Measure College Students Research Articles

Social Comparison Information Influences Intentions to Reduce Single-Use Plastic Water Bottle Consumption.

Single-use plastic consumption is at an all-time high and threatens environmental and human health. College campuses in particular serve as a hub for single-use plastics due to their convenience for students on the go. The present research tests whether social comparison information can influence self-perceptions of single-use plastic consumption and motivate behavior change within the college campus environment. In a controlled experiment, we measured college students' existing plastic water bottle usage and gave them false feedback about their behaviors and relative standing to their classmates: participants in comparison conditions learned they were either above or below average in their plastic water bottle sustainability behaviors. Results indicated that (relative to a no-comparison control), being above average at water bottle sustainability led students to be more satisfied with their sustainability efforts. However, either kind of comparison information (i.e., being above or below average) led to greater behavioral intentions to reduce single-use plastic water bottle consumption in the future. This study highlights how comparison information can be used to motivate sustainable behavior change with regards to single-use plastics.

Measuring University Students’ Satisfaction Level on their Courses Experiences

The objective of this study is to determine how satisfied students are with the course experiences provided by the learning facilities in Pakistani universities. This study looks into the factors of what they think is important for their learning environment, because students are the key stakeholders of the learning and education system. On the other hand, the missionary objectives of any university is to provide quality education and produce better alumni, because students’ achievements not only contribute to their scholastic development, but also build the reputation of an institution. Therefore, to measure the students’ satisfaction level of their course experiences, a self-structured survey questionnaire was used to collect the required data from students of different departments. A number of 141 master’s level students were identified from a local university. The data illustrated that the students’ satisfaction level in the provision of courses was low on given choices, like motivational characteristics, ICT application, and life-long learning skills; moderately satisfied for development of analytical and reflective thinking skills; and high level of satisfaction on all these elements except choices that have been reported of low importance.

How college students are coping with COVID-19: a qualitative study

Objective The purpose of this study was to measure college students’ coping strategies and change of lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants Students from the State University in California were recruited during July 2020. Methods A total of 11 focus group meetings were conducted. Results Students’ coping strategies were analyzed aligning with the Transactional model of stress and coping - primary appraisal, secondary appraisal and coping efforts, and meaning-based coping. Their physical activity patterns were dramatically changed. They used various ways of managing stress and tried to overcome the unexpected situation caused by COVID-19. Conclusions This study mainly analyzed the three constructs of the transactional model: primary appraisal, secondary appraisal and coping efforts, and meaning-based coping. It is expected that the future study will focus on the last construct, coping outcomes/adaptation after the COVID-19 pandemic to measure the association between coping strategies and their outcomes.

The Selfitis Behavior Scale: An Adaptation Study

This study aimed to adapt the Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS) to measure university students' selfitis behavior in Turkey. Within the scope of the study, the SBS was translated from English to Turkish. Data were collected in the validity and reliability studies from four study groups, including 343 university students. According to the confirmatory factor analysis findings, the SBS had good fit indices. As is expected, the criterion-related validity study found moderate- and highlevel positive correlations between the SBS subscales and total scores and the Selfie Attitude Scale (SAS) subscales and total scores. The other criterion-related validity study demonstrated that individuals taking a higher number of selfies than the sum of the scale and subscales scored significantly higher than individuals taking a lower number of selfies. The internal consistency coefficient was calculated to be .92 for the SBS total score, .78 for the Environmental Enhancement Subscale (SBS-EE), .68 for the Social Competition Subscale (SBS-SC), .72 for the AttentionSeeking Subscale (SBS-AS), .84 for the Mood Modification Subscale (SBS-MM), .82 for the SelfConfidence Subscale (SBS-S), and .70 for the Subjective Conformity Subscale (SBS-SCon). The test-retest correlation values found by applying the measurement tool once in four weeks were .77 (SBS), .70 (SBS-EE), .60 (SBS-SC), .82 (SBS-AS), .80 (SBS-MM), .61 (SBS-S), and .61 (SBSSCon), respectively. The mentioned findings demonstrated that the SBS was a valid and reliable measurement tool capable of measuring the selfitis behavior of university students in Turkey.

Analysis of the intervention effect and self-satisfaction of sports dance exercise on the psychological stress of college students.

