Resumen de Self-Reported Limitations in Chemistry Education Research: Providing Specific and Contextualized Limitations Supports Researchers and Practitioners
Jon Marc G. Rodriguez, Solaire A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Field M. Watts, Jocelyn Elizabeth Nardo
The field of chemistry education research continues to expand and so has the need to clarify the norms for publication within the discipline to support both emerging researchers and practitioners. Limitations represent a key component for reporting research, as they describe the shortcomings of a study that may have affected the findings and conclusions. In this commentary, we present the characterization of self-reported limitations described within chemistry education research articles (n = 228) published in 2021 and 2022, noting that 91% of articles discussed limitations with 81% of articles having a distinct limitations section. Commonly described limitations were related to the study design, the scope of the research prompts or surveys, the sample, the assumptions made for quantitative methods, and the participant or researcher bias. Overall, limitations were described similarly across articles despite differences in methodological approaches. The findings from this commentary can provide guidance for the types of limitations that researchers should consider reporting in their chemistry education research articles; however, we argue that meaningful discussions require specific and contextualized limitations that address the scope of a research study. Importantly, adequate reporting of limitations serves a necessary function for researchers and practitioners to properly interpret and apply the findings.
