Study Habits and Success in College
Joey Basche
University of Iowa
Many studies have been conducted on
how success in college can be directly related to one’s methods of studying. The
way one conducts themselves is very crucial to how they end up doing with their
work. Countless factors can contribute to this outcome though, whether it be
their study space or what distracts them the most while working. I conducted an
experiment through an online survey (SurveyMonkey.com) asking questions to students
to see how they were and were not successful in their studies in college. The
results showed that students were productive when they were working in an ideal
environment, specific to the student. This could be while listening to
classical music or getting a certain amount of sleep during the week. Even the
day of a week made a huge difference on what was accomplished, it all depends
on what the student works well with. This is interesting as it gives students
an opportunity to create the ideal learning environment for them to succeed in
school. They are allowed to look at what makes them work in the most fluent
way.
Introduction
Students
in college have to adapt to life constantly. They have to figure out what works
best for them as the embark on their new path for the first time (for most) by
themselves. They have to see what works best for them. They try and fail, but eventually
they figure out what works best for them and what the so called recipe for success
is. I wanted to figure out what the recipe for good time management and study
habits is. If students are able to look at how they study, critique it and
design what works out well for them, then they will be able to function to the
best of their abilities. Seeing what place works best to think, or what type of
music to listen or maybe even what distracts you the most. All of these things,
if identified, will allow you to become a better student through better study.
There
has been extensive research on college students and how they study and how their
lifestyle affects their work. “Study motivation and study skills exhibit the
strongest relationships with both grade point average and grades in individual
classes” (Crede, Marcus). Students know that in order to attain good grades
they need to put in the work required to get them. This means that they need to
work even harder in more efficient ways to reach their goals. Students tend to
lose sleep when studying because school ends up being a priority. “Universities and college
authorities should acknowledge that students’ sleep habits and patterns
probably are significant concerns that warrant educational programs and
interventions” (Buboltz, Walter. 134). Students need to find a balance between
sleep and study.
Regardless,
there are numerous articles that show how students study and attain success in school,
but they all seem to be outdated. I think that a current day test of how
students thrive in school will be very beneficial to students, teachers and in
general people who want to be better learners in life. I want to contribute to
already known facts with facts that come straight from the source, college
students.
In
this study college students (18-22) students were surveyed with a series of
questions to see if their study habits worked well and if so, how they worked
well. Both male and females were questioned allowing a diverse range of
responses to get the best techniques.
Methods
Participants:
-
21 males and 17 females participated in
this study: Each subject was a college student from a range of schools, all
aged 18-22
-
The majority of the students are from
the University of Iowa.
Data
Sources:
-
Online survey posted to social media
(Surveymonkey.com)
-
Dates ranging from 10/29/15 – 11/1/15
Procedures:
-
Participants were directed to a website
after interacting with a link. The website contained a survey in which they
were asked to answer eight questions. Questions were related to the student’s
study habits, study locations, distractions while working, hours of study and
rigor of classes. The survey was voluntary meaning that the results were more
solidified rather than forced upon the subject. The survey was taken from the
subject’s computer either laptop or desktop.
Results
The people who
responded to the survey were almost evenly split according to gender, with
44.74% (17) being female and 55.26% (21) being male. The total number of people
who responded was 38.
In
the pie chart it clearly states that students are very distracted while
working. The two biggest distractions come from socializing with friends around
you as well as going on your phone for various reasons. Both boasted a whopping
26% each for total distractions. Other minor distractions included internet
(13%), various problems (11%), Netflix/TV (8%) and other (11%).
|
Productive Study Locations (38 responses)
|
|
Library: 26
(68.42%)
|
Dorm/Apartment:
5 (13.16 %)
|
Study/Lounge: 6
(15.97%)
|
Other: 1
(2.63%)
|
In the table above the most popular destinations for
studying are displayed. The library was the most popular by far (68.42%), with
other locations coming behind as dorm/ apartment (13.16%), study/lounge (15.97%)
and other (2.63%).
