Scoping Systematic Review of Scales to Measure Research Skills

Abstract

Introduction. Even if research is considered as a quality indicator of educational institutions, in most of them research is not conducted. The first educational institutions were focused on sharing knowledge, not on producing it. Referential frameworks have been developed to relate both functions. Research skills are not only expected in the academic context but also the job market. Methodology. As research importance has been pointed out, the objective of this study was to conduct a scoping systematic review to identify instruments to measure research skills in university students. Results. The research instruments considered were designed on constructs found in the literature and validated through psychometric procedures. The number of validated research instruments in Spanish is limited. Discussion. The dimensions of the research instruments are focused on knowledge instead of skills, giving more importance to theory and not to practice.