Interview 1 Transcribed

E - Myself

N - College Student

E: I would like to ask you a few questions. This is pertaining to finding out students study habits, so I would like to ask you a few questions. So let’s 1^st start off, do you see yourself as a writer or test-taker?

N: Do I have to pick either one?

E: Whatever is your preference.

N: Umm….I would have to pick a writer.

E: A writer? Ok…want to elaborate on that or no?

N: Umm…with writing I can go back over and check it. With test taking I feel pressured into finding an answer.

E: Ok (Chuckles)…so how often do you study prior to an exam.

N: Umm..at least a couple of days beforehand.

E: Couple of days?

N: Yeah.

E: Ok…so when do you prefer to take your test whether the morning, afternoon, or at night?

N: Afternoon.

E: Afternoon?

N: (Nods)

E: Alrighty…do you normally eat or snack before a test?

N: If I already ate I don’t need to snack beforehand. If it’s in the morning I’ll try to eat before class.

E: Ok. So what if it was the afternoon?

N: Hopefully I’ll grab lunch. So….

(Both laughs)

E: Do you cram for tests?

N: No that’s terrible!

E: (Laughs) Do you find it effective?

N: No I find it defective, the total opposite.

E: (Laughs) That’s funny…I try not to cram.

N: Yeah..

E: Alright, what are your opinions on papers?

N: Some teachers like to kill you with 20 page papers so…like I don’t mind doing them especially if it’s a topic I enjoy.

E: Ok. So do you usually get your paper over with or wait til the last minute? (Chuckles)

N: I try to space it out, I don’t do it all in one day right beforehand.

E: Oh yeah? Have you ever had last minute papers?

N: Yeah I hate when I have to get in the day before it’s due. It’s terrible.

E: So do you ask people to critique your papers before submitting?

N: To read beforehand? 

E: Yeah.

N: I have a roommate, she’s a English major so……

E: Okay…so how long do you think it takes for you to finish a 3 to 5 page paper?

N: Whew…like..

E: Well average…. for most of these classes.

N: Well with my schedule now I have so many classes it takes me about…maybe 2 days just to like…many 2 days just to do it and get it done.

E: Last one…any comments or advice you would like to give?

N: No cramming!

(Both laughs)

N: You’ll be taking that class again.

E: That’s it or you got more?

N: That’s about it.

E: Alright thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

N: No problem.

Research Progress

Topic: Discussing College Students' Study Habits


Research Question:

I will be discussing some things that students go through in college regarding exams and papers. Basically I will be finding different strategies and opinions from different college students. The question I would hope to analyze is finding out different ways to improve scores in papers and exams.


Interview Protocol:

I interviewed one student on campus that gave good answers to the questions. Right now I'm preparing to write it down verbatim by listening to the recording.


Surveys:

I handed out ten surveys to an equal amount of males and females. Basically I sorted out the majors between education, communication, English, social science, and science/mathematics. One of each major from both genders filled out the surveys. Which means about five females and five males. From the results, I plan to compare the answers to discuss the similarities and differences of how males and females are with exams and papers.


Survey consists of:

What are your hobbies?

 Does your major give more papers or exams?

 

1. Do you study often?

  If yes.....

 - How many hours do you study a day?

 - How many hours do you study per week?

 - Do you find it useful?

 - How many hours of sleep do you get on average per day?

 

If no.....

 - Do you often procrastinate?

 - How many hours do you study prior to an exam?

 - Do you still get good results?

 - How many hours of sleep do you get on average per day?

 

2. Do you prefer writing papers or taking exams?

  If Papers....

- How many days does it take for you to complete an average paper (3 to 5 pages)?

- Do you work on the paper the day it's given or closer to the day it's due?

- Are you easily distracted when writing papers?

- Do you leave music or the television on when you write?

- Do you write papers alone or with another person?

 - Do you do peer reviews for your papers before submitting?

 - Do you see yourself as a clutch writer (Ability to write at the last minute)?

 - Do you pull all-nighters?

 

If Exams....

 - How many hours do you study prior to an exam?

 - Do you cram often?

 - Are you easily distracted when studying?

 - Do you study while listening to music? Do you find it helpful?

 - Do you prefer to study alone or with groups?

 - How many hours do you sleep prior to the day of the exam?

 

Discussing Strategies

 - Do you often ask your professor for feedback?

 - Do you find studying a few days prior to the exam effective?

 - Where is your ideal place to study?

 - Is music or other background sounds soothing or distracting to you?

 - Is it better to study during the day or at night?

 - Is it overall better to work alone or in groups?

 

 What advice would you give to people for preparation regarding papers and exams?

 

 

Participant Observation:

 

This style is pretty interesting. All I'm going to do is observe students in class and see how they act towards exam days and paper days.

 

 

Goals:

My goal is to collect the data from different genders and find out their perceptions towards exams and papers and compare. In addition, finding out what may lead to increased or decrease in scores.

Short Analysis Evaluation

My personal rubric

17/20   quality of the research question
18/20   developed categories of analysis relevant to the data and to the research question
15/15   relevant, effective examples to demonstrate what the categories show with respect to the research question
15/15   clear, direct statements of what the examples show with respect to the research question
13/15   clear, logical organization appropriate for writing studies research essays
8/10   conclusion  sums up findings and reflects on limitations of the analysis and/or further possibilities for study
5/5     grammar/readability
Total: 91/100

I feel that although I had my research question, I sort of jumped around and had two similar questions. I had the question in there but it took me a while to ask it. The way I wrote it seemed like a two-part question and I'm not sure if that's acceptable. In addition, I applied a few examples from the reading and really elaborated on it to answer the question that I mentioned. I feel that the examples were my strong point to my essay.

For the most part I gave a lot of examples as well as personal thoughts and experiences to support what I was talking about. Initially I wrote about the first part and wrote my points and examples to explain. Next I wrote about the second part and discussed the transition from the first to the second part. Lastly, I felt my conclusion was up to par. It wasn't excellent but it wasn't horrible in my opinion. Of course I always focus on grammar and clarity to make sure that my paper sounds right. Overall, I would give myself an A- or B.

Blog 11 - Research Introduction

Research Project Introduction



            There are many studying techniques implemented into the school settings. The main obstacles that students continually face are preparation for exams, essays, and research papers. Students always encounter major exams to advance to the next level. Some examples include the GEPA to advance to high school, the PSAT, the SAT or the ACT for college, The GRE to get into Graduate School. Advancing to the next level of education requires exams and even essays. Even to get into your profession such as becoming a teacher or school psychologist requires you to take the Praxis exam. Since people have different strategies to prepare for exams and essays, my objective is to find out what people do to prepare. Some questions asked would be: How would people prepare for an upcoming test? What techniques do they use for writing essays and research papers? How often do they study? Those are the many questions that will be asked. I plan on using surveys, brief interviews, and online sources. The article “To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test” by Pam Belluck consists of a few studies to back up my research. Other online sources will add more data due to being more broad. Lastly I would seek opinions and advice from other students that may help benefit other struggling students.