The Impact of Interest on Qualitative and Structural Indicators of Knowledge.

The impact of interest on specific quantitative and qualitative measures was studied by examining the relationship between interest in research methodology by education students and knowledge in the area. The "Study Interest Questionnaire" (Winteler and Sierwald, 1987) and a questionnaire on interest in empirical research methodology were administered to 21 freshmen education students with little prior knowledge of methodology and 17 control subjects. Students who had a high degree of interest at the beginning of the semester had a greater proportion of technically appropriate word associations in response to subject matter stimulus terms. Qualitative differences in knowledge existed, confirming that topic interest has an impact on knowledge acquisition. The methodology interest questionnaire is presented; and the results are provided in two tables, two graphs, and three flowcharts. (SLD)