VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1

The International Journal of

Learning in
Higher Education
_________________________________________________________________________

Using Problem-based Learning to

Teach Research Methods at the
Undergraduate Level

EDUARDO PEÑALOSA-CASTRO AND JOSEFINA C. SANTANA

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Using Problem-based Learning to Teach Research
Methods at the Undergraduate Level
Eduardo Peñalosa-Castro, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico
Josefina C. Santana,1 Universidad Panamericana, Mexico

Abstract: Problem-based learning (PBL) has been used to teach university courses in a variety of fields. This article
reports on its use to teach basic research skills to undergraduate students in two different fields of study (Accounting and
Communication) at a Mexican university. Because PBL works with ill-structured problems and fosters critical-thinking
and problem-solving skills and because it leads to long-term retention, it is suitable as a learning approach at a basic
research methods course, where it appears to be underused. Participants (N = 102) were asked to work in teams to carry
out a research project and prepare an abstract which they sent to an international conference. Teams were video and
audio recorded as they worked on their project, and the data were analyzed following the precepts of interaction
analysis. Other data sources were participant interviews, student-created documents, and student evaluations of the
course. Participants show evidence of co-construction of knowledge and of increased critical thinking.

Keywords: Collaborative Learning, Critical Thinking, Problem-based Learning, Problem-solving Skills

Introduction

P roblem-based learning (PBL) involves a set of student-centered methodologies that

promote research, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, while at the same time
providing relevant knowledge to be applied directly in authentic contexts. We say that it is
a set of methodologies because in more than fifty years of application in different domains of
knowledge, it has had diversifications. The origins of the use of PBL go back to the medical
schools of Case Western Reserve University in the United States in the 1950s and at McMaster
University in Canada in the 1960s. Later, it was adopted in universities in the Netherlands
(Maastricht), the United States (New Mexico), and Australia (Newcastle). The intention of these
methodologies was to change from a rote-learning approach to one in which knowledge is
relevant in real contexts. This leads to a variety of advantages in terms of learning, such that its
use has been extended to a series of disciplines: social, biological, humanities, administrative,
and even in pre-university education (Dolman 1994; Uden and Beaumont 2006).
The problem-based learning process allows students to learn from meaningful situations,
construct mental models and co-construct group knowledge, while developing cognitive
reasoning skills, and both self-directed and life-long learning (Yew and Schmidt 2012). These
characteristics make PBL a flexible approach which can be used to teach a variety of subjects.
This article reports on the use of PBL to teach basic research skills in a university setting in
Mexico. The participants were undergraduates from two different fields of study and the activity
consisted of carrying out a research project and presenting it at an international conference. In
Mexico, undergraduate students rarely participate as speakers in conferences. Thus, the activity
was designed to stretch their skills. The objective of the study was to see if a PBL learning
environment promoted the type of skills required in a researcher. These skills include designing a
coherent research project, selecting the appropriate techniques and methods for data collection
and analysis, analyzing and interpreting data, and synthesizing information, among others.
Thus, the research questions were: How can a problem-based learning approach lead
students to acquire the skills needed to carry out research, and what specific research skills are

1
Corresponding Author: Josefina C. Santana, Prolongación Calzada Circunvalación Pte. 49, Escuela de Comunicación,
Universidad Panamericana, Zapopan, Jalisco, 45010, Mexico. email: jsantana@up.edu.mx

The International Journal of Learning in Higher Education

Volume 26, Issue 1, 2018, http://thelearner.com
© Common Ground, Eduardo Peñalosa-Castro,
Josefina C. Santana, All Rights Reserved.
Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org
ISSN: 2327-7955 (Print), ISSN: 2327-8749 (Online)
http://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7955/CGP/v26i01/1-10 (Article)
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

better developed using a PBL approach? The following section will describe why PBL was
considered an appropriate methodology to teach undergraduates how to do research.

Description of PBL
PBL is a learning approach which considers that knowledge is deeper when it is related to
application in contexts relevant to the student. Table 1 presents a summary of the general stages
that are recognized in this approach as well as the justifications that would sustain them.

