The Relationship Between Study Habits

The relationship between study habits and academic performance of IT students A Research Proposal Presented to the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences & Communications Department Far Eastern University – East Asia College In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Subject ENGL303 Educational Research By: Buen, Nica Chrizza N. E. Cruz, Yves Justin C. Diocareza, Darwin Joseph V. Marquez, Samwell Kervy A. Masbate, Kristine Gay A. September 5, 2012 ABSTRACT This research highlights the relationship between the study habits and the academic performance of second year IT students.A habit is defined as a planned schedule done regularly, while to study is to gain knowledge. Therefore, study habits are done regularly in order to expand learning. It is the way how students accomplish their homework and how they prepare for an exam. This research discusses how important study habits are in achieving students’ academic good performance. This also presents how many hours the students are studying, how they prepare for an exam, and what is the comfortable place and time for them to study in order to show if these factors are contributors in attaining better academic performance.A survey questionnaire that is composed of 8 questions related to the topic was given to 50 second year IT students in Far Eastern University – East Asia College. The data gathered in the survey includes the midterm and final grades of the students which shows how they performed during those periods. After the survey, the researchers found out that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying yet, they still accumulated passing grades in the midterm period, and they even got better marks in the final period of the previous term. From the given data, students have different ways on how they will prepare for an upcoming test.Most of them prefer to be alone. The comfortable place for them to study has also something to do in order for them to attain good academic pe rformance. Great number of the respondents answered that they study inside their bedroom and they are at ease to study during evening from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. One of the survey questions is how the students spend their vacant time. According to the collected data, most of the respondents play which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, playing just for fun, and so on. Next to that is surfing the net which includes visiting social networking ites such as facebook, etc. It is being observed that most of the students spend their vacant time in front of the computer which is a common scenario nowadays. The last question asks the respondents opinion whether their study habits help them achieve good academic performance or not. Majority of them answered â€Å"yes† which is true that can be observed in their previous midterm and final GPA. A theoretical analysis, backed up by the survey results, indicates that study habits really affect a student’s academic perform ance. Good grades can be achieved by proper study habits. It s not necessary that students should study for a long period of time because the amount of time spent for studying does not mean that students can already pass in their subject. Some students find difficulties in some subjects, so they pay more attention to it that consumes much of their time. In order to overcome those difficulties, they have their own ways on studying for them to understand their lessons. Time and place are also factors to be considered in studying. Good place and right time make the students comfortable and study with ease. INTRODUCTION Education plays a vital role in students’ life.It is not only about acquiring knowledge, taking down notes during discussions, answering exam, passing in the test, or even attaining good grades; but also it is also about teaching the students how to be independent in the real life. Finding solutions in the given problems happen in the real life. Projects, assignme nts, and exams that come at the same time also take place in the real world. These things train students to decide what to do, what are the things that should be paid attention first, what comes next and what will be the last priority. Someday education will be the only one they have in hand in order to become successful person. It will be their weapon to overcome those obstacles they might encounter along the journey of their lives. In order to acquire better education, students should focus on studying no matter how hard it is. There are times that they might find difficulties, but there is always ways to surpass those trials. Good study habits play a vital role in the development of the students’ education. It can help them in studying a lot. It is a strategy on how the students acquire knowledge effectively. Establishing study habits are one of the determining factors for attaining passing grades. It efers to the schedule, plan, and the timeframe where studying is done in order to attain good academic performance. Students are always directed to the fact that poor study habits will lead to miserable scores, and good study habits will result to excellent marks. Grades are also a determining aspect of knowing student’s academic performance, which means the attained knowledge over a certain period of time. Therefore, proper study habits lead to good academic understanding and having good grades, otherwise leads to bad academic understanding and having bad grades. But always keep in mind that a student’s study habit is not the only factor to onsider, because factors such as age, past subject learned, IQ, learning ability, mentors, gender and so on are also something to consider as well. Nevertheless, the researchers would like to investigate the relationship of study habits and academic performance of IT students. In the research, the researchers would like to determine the answer to these questions: 1. What are the students’ inform ation according to: a. hours spent in studying, and b. studying skills? 