Abstract:

Post-graduate Education is commonly considered as the ad hoc space for the training of new researchers, regardless of the disciplinary area. In the case of the post-graduate level in scientific disciplines, this conception is quite precise and clear. The main objective of these programs is the deepening of solid knowledge in the disciplinary field, with a level in line with international trends, through a training strategy based on research and flexible to the interests and previous experience of its students. Its fundamental purpose is to develop scientific competencies that allow students to contribute to the generation of new knowledge in the disciplinary area, or apply scientific, technical, and methodological knowledge for the development of applied research projects and problem solving specific to the profession. The evidence of the level of achievement in these objectives is, normally, the proposal and execution of a research project. However, students often have difficulties in formulating research problems that are relevant and significant as a potential contribution to the discipline's body of knowledge. A critical aspect underlying these difficulties is related to students' previous conceptions about the nature of science and that affect their strategies for formulating research problems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the interrelation between the previous conceptions about scientific knowledge, science, scientific method, and scientific research, of students who begin studies in a master's program in chemistry at a Peruvian university and the quality of the proposal of a research problem. Students' prior conceptions were assessed based on their closeness to an adequate understanding of science and scientific practice using a rubric. The quality of the proposal of a research problem was evaluated based on its contextualization, relevance and pertinence in the disciplinary area using a rubric. The results of the correlation between both variables showed that there is a clear influence of the conceptions related to epistemological aspects of the nature of science on the achievement in the formulation of a research problem that is the starting point for the development and display of the scientific skills desirable in a new researcher.

Keywords:

Scientific skills, nature of science, science education, post-graduate education.