Responses of South African Science Talent Quest Students to the Question “Why Am I Doing a Research Project for Expo 2005?”

Abstract

This study asked the question “Why am I doing a research project for Expo 2005?” The sample of respondents comprised 155 aspirant young scientists and technologists who exhibited their projects in the 2005 Cape Town Science Talent Quest (Expo) competition for schools. They commenced their participation in the Expo judging session by responding to eleven literature-derived reasons or motivations for commencing research investigations. These items were presented in a hikert-scale format, and included a novel source of motivation framed uniquely in the local South African context. Subsequently, open-ended questions and interviews were conducted in more depth with selected students who offered amplified responses and explanations. It was found that the Expo students gave higher ratings to reasons that were intrinsic (such as personal interest, skills development, personal challenge and ambition) than to reasons that were externally controlled (such as emulating somebody else's example, or meeting other people's expectations). The students' self-reported levels of enjoyment of their research projects correlated highest with the strength of their commitment to enhancing social emancipation in South Africa through their chosen research projects.