College students are a high-risk subpopulation of psychological disorders. The problem of various adverse phenomena and consequences caused by excessive pressure on college students has gradually become the focus of social and psychological academic circles. However, studies related to individual self-concept and psychological pressure are rare. To explore the impact of sports dance exercises on college students' psychological pressure and improve the psychological effects of their self-satisfaction. College students were taken as research objects, randomly divided into a control group and an observation group. The observation group is intervened with sports dance exercises. The observation group was intervened with sports dance exercises. The stress response characteristic questionnaire and multidimensional self-satisfaction rating scale were utilized to measure college students' conditions before and after the intervention. Finally, the obtained data were statistically analyzed. Generally, the psychological stress response of college students was mild, with self-satisfaction and various dimensions at a moderately higher level. No significant differences were discovered in the psychological stress response and self-satisfaction level between the control group and the observation group before intervention (P > 0.05), which were homogeneous. Compared with the data obtained before the intervention, after the intervention, the control group scores were slightly reduced in all dimensions of the psychological stress response and self-satisfaction. In contrast, the scores were significantly increased in the experimental group (P < 0.05). Psychological stress response could reliably explain 30.4%of the total self-satisfaction variance (P < 0.01). The negative self-evaluation was the most important variable affecting self-satisfaction, followed by poor interpersonal communication and poor sleeping quality. Sports dance exercises could alleviate the psychological stress of college students and improve their self-satisfaction. Colleges and universities should include sports dance in the content of optional public courses and encourage more college students to actively participate in sports dance exercises to improve their mental health.

Supporting digitally enhanced learning through measurement in higher education: Development and validation of a university students' digital competence scale

AbstractDigital competence is critical for university students to adapt to and benefit from digitally enhanced learning. Prior studies on its measurement mostly focus on educators and relied on factor analyses. However, there is a lack of valid and convenient tools to measure university students' digital competence. This study aimed to develop a digital competence scale for university students (DC‐US) in digitally enhanced learning with robust psychometric properties. An initial DC‐US with 23 items was proposed to measure the single latent trait of digital competence. It was validated and refined continuously through a pilot study, a main study and a predictive validity study in three datasets involving 825 participants altogether, using factor analyses, Rasch analyses and the partial least squares modelling. The final DC‐US turned out to comprise two subscales: technical literacy and digital skills, with 10 items retained, and manifested high internal consistency, unidimensionality and measurement invariance. The scale also demonstrated strong predictive validity, with technical literacy greatly predicting digital skills, which negatively predicted technostress. The DC‐US enables instructors and school administrators to conveniently obtain preliminary information of university students' digital competence, informing their digital class preparation and development of timely interventions for addressing digital deficiencies.

First year university students’ perception of autonomy: an individualistic approach

ABSTRACT Autonomy has been considered both as a precondition and a crucial learning outcome of higher education. Recent research has been focusing on measuring university students’ autonomy or its development. However, whether and how students’ autonomy can be measured quantitatively is still debatable. Although autonomy is known as a changing process and varies among individuals, it is agreed that students’ learning behaviours are largely affected by their perceptions; very few studies, however, have examined students’ own perception of autonomy. This study, therefore, adopts a longitudinal qualitative approach to investigate the changes in students’ own perceptions of autonomy over five different times during their first-year study in a Hong Kong University, and examine the relationship between the perceptions and behaviours of their autonomy. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight first-year students, the study found that although the participants held some common understanding of autonomy, they also demonstrated various interpretations of this concept. They also had a slightly different focus on different dimensions of autonomy, which were affected by their own individual experiences. An individualistic approach is therefore proposed to understand students’ development of autonomy.

Gelişen Medya Düzeninde Pazarlama Konseptleri ve Fenomenlerin Gençler Üzerindeki Etkileri

As people reach information, a sense of curiosity in people has also developed over the years. Furthermore, this has always directed people to research and to examine individuals. A new era has begun, especially with the invention of the computer and the Internet. The distribution and access of information have become more comfortable with the development of the technological infrastructure, and people have connected them to research from more intensive or different perspectives according to their interests. With the technology developed after Web 2.0, people have not only read but have started to "get involved." In this way, they started to take steps about consumption by learning quickly the experiences of other people from all over the world in the product/service area from where they are located. Since human beings are social assets, they need to share, learn, develop, and appreciate. Sometimes this lifestyle has come to a newly developing area of business, in any case. Every year, tens of people have become "individuals who have influenced people or followers" and have been followed and sometimes imitated as they produced new content and shared their new experiences. In this study, 'influencer marketing,' which is the subject of psychological, economic, and scientific fields, has been taken on university students' effects. This research aims to measure university students' trust in social media influencers before purchasing, and social media influencers impact their purchasing decisions.

