Supporting data for Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Research in China: A Case Study

This study examines the development of critical thinking (CT) in the context of Chinese higher education (CHE). It uses the S University (SU, a pseudonym)—a new research university in People’s Republic of China—as a case of STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) authentic undergraduate research to examine the possibilities and challenges regarding the perceptions, conceptualizations, and cultivation of CT among Chinese undergraduates. It has collected data through semi-structured interviews with 95 participants, including 67 undergraduates (labeled S1–S67), 9 junior mentors (labeled J1–J9), and 19 mentors (labeled M1–M19).The data file includes analysis of interview data, interview schedules, audio recording of interview data, consent forms, the open coding of the interview texts with participants’ familiarity with the term critical thinking, sample distributions, and transcribed texts of interview data.