Abstract:

Mexico is a country where the gap in science and technology indicators must be addressed. According to SCImago’s ranking (2010) of papers published the number of patents (OMPI, 2010). Several measures have been taken in order to tackle this gap, such as those stated in the National Development Plan and the Sectorial Education Program. Nevertheless, there is much to do. In Mexico public universities have higher budgets and higher scientific production (Villa, 2012). Many studies have been published regarding research skills teaching in Latin America and Mexico. Even so, most of them are focused on Medicine or Education students mainly, and they are focused on teaching future scientist, leaving aside the teaching of research skills to every undergraduate student. On this matter, Moreno (2005) has made the case to study the development of research skills in a broader sense, not only for future scientists but for students in general. And Bolio (2010) argues it is necessary to analyze the strategies for teaching and learning research skills in Mexico. As a result, the purpose of this mixed methods study is to identify and integrate strategies for developing research competencies in undergraduate students at a Mexican private university.

Data were collected through two quantitative questionnaires (one is the institutional research program survey for students n=311 and the other was a research skills survey n=312), in depth interviews with research professors (n=5), focus groups with research courses students (n=94) and a self-assessment technique with students (n=114).

Data were analyzed in two stages. First, data gathered by each instrument or technique were analyzed separately: questionnaire data were analyzed statistically and data collected through in depth interviews, focus groups and the self-assessment technique were analyzed following a qualitative interpretative approach. Then, data were integrated using a mixed methods approach in order to try and answer the research questions.
Findings show that regarding the self-assessment of students’ research skills as classified by Moreno (2005) in a scale of 1 to 4, higher scores were given to metacognitive skills, thinking skills and instrumental skills.

Students and professors in this Mexican private university present different learning and teaching styles and approaches. Therefore, it is essential that the research methods courses are constructed over a diversity of teaching and learning strategies in order to develop research competencies. Professors and students perceive a set of teaching and learning strategies that have been successful in their research methods courses. This strategies can be integrated in the following way: Project based learning can form the foundations and guide the course given the nature of research methods learning, it is easier to learn research methods by carrying out research projects. A complimentary teaching and learning strategy is using case studies, regarding real life examples that explain and reflect any characteristic of the research methods applied in an actual published paper, thesis or any other research paper. As for the lecture itself, both students and professors agreed that lectures are effective when they interact with each other, when professors encourage students’ active participation in class through, questions, commentaries, activities, discussions, collaborative work, problem solving and the integration of technology in class.

Keywords:

Research competencies, higher education, teaching and learning research.