Most student said that they stayed up later than 12 on
school nights (68.42%). Only 3 out of 38 (7.89%) students said they go to bed
at 10:00 P.M. 26 out of 38 students said that they are more stressed in college
than in high school. 60.53% of students said that they spend 2-3 hours a day on
studying for class, but 15.79% said that they spend 1 hour. The most popular
day for doing homework and being productive was definitely Sunday, where 20 out
of 38 people responded. The next most popular day was Monday with 7 put of 38
people responding. The least productive day was Friday, where 0 people said
they did anything.
Discussion
The results of this experiment proved
to show lots of things. Students are able to find great study habits. There is
generally a common response for each question. The trends generally follow with
how normal college students spend their time in day to day life. Students are
very good at budgeting their time during the week so that they can have free
time on the weekends. One thing that students are consistently distracted by is
technology. They are surrounded by it whether it be their phone, their
computer, their TV or their Video games. Students always manage to find some
form of electronic to take them away from their work. Almost 50 percent of
recorded distractions from the online survey were electronic related. One thing
to be taken away from this could be to turn off your phone, your TV your video
games, any type of electronic that could pose a threat to your work getting
done.
Students
also have a more difficult time getting work done when they are in a social environment.
When they have the option to talk with friends or do anything with friends, for
that matter they tend to take the option of socializing over getting work done.
Students said that they work best while in the library which would make sense
because you generally work alone there, with fewer distractions.
Possible
problems with this experiment is the lack of certain questions. Questions that
could have asked that would have benefitted the results could have been, “How
many hours of sleep do you get per weeknight” or “Do you study with music in”
or a question that was able to see how gender would have affected study habits.
In
the future, more research on study habits will definitely be of benefit to
students of all kinds. There will always be better ways to work on things and
get them done, it just takes time and specialization of a person’s ideals when
working. For now, students will have to try their best with what has been
offered to them.
Survey Questions:
1. What is your gender?
A. Female
B. Male
2. How Much of your 24-hour day goes toward studying? (Out of
class)
A. 1 hour
B. 2 hours
C. 3 hours
D. 4 or more
hours
3. Which classes require the most time commitment throughout the
week? (Pick three classes)
|
|
Least
|
Medium
|
Most
|
|
Mathematics
|
Mathematics Least
|
Mathematics Medium
|
Mathematics Most
|
|
Sciences
|
Sciences Least
|
Sciences Medium
|
Sciences Most
|
|
History
|
History Least
|
History Medium
|
History Most
|
|
Language
|
Language Least
|
Language Medium
|
Language Most
|
|
English
|
English Least
|
English Medium
|
English Most
|
|
Business
|
Business Least
|
Business Medium
|
Business Most
|
4. What day is most productive for you? (Homework, projects,
working out, etc...)
A. Sunday
B. Monday
C. Tuesday
D. Wednesday
E. Thursday
F. Friday
G. Saturday
5. Where on campus do you find that you are most productive/ finish
the most work?
A. Library
B. Dorm/Apartment
C. Study
Space/Lounge
D. Other (please
specify)
6. What time do you normally go to bed on weekdays? (Actually
sleeping, not on your phone/computer)
A. 10:00 P.M. or
earlier
B. 11:00 P.M.
C. 12:00 P.M.
D. 1:00 P.M. or
later
7. Do you find that you are more stressed in college than you were
in high school? (Workload, not social reasons)
A. Yes
B. No
8. What is your biggest distraction when doing work? (Only one)
A. I don’t have
any distractions
B. Other (please
specify)
References
Crede, M. (2008, November 1). Study Habits, Skills, and Attitudes: The
Third Pillar Supporting
Collegiate Academic
Performance. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
Survey Monkey. (n.d.). Retrieved 4
November 2015, from
Walter C. Buboltz Jr PhD , Franklin
Brown MA & Barlow Soper PhD (2001) Sleep Habits and
Patterns of College Students: A Preliminary Study, Journal
of American College Health,
50:3, 131-135
