Formative Research to Strengthen Enquiry Competence in University Students

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of formative research in strengthening enquiry competence in university students. In this sense, a single-group design with pre-test and post-test was used, with a purposive sample of 102 subjects. The instrument used was a rubric, characterised by very high valuations, in terms of validity criteria (0.917) and reliability (0.869). The results obtained exceeded expectations, which were corroborated by the Wilcoxon statistical test; since the theoretical significance α = 0.05 is superlative, when compared to the observed significance, Sig.=000; consequently, the null hypothesis was categorically rejected. In short, the proposal, consisting of five stages: sensitisation, adoption, interaction, evaluation and confrontation, proved its effectiveness in the enhancement of investigative knowledge, such as the problematisation-theorisation-checking of reality. Undoubtedly, great advances in initial training that have an impact not only in raising the quality of scientific production, but also in making sustainable the development of research skills for subsequent performance in the professional field and for improving quality in universities.