Murray, Mary
Measuring Insight in Student Writing
School: PURDUE UNIVERSITY (0183)
Degree: PHD
Date: 1987 pp: 174
Advisor: Lauer, Janice M.
Source: DAI-A 49/09, p. 2568, Mar 1989
Subject: EDUCATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (0279)
ISBN:
UMI Number: not available from UMI
Abstract:
Current writing theorists consider writing a tool for inquiry that can lead to insight. The research question posed in this study is how insight can be identified or measured in student writing. Insight was operationally defined by a set of sixteen dimensions taken from writers in the fields of psychology, theology and philosophy, and composition. Using this domain, the researcher designed and developed two measurement instruments to answer the research question. The first measure is a textual scale of dissonance resolution which includes insight as one solution. The second measure is a computer-scored Likert-type questionnaire that asks students whether writing helped them come to new understandings. Both tests have achieved high reliabilities:.91 for the textual scale and.96 for the questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha). Tests of construct validity are needed to establish validity.