2. How did study habits affect the academic performance of the students? The study aims to actuate the relevance of study habits to the academic performance of the tudents through survey questionnaires. This also concentrates on the findings related to the students’ preferred place and time to study; how they prepare for an upcoming test; in what way do they spend their vacant time; and also discussing if their study habits help them achieve good academic performance. The scope of the study are the IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College and the limitations of the study are those enrolled second year IT students in the first term. There would only be a number of questionnaires to be used in the survey, which will be limited to a number of students as well.Therefore, there will only be a number of students who will participate in the study. METHODOLOGY This part exhibits the meth ods to be employed in going through the research. This comprises the number of target participants, the research design, the collection of data, the materials to be utilized in putting up the study, and the analysis of the research. Corpus The selected respondents were second year IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College, in random gender and age span, provided that they are second year IT students currently studying at Far Eastern University – East AsiaCollege. 50 students as research respondents were under descriptive survey method of study. Majority of the respondents were with specialization in Digital Arts. The focus of the study was the IT students in second year, and they are considered as the target population. After the researchers had conducted the survey, the students differed themselves in terms of their study habits in their answers. I. Research Design This study used a descriptive survey type with an attempt to determine the relationshi p between the study habits and the academic performance of IT students. It lso aimed to find out the hours spent in studying, study skills and habits, and the grades accumulated using these habits. The descriptive survey type was chosen in order to observe the subject in an entirely natural and unchanged setting. It was also chosen because it can easily identify, illustrate, and evaluate the relationship involving the two variables mentioned. The study wanted to discover the significant influence of the independent variable from the dependent variable. It sought to observe the data gathered in order to come up with a considerable result regarding the relationship of the subject matters. II. SamplingSimple random sampling was used in this research where in only little information about the population is needed because the gathered data is already sufficient for the study. Simple random sampling method was also used because of three main reasons. First, because it is free of classific ation error. Second, its simplicity makes it easier to analyze and interpret the data collected. Finally, the cost of sampling is little enough to make efficiency less vital than simplicity. III. Data Gathering The researchers presented a letter to the respondents to ask permission from them if ever they are willing to fill up the survey form.The implementation of the survey was done inside the campus of FEU – East Asia College. Only one questionnaire was answered by an individual so that repetition of data would not be done. Only IT students on their second year level were given the questionnaire. Each one of the chosen respondents would have to answer the given questionnaire. Every question must be answered with all honesty. Data gathered would be strictly confidential. IV. Research Instrument The instrument used is a self – prepared questionnaire composed of 8 questions related to the research topic and includes some important personal information such s name (optio nal), grades, and etc. It also specifies the direction in answering the survey test and the possible selection of answers. There will be no right or wrong answers. The gathered information will be treated confidentially and will only be used in the study. V. Data Analysis After the implementation of the survey, the data was tabulated in order to get the percentage of each choice in each question. The percentage was calculated by dividing the number of respondents in each choice by the total number of respondents multiplied by one hundred. The data was represented by a graph that was either a bar raph or a pie graph depending on the values that is presented. The graphs were a representation of the data to show the proportion of the percentage of each choice in each question. The data was analyzed based from the graph and the data gathered. Each of the graphs was analyzed based on percentage. The relationship among the data was observed and a correlation between them was looked into. Cover Letter on the Survey Questionnaire Date _______________________, To whom it may concern, Good day! We have the honor to request you to participate in our research study entitled â€Å"The relationship etween study habits and academic performance of IT students†. The study wants to know how study habits affect the academic performance of the students here in FEU-East Asia College. The respondents are the second year IT Students enrolled in the first term. This study is a requirement for the finals of the course English303 Modern Communication. We therefore are requesting you to answer this questionnaire with your dedication. We assure you to keep gathered data confidentially and to use it in our study only. Thank you very much. God bless. Sincerely yours, Cruz, Yves Justin Survey QuestionnaireName (optional): _______________________________________ Age: __________ A. Instruction: Please answer the following questions with honesty and sincerity. Put a check in the bracket s. There will be no right or wrong answers to this questionnaire. Your answers will be based on your own experience. Rest assured that the gathered data will be confidential and will be used only for this study. 