Student understanding of infrared (IR) spectroscopy is critical and of particular interest, as it is an important technique used across many disciplines in chemistry. Exploring students’ abilities to interpret, use, translate, and generate representations in the context of tasks related to IR spectroscopy is important, as there has been limited research conducted in this area. This study, guided by the theoretical framework of representational competence, investigates how undergraduate students enrolled in a Quantitative Analysis course visually process the complex chemical information within IR spectra. The research questions guiding this study are: 1) how do novices and experts differ in their visual processing behavior during tasks including IR spectra?, 2) how are fixation frequency and sequences of fixation related to the accuracy and confidence of students’ responses?, and 3) how does  ability to interpret, use, translate, or generate impact students’ ability to use additional representational competence skills when solving IR problems? Following a mixed-methods approach, quantitative eye tracking data was collected alongside qualitative retrospective think aloud interview data as students completed five tasks. Findings and potential implications from this research will be discussed.

Examining how quantitative analysis students interpret IR spectra: An eye tracking study

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