Description:
A 33-item self-report measure of a professional psychology doctoral student’s self-efficacy with respect to doing research. Contains items assessing self-efficacy with respect to research design skills, practical research skills, quantitative and computer skills, and writing skills.
Reference:
Phillips, J. C., & Russell, R. K. (1994). Research self-efficacy, the research training environment, and research productivity among graduate students in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 22(4), 628–641. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000094224008
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The following items are tasks related to research. Please indicate your degree of confidence in your ability to successfully accomplish each of the following tasks on a scale of 0 – 9 with 0 representing no confidence and 9 representing total confidence.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
No Confidence Total Confidence
1. Selecting a suitable topic for study
2. Knowing which statistics to use
3. Getting an adequate number of subjects
4. Writing a research presentation for a conference
5. Writing the method and results section for a research paper for publication
6. Manipulating data to get it onto a computer system
7. Writing a discussion section for a thesis or dissertation
8. Keeping records during a research project
9. Collecting data
10. Designing an experiment using non-traditional methods (e.g., ethnographic, cybernetic, phenomenological approaches)
11. Designing an experiment using traditional methods (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental designs)
12. Making time for research
13. Writing the introduction and literature review for a dissertation
14. Reviewing the literature in an area of research interest
15. Writing the introduction and discussion sections for a research paper for publication
16. Contacting researchers currently working in an area of research interest
17. Avoiding the violation of statistical assumptions
18. Writing the method and results sections of a dissertation
19. Using simple statistics (e.g., t-test, ANOVA, correlation, etc.)
20. Writing the introduction and literature review for a thesis
21. Controlling for threats to validity
22. Formulating hypotheses
23. Writing the method and results sections of a thesis
24. Utilizing resources for needed help
25. Understanding computer printouts
26. Defending a thesis or dissertation
27. Using multivariate statistics (e.g., multiple regression, factor analysis, etc.)
28. Using statistical packages (e.g., SPSS-X, SAS, etc.)
29. Selecting a sample of subjects from a given population
30. Selecting reliable and valid instruments
31. Writing statistical computer programs
32. Getting money to help pay for research
33. Operationalizing variables of interest
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Scoring:
Sum items within each subscale for subscale scores, or sum all 33 items for a total score.
Research Design Skills = 1, 10, 11, 21, 22, 29, 30, 33
Practical Research Skills = 3, 8, 9, 12, 16, 24, 26, 32
Quantitative and Computer Skills = 2, 6, 17, 19, 25, 27, 28, 31
Writing Skills = 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 23