1. How many hours (estimated) do you spend for studying? [ ] less than 1 hour [ ] 1-2 hour/s [ ] 5-6 hours [ ] 3-4 hours [ ] others: ________ 2. What is your previous midterm GPA? __________ 3. What is your previous final GPA? _________ 4. How do you prefer to study if there is an upcoming test? [ ] alone [ ] writing outlines [ ] with peers [ ] reading aloud [ ] with music [ ] silent [ ] with snacks [ ] others: ________ 5. Where is the comfortable place for you to study? [ ] library [ ] classroom [ ] bedroom [ ] coffee shop [ ] campus (freedom park) [ ] others: ______ [ ] home 6. What time is comfortable for you to study? [ ] morning (6 a. m. to noon) [ ] evening (6 p. m. to 9 p. m. ) [ ] afternoon (noon to 6 p. m. ) [ ] others: ______ 7. How do you spend your vacant time? _ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 8. Do you think that your study habits help you in your academic performance? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Total number of respondents: 50 Percentage = Number of Respondents x 100 Total Number of Respondents Figure . Time spent in studying In Figure 1, according to 34% of the surveyed IT students, they spent approximately 1 to 2 hours in studying.There are 22% of the respondents answered 3 to 4 hours, while 20% managed to study in less than 1 hour only. As you can see 14% of them allotted 5 to 6 hours, and the 10% of the students chose others. It shows that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying, and only few consumed 5 to 6 hours a day. This is the same result as in the survey â€Å"How many hours should you study per day? † posted in Student Doctor Network (2010). Based on the data showed, 23. 93% answered 1 to 2 hours only, while 5. 85% of the respondents voted 5 to 6 hours of studying. This means that students have their own amount of time spent in studying.No specific length of time is used in studying as a whole. According to Cat (2010), it depends on the students’ capability to understand what they are studying about. Students have different learning ability level, which is another factor why they take so much time in studying. Figure . Previous Midterm GPA Figure 2 presents the Midterm Grade Point Average (GPA) as of the previous term, 3rd term SY 2011 – 2012. Based on the gathered data, 40% got an average of 2. 1 to 2. 5; 26% of the respondents got 2. 6 to 3. 0; 16% received 3. 1 to 3. 5; 14% got 1. 6 to 2. 0, and only 4% got an average GPA of 1. to 1. 5 during the midterm period. Written in the FEU – East Asia College Student Handbook (2010 rev. ed. , p. 18 – 19), â€Å"the college follows the numerical grading system with the following grade points and their corresponding descriptions and equivalences:† Table 2. 1: Numerical Grading System Grade Points Percentage % Description 4. 0 97 – 100 Excellent 3. 5 93 – 96 Superior 3. 0 89 – 92 Very Good 2. 5 85 – 88 Good 2. 0 81 – 84 Satisfactory 1. 5 78 – 80 Fair 1. 0 75 – 77 Pass 0. 5 74 below Failed 0. 0 – Not Attending 6. 0 – Pass 7. 0 – Officially Dropped 8. 0 – Credited 9. 0 – IncompleteThis information presented in Table 2. 1 further implies that 100% of the respondents passed during the previous midterm period. Figure . Previous Final GPA Figure 3 shows the previous final GPA of the respondents. Among the respondents, 34% got 2. 1 to 2. 5 averages and also the same percentage of respondents got a GPA from 2. 6 to 3. 0. There are 18% of them passed with a GPA of 1. 6 to 2. 0, while 14% got 3. 1 to 3. 5. Comparing the results of their midterm grade to final grade, no student got an average from 1. 0 to 1. 5 during the finals. The 14% of students who got 1. 6 to 2. 0 grades in the midterm period as been added by 4% during the final period. The 26% of the respondents who got 2. 0 to 3. 0 GPA during the midterm period became 34% in the finals. Generally, this means that the students had a great improvement during the final period even though 16% of students who got 3. 1 to 3. 5 GPA in the midterm period decreased by 2% during the finals. All in all, 100% of the surveyed IT students got passing grades during the previous final period. Figure . Preference of study habit when there is an upcoming test The data in Figure 4 shows that 48% of the students prefer to study alone if there is an pcoming test. While 42% wants to study with music, 32% preferred to study silent. There are 30% of the respondents write an outline to serve as there hand outs or re viewers, 28% study with snacks, 16% who read aloud, 12% wants to be with peers, and 8% answered others. This shows that students have their own method to be prepared in an exam. Most of them review a lot if they are studying alone or with peers. Some wants to study if they are listening to the music, while others preferred to be silent and so on. According to Palm Beach Community College (PBCC, 2008), noise that distracts students rom studying should be minimized, however there are some students who need some sound or some silence. Studying with music can cause distraction (Sigafoos, 2012). On the other hand, Donnell (1999) stated that music helps a person to express what he is thinking. He shared a little known fact that Albert Einstein was very poor in school before, but because of music, he was able to improvise his figured out problems and equations. Now, he was known as one of the smartest people in the world. Writing an outline for studying is a good habit of students. This ma y serve as notes for them o review especially if they need to prepare for an exam. Writing is another way of memorizing because as students take down notes, they are already putting those words in their minds. This is the same with reading a loud or even reading silent. Students can gain more knowledge through it. Teachers do not always discuss all the topics, so some questions are left in students’ mind. In order to understand some of those, reading is very essential. There are also cases in which students choose to study with peers. Statistically, students who study in group, earn higher grades than those who study independently.This is because in this way of studying more brains are exchanging of thoughts and ideas and students are able to share their knowledge to others. Figure . Comfortable place to study Figure 5 comprises the comfortable place for the students to study. Based on the research, 64% used to study inside their bedroom, 40% at home, 10% at the library, 6% a t the classroom, 4% at the coffee shop, 4% at the campus and 8% chose others. One of the most important factors in studying properly is choosing