Investigating the evolution of conceptual profiles of life among university students of biology and pharmacy: The use of statistical tools to analyze questionnaire answers

Abstract

The chapter presents a study on the evolution of undergraduate students’ conceptual profiles in different semesters of biological sciences and pharmacy courses. This study is presented as a proposal to develop a new methodology for the study of profiles from questionnaires. The methodology includes the use of statistical methods and focused on (a) the analysis of the potential of each questionnaire item to access the different zones of the conceptual profile of life, (b) the construction of profile groups, and (c) the study of the evolution of the profile groups, considering the increasing influence of the curriculum disciplines. The results show an increasing use of internalist ways of thinking about life in the courses surveyed. The comparative study has found that the internalist zone seems to be more prevalent in biological sciences students rather than pharmacy students. However, it is emphasized that the discursive character of the instruments used in this research – questionnaires with open questions with structured problem situations – prompted some subjects to access also their externalist and relational zones.