Self-efficacy for self-assessment: Development and validation of the SEESA-AW scale for argumentative writing

Self-assessment, or students’ evaluation of their own learning or performance in academic tasks, is a self-regulatory process that is intertwined with learners’ cognitive, behavioral, and motivational processes. Among the motivational beliefs that have been studied in relation to self-assessment is self-efficacy, which refers to beliefs about one's capability to learn or perform a specified task successfully. The current study describes the development and validation of the Self-Efficacy for Self-Assessment in Argumentative Writing (SEESA-AW) scale to measure college students’ self-efficacy beliefs for self-assessment in the domain of argumentative writing with two samples of undergraduate college students (N=335 and N=662). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three factors (grammar & mechanics, cohesiveness/flow, the presentation of arguments) that explained 65.4% of the variance. Evidence is also provided for convergent validity of the scale with regard to other writing self-efficacy scales. Educational implications are discussed.

Inisiatif pertumbuhan personal dan perkaitannya dengan kepuasan hidup dalam kalangan pelajar universiti

This study aimed to examine the relationship between personal growth initiative constructs which are planfulness, using resources, readiness to changes, and intentional behaviour on satisfaction with life. This study involved respondents comprising of 225 first-year university students. The data were gathered from a set of adapted questionnaire, namely Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II (PGIS-II) to measure university students’ intentional process of personal growth and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure their life satisfaction. Results showed that there were significant correlations among all four-construct of personal growth initiative and life satisfaction. The personal growth initiative was a significant predictor of which contributed 17.2% variance toward university students’ life satisfaction. The findings give implication that university students with planfulness, using resources, readiness to changes, and intentional behaviour were more likely to experience satisfaction with their life. These elements of intentional growth of university students enable them to guide themselves toward completing their academic life with satisfaction. It is hoped that this study enlightens an understanding on the relationship between personal growth initiative and life satisfaction in the contex of higher educational academic setting in Malaysia.

How Do University Students’ Web Search Behavior, Website Characteristics, and the Interaction of Both Influence Students’ Critical Online Reasoning?

The Internet has become one of the main sources of information for university students’ learning. Since anyone can disseminate content online, however, the Internet is full of irrelevant, biased, or even false information. Thus, students’ ability to use online information in a critical-reflective manner is of crucial importance. In our study, we used a framework for the assessment of students’ critical online reasoning (COR) to measure university students’ ability to critically use information from online sources and to reason on contentious issues based on online information. In addition to analyzing students’ COR by evaluating their open-ended short answers, we also investigated the students’ web search behavior and the quality of the websites they visited and used during this assessment. We analyzed both the number and type of websites as well as the quality of the information these websites provide. Finally, we investigated to what extent students’ web search behavior as well as the quality of the used website contents are related to higher task performance. To investigate this question, we used five computer-based performance tasks and asked 160 students from two German universities to perform a time-restricted open web search to respond to the open-ended questions presented in the tasks. The written responses were evaluated by two independent human raters. To analyze the students’ browsing history, we developed a coding manual and conducted a quantitative content analysis for a subsample of 50 students. The number of visited webpages per participant per task ranged from 1 to 9. Concerning the type of website, the participants relied especially on established news sites and Wikipedia. For instance, we found that the number of visited websites and the critical discussion of sources provided on the websites correlated positively with students’ scores. The identified relationships between students’ web search behavior, their performance in the CORA tasks, and the qualitative website characteristics are presented and critically discussed in terms of limitations of this study and implications for further research.

