The DOI matches its Crossref record; 93 of the 93 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The C.R.E.A.T.E. Approach to Primary Literature Shifts Undergraduates’ Self-Assessed Ability to Read and Analyze Journal Articles, Attitudes about Science, and Epistemological Beliefs
Open accessAbstract
The C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) method uses intensive analysis of primary literature in the undergraduate classroom to demystify and humanize science. We have reported previously that the method improves students' critical thinking and content integration abilities, while at the same time enhancing their self-reported understanding of "who does science, and why." We report here the results of an assessment that addressed C.R.E.A.T.E. students' attitudes about the nature of science, beliefs about learning, and confidence in their ability to read, analyze, and explain research articles. Using a Likert-style survey administered pre- and postcourse, we found significant changes in students' confidence in their ability to read and analyze primary literature, self-assessed understanding of the nature of science, and epistemological beliefs (e.g., their sense of whether knowledge is certain and scientific talent innate). Thus, within a single semester, the inexpensive C.R.E.A.T.E. method can shift not just students' analytical abilities and understanding of scientists as people, but can also positively affect students' confidence with analysis of primary literature, their insight into the processes of science, and their beliefs about learning.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Undergraduates using these approaches have significantly increased performance in critical thinking tests, and report increased interest in primary research when interviewed after being taught specific reading strategies [11,15].”
From Perceptions of scientific research literature and strategies for reading papers depend on academic career stage (2017) · cites this paper as [15]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“A variety of teaching strategies for introducing papers undergraduate students have been described, many of which have been demonstrated to increase student confidence and skill in the use of research literature [6,11,15,16,30–32].”
From Perceptions of scientific research literature and strategies for reading papers depend on academic career stage (2017) · cites this paper as [15]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“However, the author of this 2008 paper continued refining the approach and teaching using CREATE, and then gathered data to examine the impact of the CREATE method on both student attitudes toward and abilities gained in reading PSL, finding positive gains (Hoskins et al., 2011).”
From Reading Primary Scientific Literature: Approaches for Teaching Students in the Undergraduate STEM Classroom (2023) · cites this paper as Hoskins et al., 2011
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“This finding complements a recent report by Hoskins et al. (2011), which shows that guided literature explorations increase students’ overall confidence in their ability to interpret data.”
From Figure Facts: Encouraging Undergraduates to Take a Data-Centered Approach to Reading Primary Literature (2013) · cites this paper as Hoskins et al. (2011)
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“We also found that undergraduates’ self-assessed science abilities, attitudes, and epistemological beliefs changed during the CREATE semester (Hoskins et al., 2011).”
From CREATE Cornerstone: Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a New Course for STEM-Interested Freshmen, Demystifies Scientific Thinking through Analysis of Scientific Literature (2013) · cites this paper as Hoskins et al., 2011
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,603
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
Cohen, J. (1990) · Computers Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/0198-9715(90)90050-4 · Cited by 65,417
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.).
Lachenbruch, P. A., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2290095 · Cited by 37,421
A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.95.2.256 · Cited by 9,745
Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1989) · Biochemical Education · doi:10.1016/0307-4412(89)90094-0 · Cited by 4,818
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences
(2005) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511816833 · Cited by 4,675
Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years; A Scheme
Perry, W. G. (1970) · Cited by 4,179
Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview
Zimmerman, B. J. (1990) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15326985ep2501_2 · Cited by 3,687
Attitudes towards science: A review of the literature and its implications
Osborne, J. F., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003) · International Journal of Science Education · doi:10.1080/0950069032000032199 · Cited by 3,455
Talking about Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences
