Moving beyond the deep and surface dichotomy; using Q Methodology to explore students’ approaches to studying

Figures & data

Figure 1. Representation of Q-Sort used in this study.

Table 1. Statements and factor array.

Statement	Factor array
	1	2	3
When working on an assignment, I'm keeping in mind how best to impress the marker	−1	−1	1
Often I find myself wondering whether the work I am doing here is really worthwhile	−1	1	−4
I usually set out to understand for myself the meaning of what we have to learn	4	2	2
I find I have to concentrate on just memorizing a good deal of what I have to learn	−1	3	−1
Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with	−5	−1	−2
I look at the evidence carefully and try to reach my own conclusion about what I'm studying.	4	0	1
It's important to me to feel that I'm doing as well as I really can on the courses here	−1	0	2
I try to relate ideas I come across to those in other topics or other courses whenever possible	3	0	2
I tend to read very little beyond what is actually required to pass	0	4	−2
Regularly I find myself thinking about ideas from lectures when I'm doing other things	1	−4	1
I think I'm quite systematic and organized when it comes to revising for exams	−1	5	5
I look carefully at tutors’ comments on course work to see how to get higher marks next time	0	−2	4
There's not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant	−2	−2	−4
I'm pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to	1	0	1
Much of what I'm studying makes little sense: it's like unrelated bits and pieces	−4	−3	−3
When I'm working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit together	3	1	0
I often worry about whether I'll ever be able to cope with the work properly	−3	−4	−3
Often I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books	2	−1	−1
I'm good at following up some of the reading suggested by lecturers or tutors	0	−5	−1
When I look back, I sometimes wonder why I ever decided to come here	−4	−3	−5
When I am reading I stop from time to time to reflect on what I am trying to learn from it	2	1	−1
I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute	−3	−1	3
I'm not really sure what's important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can	−3	−3	−2
Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought of my own	1	−2	−1
When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what's being said	2	1	0
I put a lot of effort into studying because I'm determined to do well	1	1	4
I gear my studying closely to just what seems to be required for assignments and exams	0	3	0
Some of the ideas I come across on the course I find really gripping	0	0	2
I usually plan out my week's work in advance, either on paper or in my head	−2	2	3
I keep an eye open for what lecturers seem to think is important and concentrate on that	1	3	1
I'm not really interested in this course, but I have to take it for other reasons	−2	−1	−2
I generally make good use of my time during the day	0	2	0
I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember	−2	−2	−3
I like to play around with ideas of my own even if they don't get me very far	2	0	0
It's important for me to be able to follow the argument, or to see the reason behind things	5	2	0
I don't find it at all difficult to motivate myself	3	4	3

Table 2. Distinguishing statements factor 1.

Statement	Factor array
	1	2	3
Agree
It's important for me to be able to follow the argument, or to see the reason behind things^D	5*	2	0
I usually set out to understand for myself the meaning of what we have to learn^D	4*	2	2
I look at the evidence carefully and try to reach my own conclusion about what I'm studying^D	4*	0	1
When I'm working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit together^D	3*	1	0
I like to play around with ideas of my own even if they don't get me very far^D	2*	0	0
When I am reading I stop from time to time to reflect on what I am trying to learn from it^D	2*	1	−1
Disagree
I usually plan out my week's work in advance, either on paper or in my head^ST	−2*	2	3
I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute^ST	−3*	−1	3
Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with^SF	−5*	−1	−2

Note: ^D, deep item; ^ST, strategic item; and ^SF, surface item.

*Significance = .01 level.

Table 3. Distinguishing statements factor 2.

Statement	Factor array
	1	2	3
Agree
I think I'm quite systematic and organized when it comes to revising for exams^ST	0	5	5
I tend to read very little beyond what is actually required to pass^SF	0	4*	−2
I find I have to concentrate on just memorizing a good deal of what I have to learn^SF	−1	3*	−1
I gear my studying closely to just what seems to be required for assignments and exams^SF	0	3*	0
I keep an eye open for what lecturers seem to think is important and concentrate on that^ST	1	3*	1
I usually plan out my week's work in advance, either on paper or in my head^ST	−2	2*	3
I generally make good use of my time during the day^ST	0	2*	0
It's important for me to be able to follow the argument, or to see the reason behind things^D	5	2*	0
Disagree
I look carefully at tutors’ comments on course work to see how to get higher marks next time^ST	0	−2*	4
Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought of my own^D	1	−2*	−1
Regularly I find myself thinking about ideas from lectures when I'm doing other things^D	1	−4*	1
I'm good at following up some of the reading either on paper or in my head^ST	0	−5*	−1

Note: ^D, deep item; ^ST, strategic item; and ^SF, surface item.

*Significance = .01 level.

Table 4. Distinguishing statements factor 3.

Statement	Factor array
	1	2	3
Agree
I think I'm quite systematic and organized when it comes to revising for exams^ST	0	5	5
I look carefully at tutors’ comments on course work to see how to get higher marks next time^ST	0	−2	4*
I put a lot of effort into studying because I'm determined to do well^ST	1	1	4*
I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute^ST	−3	−1	3*
It's important to me to feel that I'm doing as well as I really can on the courses here^ST	−1	0	2*
Disagree
Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with^SF	−5	−1	−2*
I tend to read very little beyond what is actually required to pass^SF	0	4	−2*
Often I find myself wondering whether the work I am doing here is really worthwhile^SF	−1	1	−4*
There's not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant^SF	−2	−2	−4*

Note: ^D, deep item; ^ST, strategic item; and ^SF, surface item.

*Significance = .01 level.

Table 5. Consensus statements (variance across factor z-scores).

Statement	Factor array
	1	2	3
Agree
I don't find it at all difficult to motivate myself^ST	3	4	3
Disagree
I often worry about whether I'll ever be able to cope with the work properly^SF	−3	−4	−3
I'm not really sure what's important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can^SF	−3	−3	−2
Much of what I'm studying makes little sense: it's like unrelated bits and pieces^SF	−4	−3	−3