Table 1: General Stages of the PBL Approach

Stage Description Rationale
Explanation of the situation, generation of the
Set Up Presentation of the problem conditions of attention and initial interest, goal-
setting

Activation of prior knowledge and generation

Initial Analysis Initial small-group discussion
Individual self-directed study based on
Self-study
resource guide offered by facilitator
Integration of Discussion and integration of knowledge, in
Knowledge small groups, approaching a solution
of learning topics pertinent to the problem,
generation of hypotheses and goals by students
Generation of the required knowledge for the
solution of the problem, investigation in
pertinent sources, according to what was
detected in the previous step
Integration of individually constructed
knowledge in the previous phase, solution
approach to the problem, review of the learning
topics raised in the initial analysis phase; joint
approach to a solution to the problem

Joint reflection on the proposed solution.

Posing a Solution Joint plenary presentation of solution model
Implications and suggestions
Source: Hmelo-Silver 2004

The entire process is conducted by a tutor or facilitator. The role of the tutor or facilitator is
to guide the students in the process of collaboration, research, and the application of knowledge
and skills that will allow them to solve the problem.
Escribano and del Valle (2010, 21) define PBL as a didactic system that “simultaneously
develops both the strategies for solving a problem and the knowledge bases and skills of a
discipline.” A central aspect of PBL is that it is related to life training; that is, to preparing
students so that they have specific knowledge of the domain in which they are inserted, and that
they can apply this knowledge to solve problems in the field. Successful problem solvers have a
broad, organized, and flexible knowledge, and they have the skills to apply their knowledge.
Hmelo-Silver (2004) states that important cognitive functions are promoted in PBL. These
are grouped into: 1) knowledge of the domain; 2) ability to solve problems; 3) autonomy and
life-long learning skills; 4) collaboration skills; and 5) motivation. These goals can be integrated
into: a) cognitive, which includes prior knowledge and the construction of knowledge to solve
the problem, which implies robust knowledge of the problems; b) strategic, which involves:
ability to solve problems, metacognitive skills, hypothetical-deductive reasoning based on cases;
or analogical reasoning; c) for lifelong learning, which involves metacognitive skills for
autonomous learning, goal setting, planning, monitoring, evaluation of goal achievement; d)
motivational: helping students to be intrinsically motivated, which occurs when they work on
tasks in line with their own interests, challenges, or sense of satisfaction, since it seeks to apply
the knowledge to solve a specific problem; e) collaborative, which proposes to establish a
common base, resolve discrepancies, negotiate actions to be taken by the group, reach
agreements, exchange ideas and reach commitment on the part of the members.

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 PEÑALOSA-CASTRO: USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO TEACH RESEARCH METHODS

Implementing PBL also requires planning and training on the part of the teachers. In one
effort, Hack, McKillop, Sweetman, and McCormack (2015) used PBL at undergraduate and
graduate levels at the University of Ulster. They report on a project intended to create a resource
center to support PBL at their institution. This resource center supports teacher training through
workshops and seminars and has been instrumental in fostering PBL practices in their context.

