Exploring social work students’ attitudes toward research courses: predictors of interest in research-related courses among first year students enrolled in a bachelor’s programme in Switzerland

Figures & data

Figure 1. The hypothetical model explaining BSW students’ interest in research courses.

Table 1. Characteristics of participants (N = 708).

Variable	Descriptor	n	%	N
Gender				690
	Female	501	27.4
	Male	189	72.6
Credentials for access to the BSW programme				701
	Professional baccalaureate	230	32.8
	General baccalaureate	131	18.7
	Specialized baccalaureate	232	33.1
	Professional college diploma	55	7.8
	Intermediate diploma school certificate	10	1.4
	Other	43	6.1
Study modality				702
	Full-time study	275	39.2
	Part-time study	168	23.9
	Study with concurrent field placement	259	36.9
Campus				706
	South Campus	444	62.9
	North Campus	262	37.1

Table 2. Comparisons between the cohorts entering 2014 and 2016.

Variable	Cohort	N	Median	Mann–Whitney U	p
Interest in research courses	2014	307	3.52
	2016	296	3.67	38905.0	.002
Perceived importance of research	2014	307	3.08
	2016	296	3.20	40102.0	.012
Attributed usefulness of research	2014	307	3.30
	2016	296	3.40	40326.0	.016
Perceived unbiased nature of research	2014	307	3.25
	2016	296	3.33	42501.0	.168
Fear of research courses	2014	307	3.13
	2016	296	3.00	38111.5	.001

Table 3. Description of the construct variables (N = 708).

Variable	Scale	Minimum/Maximum	Range	Mean	SD	Median
Interest in research courses	1–5	1.5/5	3.5	3.6	.55	3.67
Perceived importance of research	1–5	1/5	4	3.12	.49	3.20
Attributed usefulness of research	1–5	2/5	3	3.34	.51	3.40
Perceived unbiased nature of research	1–5	1.83/5	3.17	3.28	.49	3.30
Fear of research courses	1–5	1/5	4	3.01	.68	3.00

Table 4. Results of the path analysis including all variables in the equation.

Variable			β	Confidence interval (95%)		p Value
				Lower	Upper
Fear of research courses	←	Gender: female	.284	.205	.367	≤.001
Fear of research courses	←	Age	−.105	−.186	−.031	.003
Fear of research courses	←	General baccalaureate	−.089	−.161	−.016	.013
Perceived importance of research	←	Gender: female	−.106	−.185	−.039	.005
Perceived importance of research	←	Fear of research courses	−.101	−.173	.008	.009
Attributed usefulness of research	←	Fear of research courses	−.233	−.305	−.169	≤.001
Perceived unbiased nature of research	←	Age	.095	.025	.165	.012
Perceived importance of research	←	Age	.067	.003	.138	.072
Attributed Usefulness of Research	←	Age	.121	.37	.196	≤.001
Perceived unbiased nature of research	←	Fear of research courses	−.130	−.214	−.029	≤.001
Interest in research courses	←	Perceived importance of research	.269	.201	.345	≤.001
Interest in research courses	←	Attributed usefulness of research	.155	.069	.223	≤.001
Interest in research courses	←	Age	.132	.069	.202	≤.001
Interest in research courses	←	Fear of research courses	−.292	−.358	−.219	≤.001
Interest in research courses	←	Perceived unbiased nature of research	.078	.009	.152	.023

Notes:

N = 708; Method: Generalized Least Squares Estimates; GFI = .997, AGFI = .988; X² = 7.568, p = .477; CMIN/df = .946; SRMR = .0156; adj. R² = .312.

Figure 2. Visualization of the path model.

Notes: N = 708; Method: Generalized Least Squares Estimates; GFI = .997, AGFI = .988; X² = 7.568 p = .477; CMIN/df = .946; SRMR = .0156; adj. R² = .312. Non-significant standardized coefficients (p > .050) and correlations among the predictors are not displayed.