A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering

Onofrio Rosario Battaglia; Bendetto Di Paola; Claudio Fazio

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

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Onofrio Rosario Battaglia ¹ ^* , Bendetto Di Paola ², Claudio Fazio ¹

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¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, University of Palermo, Italy² Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica, University of Palermo, Italy^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Many research papers have studied the problem of taking a set of data and separating it into subgroups through the methods of Cluster Analysis. However, the variables and parameters involved in Cluster Analysis have not always been outlined and criticized, especially in the field of Science Education. Moreover, in the field of Science Education, a comparison between two different Clustering methods is not discussed in the literature. Conceptions of students about modeling in physic are investigated by using an open-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire is analyzed through Clustering methods. The clustering results obtained by using the two methods are compared and show a good coherence between them. The results are interpreted and are compared with literature results. A synergism between the two clustering methods allows us to obtain more detailed and robust information about the modelling concept. Looking at the content from a pedagogical point of view, our study allowed us to obtain more detail about the relationship between different student conceptions of modeling in physics.

Keywords

evaluation
hierarchical cluster analysis
modeling
Not-Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
science education

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 13, Issue 8, August 2017, 4491-4512

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

Publication date: 12 Jul 2017

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Article Downloads: 1530

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How to cite this article

APA

Battaglia, O. R., Di Paola, B., & Fazio, C. (2017). A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(8), 4491-4512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

Vancouver

Battaglia OR, Di Paola B, Fazio C. A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(8):4491-512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

AMA

Battaglia OR, Di Paola B, Fazio C. A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(8), 4491-4512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

Chicago

Battaglia, Onofrio Rosario, Bendetto Di Paola, and Claudio Fazio. "A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2017 13 no. 8 (2017): 4491-4512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

Harvard

Battaglia, O. R., Di Paola, B., and Fazio, C. (2017). A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(8), pp. 4491-4512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a

MLA

Battaglia, Onofrio Rosario et al. "A quantitative analysis of Educational Data through the Comparison between Hierarchical and Not-Hierarchical Clustering". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 8, 2017, pp. 4491-4512. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00943a