Using PBL to Develop Research Skills

Problem-based learning seems eminently suitable to teach students how to do research because of
the types of skills it develops. No specific articles were found on PBL for teaching research
methods, but the following literature gives details of studies where the learners developed skills
that are useful in doing research. When teaching novices to do research, an issue that sometimes
appears is the need to let go of preconceived notions and to construct new knowledge based on
the evidence being found. Imafuku, Kataoka, Mayahara, Suzuki, and Saiki (2014) looked into the
co-construction of knowledge among Japanese students participating in interdisciplinary PBL
projects. They found that participants not only co-constructed their knowledge, but developed
their professional identities, as well.
PBL is also effective in fostering conceptual change (Yew and Goh 2015), because it
requires the activation of prior knowledge and critical analysis of arguments (Hmelo-Silver 2004;
Loyens et al. 2015). Evidence also shows that interactions within PBL can lead to theory building
(Yew and Schmidt 2009). PBL has also shown a significant effect on the promotion of higher-
order thinking skills (Erdogan and Senemoglu 2013; Yew and Goh 2015), which are important in
a researcher. A Colombian study (Sastoque, Ávila, and Olivares 2016) also found PBL useful in
developing critical-thinking skills among university students. They found it especially valuable
for learners who had been characterized as “difficult” or “rebellious” students. Wenger (2014)
used PBL to teach information literacy skills at the university level and found it effective in
weaning students from over-reliance on search engines for the documentary research projects.
In some studies, PBL has been shown to be less effective than traditional teaching methods
in the acquisition of knowledge in the short term, but more effective for knowledge retention and
application in the long term (Loyens et al. 2015; Yew and Goh 2015, for example). Throughout
this article, we have been speaking of research skills. That is, doing research belongs in the realm
of procedural, rather than declarative knowledge. Thus, retention is preferable than acquisition in
this case. Finally, “PBL encourages self-direction, with students determining their learning goals,
identifying and dealing with obstacles, and undertaking research” (Williams and Paltridge 2017,
26).
Because PBL can help to develop the type of skills needed by a researcher, it would seem to
be an ideal approach for teaching a basic course of research methodology. The tasks carried out
by students on the course seem to embody Duch’s (2001) characteristics of good problems in
PBL, summarized below.

1. They must capture the interest of the students and motivate them to seek a deeper
understanding of the concepts introduced. They should relate the subject matter as
much as possible to real life.
2. They must require students to make decisions or judgments based on facts,
information, logic, or rationalization.
3. The problem should be complex enough, so that its solution requires the work of
the whole group, but trying to make it collaborative and not merely cooperative.
4. The questions posed should be open, based on prior knowledge, and/or
controversial, that is, that generate discussion.
5. The objectives of the courses should be incorporated into the problems.

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Following these guidelines will increase the possibility of successfully implementing PBL in
the classroom.
The activities carried out by the participants in the study described in the present article are
complex, made up of several smaller tasks. This study can be considered an example of problem-
based learning, rather than project-based, or inquiry-based learning. Though these approaches
share many characteristics, in project-based learning, students are usually given specifications for
how to finish their projects. On the other hand, in inquiry-based learning, the teacher is both
facilitator and provider of knowledge (Savery 2015).
In this study, the problem is ill-structured, in the sense that the activities and outcomes will
depend on initial decisions taken by the team members. To finish the project, the participants are
required to use their previous knowledge, but at the same time, to learn something new (Jonassen
and Hung 2008). Thus, the task fits the description of PBL.

Method
The study took place over four years at a small, private university in western Mexico.
Participants were undergraduate students in the School of Accounting (N = 44) and the School of
Communication (N = 58). The study took place in the courses on Business English and Media
Research, respectively. In both groups, the task was the same. The students were instructed to
work in teams and carry out a research project of their interest. This project was to be submitted
to an international conference. Thus, participants were expected to decide what they wanted to
research, find information on the topic for their literature review, design and carry out their
study, write up the findings, and send an abstract for the conference proposal.

Participants

Participants were all undergraduate students at a private university in western Mexico. Their ages
ranged from nineteen to twenty-five. The sampling was non-probabilistic, and intact cohorts
were included as participants. The participants were chosen because these are the courses taught
by the researcher. Both courses are curricular and must be taken by all the students in the degree
program. The students had not taken previous university courses in the area of research, and thus,
entered this class with differing skills.
Forty-four of the participants were students of two different groups taking a course on
Business English, a curricular subject for the School of Accounting. Nineteen were male and
twenty-five were female. The two groups studied in different terms. Fifty-eight of the
participants were students of two different groups taking a course on Media Research, a
curricular subject in the School of Communication. Eighteen were male and forty were female.
The two groups studied in different terms. The courses were offered in the English language. All
the groups worked with the same professor.
Not all of the projects were successful; one out of the eight Business English projects, and
three out of twelve projects in Media Research were not accepted for their respective
conferences. On the first day of class, students were advised about the experimental nature of the
course. They were told that some interactions would be video and tape recorded, and they were
asked to sign a consent form. They were also given the option to change to another class section,
if they preferred not to participate in the study. None of the participants took this option.

