Cultivating Analytical Competence through Learning by Research (LBR): A Quasi-Experimental Study in Junior Secondary School

Abstract

Analytical competence, the capacity to interpret information, examine relationships among variables, evaluate the credibility of evidence, and draw evidence-based inferences, is widely regarded as one of the cognitive foundations of scientific literacy; yet Indonesian secondary students continue to underperform on international measures of this capacity. This study examined whether the Learning by Research (LBR) model, a research-based pedagogy that embeds the stages of scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, developed junior secondary students' analytical competence more effectively than conventional direct instruction. A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control-group design was used with two intact Year 8 classes at a state junior high school in Jakarta (n = 40 per group) engaged in an integrated science-social studies co-curricular programme on the theme of chronic kidney disease risk. Analytical competence was assessed with a five-dimension rubric covering interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, and explanation, adapted from Facione's (1990) Delphi taxonomy and administered as a pretest and posttest. Data were analysed using normalised gain (N-gain) scores, and parametric assumptions were confirmed via the Shapiro-Wilk and Levene tests before an independent-samples t-test. The experimental group achieved a mean N-gain of 0.61 (moderate category), compared with 0.29 (low category) in the control group. The difference was statistically significant, t(78) = 18.35, p < 0.001, supporting the alternative hypothesis and indicating that Learning by Research (LBR) influenced students' analytical skills. Gains were most pronounced in the analysis and inference dimensions, suggesting that the iterative cycle of data collection and interpretation embedded in LBR selectively strengthened the operational core of analytical competence rather than uniformly improving all its facets. The findings position LBR as a viable, classroom-feasible alternative to direct instruction for cultivating analytical competence within co-curricular, deep-learning-oriented programmes.