Additional Module Examinations of Students – Münster Evaluation Questionnaire (MFE-ZUS)

Abstract

The additional module examinations of students – Münster questionnaire for evaluation (MFE-ZUS) is an 8-item supplementary module designed to assess the quality of support provided by instructors during student-led research or examination projects. This module is an extension of the comprehensive Münsteraner Fragebogen zur Evaluation (MFE) system, utilized for web-based course evaluation at the University of Münster.

Developed to capture specific didactic contexts, the MFE-ZUS focuses on the practical supervision of student investigations, covering planning, execution, data analysis, and report writing. Following a significant revision in 2010 to improve its content and address psychometric weaknesses (such as bimodal response tendencies), the module’s current version is categorized as “unerprobt” (untested). Consequently, published empirical data regarding its reliability, validity, and descriptive statistics are currently unavailable.

Keywords

Course evaluation, teaching quality, student research, supplementary module, Münster questionnaire, higher education, student examination support, instructional quality.

Authors

Ina Grötemeier, Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Meinald Thielsch, and based on initial development: Grabbe (2003).

Purpose

The MFE-ZUS was constructed to allow students to provide targeted feedback on the quality of instructional support they receive when undertaking practical research assignments or examinations integral to their coursework. This addresses areas of teaching that are highly specific and often overlooked by general course evaluation instruments, particularly the one-on-one or small-group mentoring required for empirical student work.

The scale serves the broader institutional goal of quality assurance in higher education by providing detailed feedback that can initiate improvements in teaching qualifications, identify strengths and weaknesses at the course or faculty level, and support discussions between faculty and students, as outlined by Rindermann (1996). The module structure promotes efficiency by ensuring students are only presented with questions relevant to the specific didactic format of their evaluated course.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Instructional Support for Student Research Execution. This construct evaluates the extent to which the instructor facilitates key stages of a student-led empirical investigation. Key dimensions include pedagogical support for planning and theoretical grounding, logistical assistance during organizational phases, guidance through statistical data analysis and interpretation, and editorial support during the final report writing phase.

The final item gauges the student’s perceived capability to execute independent research for a thesis, thereby serving as a measure of the practical learning outcome achieved through the instructor’s support.

Validity

Empirical evidence of the scale’s construct validity for the revised 8-item version is currently pending. The original conceptualization of the MFE supplementary modules was grounded in an analysis of characteristics of good teaching (Grabbe, 2003), suggesting a basis in theory and content validity.

The scale underwent a thorough revision in Summer Semester 2010. During this process, two items were added (Items 6 and 7) to ensure comprehensive content coverage of the research cycle, and two existing items (Items 2 and 5) were reformulated to correct for bimodal response tendencies, which often indicate poor item clarity or ambiguity. These revisions aimed to strengthen the internal consistency and validity of the instrument before new data collection.

Reliability

As the documented version of the MFE-ZUS is the revised instrument from 2010, empirical results concerning its internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha) or other reliability metrics are not yet available. The scale is awaiting subsequent validation studies to establish its psychometric quality.

Factor Analysis

Specific data derived from factor analysis (e.g., Exploratory or Confirmatory Factor Analysis) detailing the underlying latent structure of the 8-item module are currently not provided in the documentation. Given the scale’s function as a highly specialized supplementary instrument focused on a single activity (student research supervision), it is anticipated to measure a relatively focused, potentially unidimensional construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Supplementary Course Evaluation Module (Zusatzmodul)

Format: Web-based questionnaire utilizing a 7-point Likert-type response format.

Language Available: German (Deutsch).

Population Group: University Students.

Age Group: Not specified, typically young adults and adults enrolled in higher education courses requiring practical empirical work.

Population Details: Students participating in seminars or lectures, primarily within the Psychology department at the University of Münster, who are conducting practical investigations.

Test Methodology: The scale is administered online via a specialized web-based evaluation platform (Haaser, Thielsch & Moeck, 2007). The MFE-ZUS is typically presented immediately after students complete the general evaluation modules for seminars (MFE-Sr) or lectures (MFE-Vr). The response options range from 1 = “stimme gar nicht zu” (strongly disagree) to 7 = “stimme vollkommen zu” (strongly agree), and also include the option “nicht sinnvoll beantwortbar” (not reasonably answerable).