Procedure

During the first class session, students were informed that their final grade would be based on a
research project that they would be carrying out. They were told that the objective was to present
their research at an international conference. They were shown a copy of the program from the
previous year’s conference, to give them an idea of the topics presented there. This was merely

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 PEÑALOSA-CASTRO: USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO TEACH RESEARCH METHODS

as a guideline, since participants chose their own projects. Students were asked to form teams.
They selected whom they wanted to work with, and teams ranged between three and six
members each. Teams brainstormed ideas and decided on what they wanted to research.
The following sessions were devoted to learning the specific skills for doing research: how
to pose a problem and develop research questions, how to establish a hypothesis, how to do a
literature review, what data collection techniques they needed to carry out their specific projects,
and so forth.
At the midterm, each team presented their project to the whole class and received feedback
and suggestions from their classmates. At the end of the term, the projects were presented to the
whole group and to a panel consisting of the professor, plus another two members of the faculty.
The panel graded the presentations based on validity and reliability of the study, appropriate use
of data-collection techniques, depth of analysis, and coherence of the work in general. An
abstract of the work was sent as a proposal to the selected conference. Acceptance or rejection
letters arrived after the term had finished. These steps roughly followed Hmelo-Silver’s (2004)
general stages of the PBL approach as mentioned above.

Data Collection and Analysis

A camera was placed on a desk at the front of the classroom. Participants were video-recorded as
they worked in teams to first decide what their research project would be, then to carry out the
project. Additionally, each team of students was provided with a digital audio recorder to ensure
that their interactions were registered. Only six sessions were taped during the course. These
were sessions where the participants worked in teams to decide on their projects or to carry out
specific activities, such as looking for material for their literature reviews.
The data were analyzed according to the precepts of interaction analysis (IA) (Jordan and
Henderson 1995). This is a qualitative method within the ethnographic tradition and is
appropriate for researching collaborative work. In IA, video-recordings are observed and
transcribed, looking for both verbal and non-verbal examples of communication, and they allow
the researcher to observe the interactions as many times as necessary. Both the verbal and the
non-verbal interactions are transcribed in IA and using video allows the researcher to ask
participants to clarify what is going on in certain interactions. IA is particular useful for “busy”
collaborations, where participants are working on a variety of activities and interacting with
various persons at different moments.
Multiple viewings allow the researcher to focus on different teams, or individual learners,
and also to focus on different details of the interaction, such as body language, use of mediating
tools (laptops, for example), and other aspects. IA also contemplates multiple viewers who use a
viewer protocol to classify and categorize the interactions, reducing subjectivity. This, however,
was not done for the present study.
The audio-recordings, student-created documents, and student end-of-term evaluations were
also used to complement the data. Both video and audio recordings were coded, according to the
following categories: interaction and collaboration and construction of new knowledge. These
were further divided in subcategories: participant roles, learning outcomes, motivation,
metacognitive development, and role of the teacher. The following section will focus specifically
on findings related to construction of new knowledge, including learning outcomes and
metacognitive development.

Findings
The recordings give evidence of participants using higher-order thinking skills to overcome the
obstacles they find. They show examples of self-directed learning, as students make decisions
when they find knowledge gaps. Importantly, they also show conceptual change. Some

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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

participants began their projects thinking they would find evidence to back up what they believed
to be true. Finding evidence contrary to their beliefs was an eye-opening experience.
In all the teams, the start of the project is similar. The team members decide together what
their project will be, they split up to carry out different tasks, and then they join up again to put
together their work. One team plans their work thus:

M: I think we should have two meetings a week—we, and with the teacher.
Y: Every week.
M: So, when we meet, we have questions, information, new ideas…
A: What we can do is put a limit: at this time, stop researching and start putting
everything in order. (BE, Team A)

In the less successful teams (i.e. those with lower grades, and/or not accepted for the
conference), the tasks tend to be carried out by individuals. That is, one person looks for
literature; one person creates a survey, etc. In the more successful teams, however, there are no
instances of individual work; all tasks are carried out by two or three participants jointly. Thus,
even when they split up to work in smaller teams, there is evidence of teamwork. It must be
noted that all teams spent a considerable amount of time off-task. They chatted about a concert
they had attended, their plans for the weekend, etc. The quality of their final work did not seem
to be affected by this.

