Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS)

"Monitors" students' views concerning the epistemological, social & technological aspects of science.

Average Review: (3.0)

Supplemental Information:

vosts_2_.pdf (188 KB) Download

Assessment Type:

Catalogue of 114 multiple choice questions

Scale:

N/A

Publication Date:

Nov 07, 2008

Respondent:

Initial study: 11th and 12th grade students

Domain(s) Evaluated:

Attitude / Behavior, Content / Knowledge, Competence

Sample items:

There seems to be two kinds of people, those who understand science and those who understand the arts (for example, literature, history, business, law). But if everyone studies more science, then everyone would understand the sciences.

Your position, basically: (Please read from A to H, and then choose one)

A. There ARE these two kinds of people. If the arts people did study more science, they would come to understand science, too, because the more you study something, the more you come to like and understand it.

There ARE these two kinds of people. But if the arts people did study more science, they would not necessarily come to understand it better:

B. because they may not have the skill or talent to understand science. Studying will not give them this skill.
C. because they may not be interested in science.
D. because they may not be oriented or inclined toward science. Studying science will not change the type of person you are.

E. There are not just two kinds of people. There are as many kinds as there are individual preferences, including people who understand both the arts and sciences.

F. I don't understand.
G. I don't know enough about this subject to make a choice.
H. None of these choices fits my basic viewpoint.

Reliability:

Not reported

Validity:

Present & acceptable

Frequency:

Frequently

Administration time:

55 minutes

Requires a Computer:

Requires Internet Access:

Primary reference:

Aikenhead,G.S., & Ryan, A. (1992). The development of a new instrument: "Views on Science-Technology-Society" (VOSTS). Science Education, 76(5), 477-491.

Comments:

Administrators select (and modify) items that address topics of interest to their research. A maximum of 15 to 20 items (20 for adults) is practical.

VOSTS is an instrument for qualitative research, but its conversion to a quantitative instrument has been researched.

Items have been translated into 14 languages.

Other Reference:
Burg, T., Mack, P., Walker, I., & Groff, R. (2015). Building and Assessing a Hands-on Learning Experience for Robots in Business and Society. Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Zone III Conference.

The study made use of an adapted version of VOSTS (developed by Mack et al. Issues in Survey Assessments of STS courses 2008) no reliability or validity measure were used.