Keywords

Lehrevaluation, higher education quality assurance, instructional support, student research project, web-based survey, Item Analysis, supervision quality.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: No data available.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Dr. Meinald Thielsch).

Correspondence Address: Ina Grötemeier, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Institut für Psychologie, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149 Münster, Germany. General website information is available at: http://www.uni-muenster.de/PsyEval.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The MFE system, including the MFE-ZUS module, was developed by the Department of Psychology at the University of Münster for internal academic use in course evaluation. No specific details regarding licensing fees or external permissions for commercial use are provided in the documentation.

The module was initially developed around 2003 (Moeck & Thielsch, 2004) as part of a modular approach to course evaluation. The final 8-item scale documented here was introduced following a comprehensive Item Analysis and revision process conducted in Summer Semester 2010.

Reference’s

• Grabbe, S. (2003). Entwicklung eines Fragebogens zur Evaluation von Seminaren. Unveröffentlichte Diplomarbeit, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.
• Göritz, A. S., Soucek, R. & Bacher, J. (2005). Online-Befragung in der psychologischen Forschung. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
• Haaser, J., Thielsch, M. T. & Moeck, P. (2007). Web-basierte Lehrevaluation – Erfahrungen aus Münster. Zeitschrift für Evaluation, 6 (1), 7-23.
• Moeck, P. & Thielsch, M. T. (2004). Evaluation von Vorlesungen und Seminaren an der Universität Münster. In S. F. E. T. S. A. G. B. L. (Hrsg.), Evaluation in der Psychologie (S. 119–129). Bonn: DGPs.
• Rindermann, H. (1996). Evaluation von Lehre und Studium. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
• Schmidt, U. & Loßnitzer, E. (2010). Instrumente zur Lehrevaluation: Eine Übersicht. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 5 (2), 11-26.
• Thielsch, M. T. & Weltzin, S. (2012). Web-based course evaluation: Comparing response rates and response distributions of paper-based and web-based questionnaires. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37 (2), 231-239.

Items of the additional module examinations of students – Münster questionnaire for evaluation (MFE-ZUS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Instruktion: Die hier dokumentierte Itembatterie zur Bewertung von Untersuchungen von Studierenden ist ein Zusatzmodul des “Münsteraner Fragebogen zur Evaluation” (MFE) und wird ohne eigene Instruktion präsentiert. Allgemeine Informationen zur Befragung erfolgen beim erstmaligen Zugriff auf das System (Verwendung der Daten, technische Voraussetzungen, u. ä.).

1. Der/Die Lehrende gab hilfreiche Anregungen bei der Planung der von mir durchgeführten Untersuchung.
2. Bei der Planung der Untersuchung gab der/die Lehrende ausreichend Raum für meine eigenen Ideen und Vorschläge.
3. Der/Die Lehrende unterstütze mich darin mir den theoretischen Hintergrund der Untersuchung zu erarbeiten.
4. Der/Die Lehrende unterstütze mich gut bei der Organisation der Untersuchungsdurchführung.
5. Der/Die Lehrende unterstütze mich bei der Auswertung der Daten.
6. Der/Die Lehrende unterstütze mich bei der Interpretation der Daten.
7. Der/Die Lehrende unterstütze mich beim Verfassen des Berichts.
8. Ich fühle mich durch diese praktische Übung in der Lage, eine Untersuchung im Rahmen einer Abschlussarbeit selbstständig durchzuführen.

Antwortvorgaben: 7-stufiges Antwortformat mit den Optionen 1 = “stimme gar nicht zu”, 2 = “stimme nicht zu”, 3 = “stimme eher nicht zu”, 4 = “neutral”, 5 = “stimme eher zu”, 6 = “stimme zu” und 7 = “stimme vollkommen zu”. Zusätzlich steht die Antwortoption “nicht sinnvoll beantwortbar” zur Verfügung.