Learning Outcomes

A crucial moment in the process comes toward the end of the school term, when participants are
asked, “With the information you have now, can you answer your research question?” This
question seems to help them focus on what they have done and what they still need to do. “We
don’t have enough interviews; we need to organize a focus group” (PDB)2 was one response.
Another response was, “We only have information about Mexico; we need somebody to
distribute the survey in the UK” (ACL). Thus, participants can be seen finding solutions to
specific problems that arise in their projects. However, this type of reflection comes only after
they have been questioned. No examples were found of spontaneous evaluation of progress.
When asked specifically what she had learned from the project, MZR from the Business
English course mentioned, “I learned about the topic, and I think the others learned about the
topic, too. Also, the words in English, the vocabulary. So it was good. It worked for everyone.”
Because the focus of the Business English course was precisely to learn business terms and
vocabulary, growth in this area is evident in the abstracts sent to the conference. The following
example shows how the participants have adopted not only the appropriate vocabulary, but also
the accepted language and structures for conference abstracts:

REMITTANCES CRISIS IN MEXICO

This presentation will offer an overview of the Global Financial Crisis, its effects and its
impact on Mexican families, specifically on the families in the state of Jalisco.
As a preamble statistics data are used to show the impact on Mexican families due to the
crisis, since more than 80% of the remittances are destined to commodities.
Construction is one of the most affected industries due to the crisis. A great number of
Mexican migrants in the United States work in this industry, which has been affected by
a high unemployment rate.
As a consequence, this has directly impacted the remittances to Mexico, which is one of
the biggest and strongest sources of income in our country.

2
Participants are identified by their initials. Their responses were given in English, which is not their native language.

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 PEÑALOSA-CASTRO: USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO TEACH RESEARCH METHODS

Jalisco is the third State in Mexico in percentage of the foreign income, thus, the
speakers focus on how this phenomenon in the USA affects families and economy in
Jalisco.
The speakers will also explain some proposals made by The World Bank to help
countries to solve this crisis and the measures that the Mexican government has taken
for 2010. The presenters hope to show that the present economic recession, though
global in scope, has had varying effects locally, and how the Mexican government has
prepared to face it. (BE, Team B)

To appreciate the text more fully, it is necessary to remember that participants are not
writing in their native language. A more in-depth discussion of how the students’ language and
structures evolved over the course of the semester is beyond the scope of this article. It can be
found, however, in Santana (2013).
Students in the media research course were specifically asked on the end-of-term evaluation,
“What was the most important thing you learned on this course?” Some of the participants
offered very general responses, such as learning to do research. But other participants highlighted
the use of a research method:

…specific “methodology,” because usually we just investigated about the topic we had
in mind and focused on that but with the tools that this course gave us, we were able to
divide different ways to achieve our goal. (CRR)

The different types of research that there is, if an investigation is qualitative or

quantitative as to distinguish them and which one to use depending on your research.
(MSV)

I learned the importance of research, and that everything has an order to get to a final
conclusion. The different parts that a research has, and the methods you can use. It was
the most importance because it [encompasses] the general content. (MEB)

Data-collection techniques were also mentioned:

The most important thing I learned during this course was to collect information in
different ways, I didn’t know the difference between interviews and focus groups, it
helped a lot with other subjects, because I used the methods learned in class in my other
classes. Also learning to use CRAI [university access to electronic journals], for
investigation, I had never used it before this class and now I use it all the time. (JMM)

In this class I was able to learn the types of research that exist and how each one is used,
an example of this was when we made a focus group in which this way of research is
one of the ones I like the most since you can observe how each person think in a
different way. (JHP)