Correll, S. J., Seymour, E., & Hewitt, N. M. (1997) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2655673 · Cited by 3,088
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 25
- American Association for Higher Education, 2000, Targeting Curricular Change: Reform in Undergraduate Education in Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1989, Science for All Americans: A Project 2061 Report on Literacy Goals in Science, Mathematics, and Technology
- Atwell R, 2004, The long road ahead: barriers to minority participation persist. In: Reflections on 20 Years of Minorities in Higher Education and the ACE Annual Status Report
- Aulls M, 2008, Inquiry in Education, vol. I: The Conceptual Foundations for Research as a Curricular Imperative
- Bloom BS, 1956, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, by a Committee of College and University Examiners, Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain
- Butler D, 2008, Inquiry in Education, vol. II., 301
- Chaplin S, 2009, J Coll Sci Teach, 39, 72
- Chickering AW, 1987, AAHE Bull, 39, 3
- DePass A, 2009, Understanding Interventions That Encourage Minorities to Pursue Research Careers: Summary of a Workshop
- Herreid CF, 1994, J Coll Sci Teach, 23, 221
- Herreid CF, 1994, J Coll Sci Teach, 23, 349
- Hoskins S, 2008, J Undergrad Neurosci Educ, 6, A40
- Janick-Buckner D, 1997, J Coll Sci Teach, 27, 29
- Klionsky DJ, 1998, J Coll Sci Teach, 27, 334
- Kozeracki CA, 2006, Cell Biol Educ, 5, 340
- Malcom SM, 2005, A System of Solutions: Every School, Every Student
- Nordell S, 2009, Bioscene: J Coll Biol Teach, 35, 35
- Novak J, 1991, Sci Teach, 58, 45
- Pulmones R, 2010, Asia-Pacific Educ Res, 19, 143
- Sadler TD, 2010, J Coll Sci Teach, 39, 43
- Schinske JN, 2008, Science Teach, 75, 49
- Schommer-Aikins M, 2002, Personal Epistemology: The Psychology of Beliefs about Knowledge and Knowing, 103
- Schwartz D, 2006, The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, 283
- Shore B, 2008, Inquiry in Education, vol. II: Overcoming Barriers to Successful Implementation
- U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), 2000, Before It's Too Late: A Report to the Nation from The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–211 of 211
Reimagining Assessment: From High-Stakes Exams to Skill-Building Sketchnotes
Harley, C. M. (2025) · Integrative and Comparative Biology · doi:10.1093/icb/icaf151
Suart, C., Zubyk, H. L., Ogrodnik, M., Mullarkey, C. E., & Vulcu, F. (2025) · FEBS Open Bio · doi:10.1002/2211-5463.70145
Schaller, M. D., Gencheva, M., Gunther, M. R., & Weed, S. A. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.23972808
!nteractivesPub: Redistributing Author and Reader Effort through Interactive Academic Authoring
Wang, K. L., Sun, Y., Sethapakdi, T., Yu, T., Wang, Y., & Mueller, S. (2026) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/3772363.3798309
Neely, S. H., Irizarry, H. G. L., McCartney, M. L., & Siltberg-Liberles, J. (2026) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00297-25
Myers-Miller, I., Adair, W., Hutson, B., Harrison, P. R., Jones, J., & Robertson, S. D. (2026) · International Journal of STEM Education · doi:10.1186/s40594-026-00618-x
An “Avian” Strategy to Improve Biology Students’ Metacognition
Romano, L. A. (2026) · The journal of college science teaching · doi:10.1080/0047231x.2026.2693934
Developing critical thinking skills in engineering students through a primary literature exercise
Kays, J. C. (2026) · ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition · doi:10.18260/1-2--58780
Beyond Citation: A Researcher-Centred Framework for AI-Driven Research Engagement and RewardPreprint
Idegbekwe, D., & Eyo, B. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7324971
Casey, J. R., Babu, D., Beurskens, M., Todorovska, M., & Boersma, A. J. (2026) · Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education · doi:10.1128/jmbe.00322-25
Dertien, J. R., & Curtis, C. (2026) · The American Biology Teacher · doi:10.1525/abt.2026.88.8.434
Metadata
- Authors
- Hoskins, S. G., Lopatto, D., & Stevens, L. M.
- Affiliations
- The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
- Grinnell College (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hoskins, Sally G.
- ORCID
- Stevens, Leslie M.
- Venue
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 368-378
- ISSN
- 1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3228655
- OpenAlex
- W2119334827
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 93
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 43.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (0311117, 1021443, 0618536)
- Carnegie Corporation of New York
- City University of New York
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovative Teaching Methods
- Keywords
- undergraduate science education, self-efficacy, attitudes toward science, nature of science, epistemological beliefs, beliefs about learning, critical thinking, demystification of science
- MeSH terms
- Attitude, Education, Medical, Undergraduate, Educational Measurement, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Periodicals as Topic, Surveys and Questionnaires, Science, Students, Knowledge, Comprehension
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
