A Q factor analysis of college undergraduate students' study behaviours

Abstract

This study attempted to better understand the study behaviours of undergraduate students by categorizing students into distinctive typologies based on their self-reported study behaviours through an exploratory approach – Q factor analysis. A sample of 152 undergraduate students completed a survey instrument, the Study Behavior Inventory. The Q factor analysis yielded a 2-factor structure. Participants exhibiting the 1st behavioural type demonstrated reflective, well-organized study behaviours and favoured high-level thinking; thus were described as “Organized Holistic Learners”. Those exhibiting the 2nd behavioural type were found to manage time poorly and primarily focus on memorizing facts; thus were labelled “Disorganized Procrastinators”. Type 1 students had significantly higher grade point averages (GPAs) than Type 2 students. Student type was a significant predictor of academic achievement, as measured by self-reported GPA above and beyond students' attribute variables including sex, age, major, and enrolment status. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Keywords:

• study behaviours
• self-regulated learning
• Q factor analysis
• academic achievement

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Florida International University Presidential Fellowship, and the Florida International University Dissertation Year Fellowship awarded to the first author.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Yang Yang is Assistant Professor of Quantitative Research Methodology at the College of Education at Kansas State University. She received her PhD from Florida International University in 2011. Her research interests include quantitative research methods, learning behaviours, Q methodology, and gender issues in STEM education. Dr. Yang has served as a research analyst and/or statistician on several longitudinal projects funded by the National Science Foundation under GSE and GK-12 programmes at Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Alabama. She has presented the findings from these projects at many national and international conferences including AERA and SPSP.

Dr. Leonard Bliss is Professor of Educational Research at the College of Education at Florida International University. He received his PhD from Syracuse University in 1975. Dr. Bliss is the co-author of the Study Behavior Inventory, an instrument for assessing undergraduate students' behaviours as they prepare for academic tasks, which is used in over 200 institutions of higher education in English-speaking countries. He is also the co-author of the Inventario de Comportamiento de Estudio, the Spanish version of the Study Behavior Inventory. He and his students have published numerous articles and presented numerous presentations on the development and use of these instruments. A number of these presentations have been at AERA sessions sponsored by the SIG. Presently, Dr. Bliss is the principle investigator in Collaborative Research: Pathways of Blacks and Hispanics in Engineering Education, a 3-year project funded by the National Science Foundation under the REESE programme.