Some participants valued learning how to look for reliable sources:

I learned how to do research, how to collect information and interpret it. I learned to
work in a team and in a certain way to improve my English. I also learned how to search
the web effectively and on much more reliable sites. Also that an investigation has
certain steps that must be fulfilled and from the beginning to raise the method of study
and collection of information. (NRE)

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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The most important thing I learned in this course, was how to carry out a thorough
investigation on some topic, how to research in reliable sources and not only stay with
the first thing I find if I do not investigate thoroughly and from reliable sources, I also
learned a lot about the subject of my work on the social networks, as well as they benefit
us a lot also affect us too, especially the young people. (NSB)

This last participant values what she learned about her research topic, as well. In general, it
can be said that participants have learned what it is to carry out a research project, especially in
terms of the fieldwork involved. However, metacognitive development is not evident in the
recordings. There are no dialogs related to planning, monitoring, or evaluating the learning
process which could be interpreted as metacognition. The tutor could work more on this area to
enhance self-directed learning.

Discussion
The objective of the study was to show if PBL was an appropriate learning methodology for
teaching undergraduate students to do research. The development of critical-thinking skills and
self-direction are especially useful, as is the process leading to conceptual change. In this regard,
the course can be said to be successful.
As in a previous study by Imafuku et al. (2014), the participants in this study showed
evidence of co-construction of new knowledge. Not only did they learn the basics of doing a
research project, they learned about the subject researched, as well. At the same time, it can be
said that they constructed new knowledge, because they did not merely replicate previous
studies; they carried out original work.
Having a clear goal—sending an abstract to a conference—but an ill-structured project,
where decisions had to be made at each step, contributed to the learning. The task complied with
Duch’s (2001) characteristics of good problems: it captured the interest of the learners and led
them to deeper learning. It required that learners put into play prior knowledge, but at the same
time, they needed to acquire new knowledge. It was based on real-life activities that the
participants can be expected to do in their professional lives. The problems were complex enough
to make teamwork essential.
As to the promotion of Hmelo-Silver’s (2004) cognitive functions, participants showed
evidence of knowledge of the domain, ability to solve problems, collaboration skills, and
motivation. None of the teams gave evidence of metacognitive development, which is crucial to
autonomy and life-long learning. This is not to say that it does not come about in PBL, but rather,
that it needs to be intentionally introduced by the tutor.

Conclusions
This article details a study into the effectiveness of problem-based learning in teaching basic
research to undergraduates. The study found that PBL was effective in engaging the students, in
having them work collaboratively to carry out their research projects, and to solve the problems
that arose. It was effective in leading the participants to create new knowledge both in regards to
doing a research project, and to the subject matter of the research itself. It was successful in
fostering critical-thinking skills and self-directed learning. It led to conceptual change among
some of the participants. It was less successful in getting the participants to develop their
metacognitive skills. Further studies, where metacognition is intentionally incorporated into the
tasks, could show if metacognition can be developed within a PBL context.
It must be considered that the study was carried out in only one university and with one
professor; this is an important limitation, and the study can by no means be generalized.
However, the findings justify continued use of PBL in this context. Another important

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consideration is that the courses were offered in English, not in the participants’ native language.
Further studies could help determine if this fact has an impact on the results.

REFERENCES
Dolmans, Dianne H. J. M 1994. “How Students Learn in a Problem-based Curriculum.” PhD
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Eduardo Peñalosa-Castro, PhD: Rector General, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico
City, Mexico

Josefina C. Santana PhD: Professor-Researcher, School of Communication, Universidad

Panamericana, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

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The International Journal of Learning in Higher
Education is one of ten thematically focused journals in
the collection of journals that support The Learner
Research Network—its journals, book series,
conference, and online community.

The journal offers studies of learning at college and

university levels, including teacher education.

As well as articles of a traditional scholarly type, this

journal invites presentations of practice—including
documentation of higher education practices and
exegeses of the effects of those practices.

The International Journal of Learning in Higher Education

is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal.

ISSN: 2327-7955