特定学科环境中提供该量表的“现场测试”，并促进将该量表纳入影响持久性、绩效和职业承诺因素的研究中。更广泛的影响。由于与性别和种族/种族（关于自我或他人）相关的态度与教育和职业结果中的广泛不平等有关，因此STEM量表作为一种基本工具应用于许多社会研究领域。该研究将促进关于刻板印象在学业成绩和坚持、职业发展和承诺中的作用的理论和研究，探索STEM课程内容对刻板印象维持或破坏的贡献，并评估STEM专业和专业人员的文化形象随时间的变化。

North Carolina State University will develop a psychometrically reliable and valid standard scale for measurement of students' stereotypes about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions and professionals in relation to attitudes about the participation of women and people of color in STEM fields.The project goals are to (1) to provide researchers with a standard survey scale (STEM Scale) that captures undergraduate students' contemporary images of science/engineering and scientists/engineers in the context of attitudes about gender and ethnic/racial diversity, (2) to provide researchers with standard survey scales and subscales that are specific to fields/disciplines, if/where significant field differences exist, and (3) to advance a common and empirically informed national discussion about students' preconceptions and attitudes about STEM professions and professionals.Intellectual Merit. Though there are existing scales that measure images of scientists, or attitudes about women, or ethnic/racial identity, none of these have been developed to address the intersections of gender and ethnicity/race with images and attitudes about STEM fieldsProject activities are defined in pace and scope in a progression from local and exploratory tests, to a national validation study, then to public dissemination. In the first year, the team will collect 100+ items generated in local STEM focus groups and gleaned from existing scales, then pilot, tested and revise in large section local STEM courses to identify items that significantly contribute to key constructs. In the second year, the team will consolidate remaining items and distribute a refined survey instrument through a national network of cooperating faculty. The projected sample size is 10,000 student responses. Though a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, analyses of a national data set (collected via online distribution and response) will identify a core STEM Scale and discipline-specific sub-scales, if and where disciplinary distinctions exist. In the third year, project activities are directed at disseminating information about the STEM scale and its psychometric properties, providing a "field test" of the scale in a discipline-specific setting, and fostering incorporation of the scale into research about factors influencing persistence, performance, and career commitment. Broader Impacts. Because attitudes related to gender and ethnicity/race (about self or others) have been associated with a wide range of inequalities in educational and career outcomes, the STEM Scale has applications as a basic tool in many areas of social research. The study will promote theory and research about the role of stereotypes in academic performance and persistence, and in career development and commitment, exploring the contribution of STEM course content to stereotype maintenance or disruption, and evaluating change over time in cultural images of STEM professions and professionals.