Comprehension of Arguments in Scientific Texts: Reliability and Validity of the Argument Structure Test (AST)

Muenchow, Hannes and Richter, Tobias and von der Muehlen, Sarah and Schmid, Sebastian and Bruns, Katherine E. and Berthold, Kirsten (2020) Comprehension of Arguments in Scientific Texts: Reliability and Validity of the Argument Structure Test (AST). DIAGNOSTICA, 66 (2). pp. 136-145. ISSN 0012-1924, 2190-622X

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Abstract

Informal arguments are omnipresent in scientific texts. In order to understand and evaluate such arguments, students have to decode their structure. To measure this competency, the computer-assisted argument structure test (AST) was developed for students of social and educational sciences as well as student teachers. The test-takers read short texts containing informal arguments and identify their functional components (e.g., claim, reason, warrant). On the basis of a sample of 225 students, the reliability and validity of the AST was examined for the first time. The AST proved to be reliable, with a wide range of item difficulties. In an explanatory item response model, the item difficulties were predicted very precisely through theoretically relevant item features that are known to influence argument comprehension. Correlations with verbal intelligence as well as school and study performance provided evidence for the criterion validity of the instrument.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: LITERACY; argument components; argument comprehension; argument structure; epistemic competencies; university students
Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 370 Education
Divisions: Human Sciences > Institut für Erziehungswissenschaften > Lehrstuhl für Pädagogik I (Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Wild)
Depositing User: Dr. Gernot Deinzer
Date Deposited: 29 Mar 2021 05:35
Last Modified: 29 Mar 2021 05:35
URI: https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/44815

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