where you can study more effectively. Many students sell themselves short from the very beginning by choosing to study in laces such as their dorm room, their bed, in the dorm lobby, and other places which are not always the most conducive to effective studying (Singal, 2012). According to K. Roell (2012), many places are good venue to study; only that student has to take a look three things when finding a good study place: comfort, appropriate noise levels, and information access. In his article entitled Top 10 Places to Study, library is the number 1 best place to study, while bedroom is just second to it. Library is a silent place where students can concentrate in studying; and is easy to access the information they needed.Next to the two are the coffee shop, bookstore, park, classroom, friend’s house, community center, and tutori ng center. According to PBCC (2008), bedroom is not a proper venue to study because it is a place where to sleep not to study, but it can be seen in the figure above that most of the students are comfortable in their bedroom for their studying matters. In this case, it depends on the students choice where they want to study as long as they are comfortable, can concentrate well in studying, have access of information, and of course far from distractions. Figure . Comfortable time to studyIn Figure 6, comfortable times for the students to study are listed. Majority chose evening from 6 pm to 9 pm, which holds 54% of the respondents. There are 20% of the students study at morning from 6 am to noon, 16% at the afternoon from noon to 6 pm, while 10% answered others. Maybe are studying whenever they want or they are at the mood. Based on the gathered data, most of the students find to study better at the evening. However, some of them are tired right after school, so they do not study in the evening and prefer at the morning. Some says that it is better to study in the morning because it is still fresh in mind and asy to remember. There are some who do not study in the afternoon because they tend to fall asleep. Figure . Spending vacant time Figure 7 shows the answers listed by the students on how they spend their vacant time. Based on the data gathered, there are 34% answered playing which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, and so on. There are 32% of the students spend their vacant time by surfing the net which includes visiting social networking sites such as facebook, yahoo, google, etc. There are 26% of the students hang out, and only 18% said that they study, review or do their assignments.There are also 18% who answered they sleep during vacant hours. Eating and watching movie or television are of the same percentage which is 14%. Texting, earning money and doing household chores are also the same percentage which is 2%. This survey shows that o nly few of the students spend their vacant time in studying and most of them are in front of their computer playing or surfing the net. Figure . Opinions of the students if study habits help them Figure 8 shows how many percent of the students are helped by their study habits. There are 80% of them answered â€Å"yes†, 6% said â€Å"no†, and 8% answered â€Å"maybe†.There are 4% of the respondents answered â€Å"not much† and 2% said â€Å"sometimes†. Study habits played a significant role in achieving good grades. The dependent variable, which is the academic performance of IT students, is really affected by the independent variables, which are the study habits. This elaborates that proper study habits lead to better understanding and achieving passing grades, while incorrect way of studying results to poor understanding and receiving failing grades. CONCLUSION To sum it up, majority of the students are affected by their study habits positively.Mo st of them passed during their midterm period and had a great improvement during the finals although a large percentage of the respondents are studying in 1 to 2 hours only. In this paper, the researchers have investigated the relationship of the two variables involved and found out that good study habits as the independent variable directly affect the academic performance of the students (Bagongon & Edpalina, 2009). This research also shows that every student has different studying styles. However, the findings do not imply that studying in a long period of time always esults to a better academic performance. Sometimes, a short period of time is enough to achieve a better academic performance provided that they are comfortable with the time, place, and strategy of studying. RECOMMENDATIONS The researchers would like to suggest to students to establish a good study habits which may help them attain good academic performances. Spending at least 2 to 3 hours in studying per day is rec ommended as an average amount of time for the students to study. In addition, this research advises to find a place where no one or nothing will distract them from studying; choose a omfortable time to study wherein, they will not get bored or tend to sleep; apply some strategies on how they will be able to understand their lessons; and also spend their vacant time in a productive way. Following this will help students manage good academic performances. For other personnel who will perform a study on the same field and will use this paper as their guide, the researchers would like to suggest that they improve and know other possible method of data gatherings; construct a framework for better outputs; and to study very well the factors that affect the academic performance of the students and relate them to each other.REFERENCES Bagongon, C. K. & Edpalina, C. R. (2009). An example of a research paper. Retrieved July 28, 2012, from scribd. com Web site: http:www. scribd. com/doc/118222 91/example-of-a research-paper Purdue Online Writing Lab (1995). Guide of APA style of writing. Retrieved August 5, 2012, from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/07/ The Coastal Researchers Group (2010). A survey about how many hours do you study per day. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://forums. studentdoctor. net/showthread. php? t=704431 Sigafoos, S. (2005). 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