Özet:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the abstracts of theses and dissertations completed in the field of measurement and evaluation in state universities (Abant Izzet Baysal University, Ankara University, Hacettepe University and Mersin University) in Turkey between 2000 and 2009 in terms of categories of form and content considering the standards determined by American Psychological Association-APA. Within the framework of this qualitative research which can be qualified as documentary analysis, 90 Master of Science (M.Sc.) and 21 Doctorate (Ph.D.) theses completed at universities aforementioned are examined. Within the framework of the study, a data collection tool that aims to investigate the abstracts of the researches’ systematically has been devised. Abstracts are studied by this instrument by each researcher independently and in order to attain the inter-participant consistency, the codes with regards to the coding scheme in data collection tool given to the same abstracts are compared. Data is analyzed through descriptive and content analysis. The content of the abstracts is presented and interpreted by either based on frequency counts and percentages of the categories used in deciding whether the specified criteria are matched or giving direct quotations. The findings indicate that information about the aim of research is not presented at one fourth; the aim is a repetition of title at one third of abstracts at Master’s Degree. At one third of the abstracts at Doctoral Degree, findings of the research are not presented; at the four fifth of the abstracts of Master’s Degree, 19 of 21 abstracts at Doctoral Degree, there is not research design; in the half of abstracts at Master’s Degree and three fourth of abstracts at Doctoral Degree, there is not data collection procedure; at one third of abstracts at Master’s Degree and one third of abstracts at Doctoral Degree, there are not data analysis techniques. These findings imply that the abstracts have crucial inadequacies regarding to the features which determine the quality of research.

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