Undergraduate students’ errors on interval estimation based on variance neglect

Abstract

Interval estimation is an important topic, especially in drawing conclusions on an event. Mathematics education students must possess the skill to formulate and use interval estimation. The errors of mathematics education students in formulating wrong interval estimates indicate a low understanding of interval estimation. This study explores the errors of mathematics education students in interpreting the variance in the questions regarding selecting the proper test statistic to formulate the interval estimation of mean accurately. Respondents in this study involved 36 students of mathematics education (N = 9 males, N = 27 females). This research is qualitative research with a qualitative descriptive approach. Data collection was carried out using the respondents’ ability test and interviews. The respondents’ ability test instrument was tested on 36 students and declared valid where r-count r-table with r-table of 0.3291, and declared reliable with a Cronbach Alpha value of 0.876 0.6. Through an exploratory approach, data were analyzed by categorizing, reducing, and interpreting to conclude students' abilities and thinking methods in formulating interval estimation of the mean based on the variance in questions. The results showed that mathematics education students neglected the variance, so they could not determine the test statistics correctly, resulting in error interval estimates. This study provides insight into the thinking methods of mathematics education students on variance in interval estimation problems in the hope of anticipating errors in formulating interval estimation problems.