The Limited Use of Self-Reports in Educational Research

Authors

Henk G. Schmidt, Department of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the NetherlandsFollow

Abstract

As an editor, I receive many papers for this journal in which the research is based on self-report. Often these studies are purely descriptive. Authors have measured one characteristic of a group of students– e.g., these students’ self-efficacy, or anxiety–and report on the results. Such one-shot studies are largely unpublishable because they lack context. Is the selfefficacy of the studied group to be considered high, medium, or low? And why? What causes the anxiety among the students? Answers on these questions are mostly missing and leave the reader dissatisfied.

Recommended Citation

Schmidt, Henk G. (2017) "The Limited Use of Self-Reports in Educational Research," Health Professions Education: Vol. 3: Iss. 2, Article 1.
DOI: 10.1016/j.hpe.2017.09.001
Available at: https://hpe.researchcommons.org/journal/vol3/iss2/1