Prediction of Problematic Internet Usage of University Students by Their Attachment Styles

The purpose of this study is to predict university students’ problematic Internet use levels by their attachment styles. The participants of the study are the university students at a large university in Turkey. While the Problematic Internet Usage Scale is used to measure university students’ problematic Internet usage levels, the Relationship Scales Questionnaire is used to determine their attachment styles. The Problematic Internet Usage Scale has the following sub-dimensions: excessive usage, social benefit/social comfort and negative consequences of the Internet. The sub-dimensions of the Relationship Scales Questionnaire involve secure, fearful, preoccupied and dismissing. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis were conducted to analyze the data obtained from the study. Also, correlation and stepwise regression analysis technique are used to investigate the relationship between the problematic Internet usage and the sub-dimensions of the attachment styles. The findings show that the participants have a medium-level of problematic Internet usage. The male university students are more inclined to exhibit problematic Internet usage behaviors than the female students. In addition, the preoccupied, secure and dismissing attachment styles are found to be the significant predictors of problematic Internet usage.

Evaluation of a Questionnaire Measuring University Students' Sense of Belonging to and Involvement in a Biology Department.

Sense of belonging and involvement has shown to be positively associated with academic achievement and retention. We argue that a focus on sense of belonging and involvement specifically at the departmental level is valuable, yet rarely discussed in the literature. In this article, we describe the development and evaluation of a questionnaire measuring university students’ sense of belonging to and involvement in their “home” department (biology). The questionnaire was named the DeSBI questionnaire (Departmental Sense of Belonging and Involvement) and was administered to students attending an R1 university in the southeastern United States during Spring 2018 (n = 201) and Fall 2018 (n = 737) semesters. Factor analysis indicated a three-factor solution: one factor consisting of five items representing sense of belonging: valued competence; a second factor consisting of six items representing sense of belonging: social acceptance; and a third factor consisting of nine involvement items. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in all subscales between students included in a special biology program, biology majors, and non–biology majors. The study findings support the use of the instrument for measuring biology students’ sense of belonging to and involvement in their biology department.

Measuring college students’ leadership engagement in advocacy.

Measuring college students’ leadership engagement in advocacy.

RETRACTED: Characteristics and intervention of academic procrastination of students—An analysis based on 1192 effective samples of Huaqiao University

In this paper, an analysis of 1192 effective samples of Huaqiao University by using the domestic mainstream scale for measuring college students’ academic procrastination was conducted, and we found that 52.4% of students had academic procrastination; the proportion of students with academic procrastination in completion of the assignment was 44.1%; the proportion of students with academic procrastination in exam preparation and self-learning was 61.2 and 60.8%; and the figures are far higher than that of other college students in China. Besides, academic procrastination differs in many aspects such as gender, place of origin, major, grade, performance, and time management capabilities. This paper aims to cultivate students’ active self-learning ability and promote their inner drive of learning; to shape the good time personality of college students through education and to reduce procrastination; to conduct academic procrastination intervention through combination of mental health education and daily education management, and relevant suggestions are made accordingly.

Measuring university students’ technostress in technology-enhanced learning: Scale development and validation

With technology-enhanced learning playing an increasingly important role in higher education, university students are enjoying unprecedented benefits while likely experiencing technostress due to increased requirements and different academic expectations of technology-enhanced learning. This study aimed to develop a psychometric scale to measure university students’ levels of technostress in technology-enhanced learning. An initial technostress scale was developed drawing on the person-environment fit theory and prior research on technostress. In total 620 students were recruited from two public universities in China. Three rounds of study were performed to validate the initial technostress scale using factor analysis, the Rasch model, and multilevel linear regression. The finalised technostress scale with 8 items demonstrated robust psychometric properties, including high internal consistency, validity, uni-dimensionality, and measurement invariance across students of different demographics. The development of the technostress scale is an important step in identifying maladapted students and preserving their wellbeing so as to increase their constructive and active participation in technology-enhanced learning.

Validation of exercise motivations inventory – 2 (EMI-2) scale for college students

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Exercise Motivations Inventory − 2 (EMI-2) scale would be appropriate to measure college students’ exercise motivation. Participants: The EMI-2 scale questionnaire was administered to 325 college students in the southwestern U.S. Method: The WINSTEPS program was conducted to analyze Rating Scale Fit, Differential Item Functioning (DIF), and Item fit by applying Rasch rating scale model calibration. Results: A 5-point Likert-type rating scale of the EMI-2 was more appropriate to investigate college students’ exercise motivation. Seventeen of 51 items were selected as the DIF, and one item had over standard item fit. Overall, 33 items were finally selected for a new version of the EMI-2 scale for college students. Additionally, Person-Item map showed that person ability and item difficulty were fit matched. Conclusions: This reconstructed EMI-2 scale can be utilized to assess exercise motivations of college students.

