Date Approved
12-19-2018
Embargo Period
12-20-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. Engineering
Department
Experiential Engineering Education
College
Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering
Funder
NSF
Advisor
Bodnar, Cheryl
Committee Member 1
Dahm, Kevin
Committee Member 2
Farrell, Stephanie
Keywords
engineering education, moral reasoning, process safety, undergraduate
Subject(s)
Safety education, Industrial; Engineering ethics
Disciplines
Chemical Engineering | Engineering Education
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument that can measure how senior chemical engineering students make process safety decisions. The Engineering Process Safety Research Instrument (EPSRI) contains dilemmas that represent process safety scenarios, followed by three decision options, and 12-15 considerations that fall into pre-conventional, conventional, or post-conventional forms of reasoning. Three studies were completed as a part of this research. The content validation study ensured the dilemmas represented process safety scenarios, the considerations matched their perceived theoretical definitions, and that no content areas were omitted. This study resulted in validation of the content, following the elimination of one dilemma and eleven considerations. The large scale validation study determined the number of underlying latent variables present on the instrument including the correlation between considerations on a factor. The instrument was not able to be fully validated, but resulted in the elimination of one dilemma and six considerations with 22 considerations being revised for further study. The think aloud protocol with the EPSRI determined how students were classified based on their EPSRI scores, and their moral reasoning approaching these dilemmas. From this study, it was found that senior chemical engineering students mainly applied post-conventional reasoning, despite all the students not being classified as post-conventional based on their EPSRI responses.
Recommended Citation
Butler, Brittany Lynn, "The creation, validation, and implementation of the Engineering Process Safety Research Instrument" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 2627.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2627