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Electronic Health Literacy and Dietary Behaviors in Taiwanese College Students: Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundGiven the recognized importance of preventing poor dietary behaviors during adolescence, we need a better understanding of college students’ dietary behaviors. Studies have found that individual factors and electronic health (eHealth) literacy may affect one’s dietary behaviors. However, few studies have fully investigated the effect of the three levels of eHealth literacy (functional, interactive, and critical) and the interactive effect of individual factors (eg, gender, monthly expenses, and frequency of cooking) and the three levels of eHealth literacy on the four aspects of dietary behaviors (consumer health, balanced diet, regular eating habits, and unhealthy food intake).ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate whether individual differences and higher eHealth literacy are associated with more positive dietary behaviors and less unhealthy dietary intake.MethodsThe eHealth Literacy Scale is a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students’ functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy. The Dietary Behaviors Scale is a 14-item instrument developed to measure four aspects of dietary behaviors of college students. A questionnaire was administered to collect background information about participants’ gender, monthly expenses, and frequency of cooking. A national sample of college students was surveyed, and 813 responses were obtained. We conducted a multiple regression analysis to examine the association among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and dietary behaviors.ResultsThis study found that functional eHealth literacy was negatively related to unhealthy food intake (beta=−.11; P=.01), and interactive eHealth literacy was positively related to balanced diet (beta=.25; P<.001) and consumer health (beta=.15; P=.02). Moreover, critical eHealth literacy was positively related to consumer health (beta=.30; P<.001) and regular eating habits (beta=.20; P=.002). Finally, the interactive effect between gender and interactive eHealth literacy was negatively related to balanced diet (beta=−.22; P<.001). The interactive effect between monthly expenses and functional eHealth literacy was positively related to balanced diet (beta=.07; P=.03), although the interactive effect between monthly expenses and critical eHealth literacy was negatively related to balanced diet (beta=−.10; P=.047).ConclusionsThis study showed that Taiwanese college students with higher functional eHealth literacy were more likely to engage in fewer unhealthy food consumption practices. Those who had higher interactive and critical eHealth literacy were more likely to engage in positive dietary behaviors than those with functional eHealth literacy. Surprisingly, females with high interactive eHealth literacy were more likely to have a poor balanced diet. In contrast, students with higher monthly expenses and higher functional eHealth literacy were more likely to have a balanced diet. However, students with higher monthly expenses and higher critical eHealth literacy were less likely to maintain a balanced diet.

Development of an Instrument Measuring Perceived Environmental Healthfulness: Behavior Environment Perception Survey (BEPS)

ObjectiveTo create a tool to measure college students’ perception of the healthfulness of their environment. Design(1) Item generation, (2) cognitive interview testing and exploratory factor analysis, (3) item refinement/modification, (4) factor structure validation, and (5) criterion validation. SettingTen college campuses. ParticipantsTime point 1 (n = 120 cognitive interviews; n = 922 factor analysis); time point 2 (n = 2,676), convenience sample of undergraduate students. Main Outcome MeasuresCognitive interviews and survey data were used to assess perceptions about the environment. AnalysisExploratory factor analysis, structural equation confirmatory factor analysis, correlations, and regressions. ResultsItem generation resulted in 93 items. Items were eliminated based on cognitive interviews, exploratory factor analysis of pilot data, and elimination of cross-loading or weak loading items. In confirmatory analyses, a 21-item, 5-factor structure was the best fit for the data (χ2 = 3,286.77, degrees of freedom = 189; comparative fit index = 0.840; root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.078). Environmental factors include physical activity (α = 0.68, 4 items), healthful eating (α = 0.86, 5 items), mental health (α = 0.85, 5 items), barriers to healthful eating (α = 0.70, 4 items), and peer influences (α = 0.73, 3 items). There were significant associations between scales and validation criteria (P < .05). Conclusions and ImplicationsThe Behavior Environment Perception Survey is a novel instrument measuring perceptions of the healthfulness of the campus environment. Strengths include a development process involving 10 different universities, strong psychometric properties, and breadth of constructs.