CC0105 SOCIAL RESEARCH ECA 1 Topc: Urban Living Sub-Topic: Technology and Education Research Question: How does UniSim’s utility of e- Books influence student’s choice of study material? T-Group: T07 Full Name: Nithya Devi D/O Mutesamy Word Count: 2667 Words PI Number: W1581141 Date of Submission: 7 th November 2015
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CC0105 SOCIAL RESEARCHECA
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Topc: Urban Living
Sub-Topic: Technology and Education
Research Question: How does UniSim’s utility of e-Books influence student’s choice of study material?
These four questions were calculated on a scale of 1 to 4, 1 being strongly agree and 4
being strongly disagree. The questions asked are summarized in the legend of Figure
3. Reference of e-books here refers to professor’s tendency to make use of the e-
books during their lessons to educate their students, while relevance of contents is
based on how much of the e-book is applicable in terms of their assignments and
examinations. As you can see, in terms of reference and relevance of its contents,
majority of the students strongly agreed. Proving once again, that the school does
indeed display a high level in the usage of e-books.
From these answers provided, we can infer that the level of utility of e-books by the
school is high. This means that UniSim depends on such resources to teach the
students and they too, have to depend on these resources in terms of their education.
7.2 Analysis of Dependent Variable
The following figures are obtained from questions asked to analyse the type of study
material chosen by students, and the possible reasons for their preferability.
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Student’s choice of printing out the e-books was also asked. We can infer that those
who chose to print a copy of their online material have a clear preferability of
physical study materials. In this case, a majority of 77% of students chose to print
their e-books to study. When asked why, most of them acknowledged that referring to
the online academic books tires them easily. The second most popular reason is that it
instills productivity, and lastly, its tendency to be distractive. As mentioned earlier, e-
books have proven to have a detrimental effect on its users, and from these results we
can concur that UniSim students are victims of these effects.
Yes78%
No23%
Figure 4: Do you print out your E-books?
More Produc-
tive 33%
Get tired easily 51%
Distraction16%
Figure 5: If yes, why?
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Lastly, their preferability in terms of note taking and type of study material was
asked. As you can see from Figure 6 and 7, most students prefer writing physical
notes and books as compared to e-books and online note-taking. Although more
students expressed interest in online note taking, as compared to e-books, the
majority’s preferability still stands. There is a clear indication that students still favor
the traditional way of studying, despite high usage of e-books by the school.
Overall, we can see a clear segregation between what the students want and what the
school offers. Although UniSim’s high utility of e-books does not affect student’s
choice of study material, due to their favourability to the traditional method, it affects
them in other ways. As you can see from Figure 5, it affects them mainly in terms of
productivity and distraction. This means that student’s performance and progression
may be adversely affected due to the school’s system.
Writing physical
notes83%
Taking down notes online
18%
Figure 6: Which do you prefer?
physical books85%
e-books/resources
15%
Figure 7: Overall, which do you prefer?
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8. CONCLUSION
UniSim’s utility of e-books does not influence a change in student’s choice of study
material. As mentioned earlier, UniSim are amongst the many schools that have been
incorporating e-resources into its curriculum, but a material such as academic books
should be shaped to provide effectiveness for its students. If schools continue to
provide e-resources due to its accessibility and convenience, students may continue to
suffer the detrimental effect that these resources are exposed to.
Moreover, the results of my analysis prove compatibility to my hypothesis that
despite the school’s high utility of e-books, students still lean towards the traditional
method. However, throughout the research study, I have discovered several
limitations. For instance, due to the time constraint, the sample size of my survey
respondents may subject to vulnerability from the number of respondents and their
answers, as they may choose to answer questions arbitrarily, not knowing the
importance of its function.
In conclusion, to the best of my ability, this study may help UniSim to determine the
preferred mode of study by students so that it can shape its resources to suit them.
Despite the school’s perception of such resources, it is significant as the results of
these findings may help to distinguish the gaps and challenges students face, and
possibly have a positive effect on their performance and results.
(2667 words)
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9. REFERENCES
Coughlan, S. (2015, May 13). Asia tops biggest global school rankings. Retrieved from BBC News at http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772
Hio, L. (2015, July 13). E-books click with more library users in Singapore. Retrieved from The Straits Times at http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/e-books-click-with-more-library-users-in-singapore
Loong, H. (2014). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally 2014. Retrieved from Prime Minister’s Office at http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/prime-minister-lee-hsien-loongs-national-day-rally-2014-speech-english
Loong, H. (2014, September 6). Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Yale-NUS College groundbreaking ceremony. Retrieved from Prime Minister’s Office at http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/speech-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-yale-nus-college-groundbreaking-ceremony
Marcum, E. (2012, November). The cognitive disadvantages of e-books. Retrieved from AALL Spectrum at http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/archives/vol-17/No-2/e-book-disadvantages.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2012, February 8). Prepared Remarks for Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, on “Education for Competitiveness and Growth” at the Singapore Conference in Washington D.C., USA. Retrieved from Ministry of Education Singapore at http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2012/02/08/speech-by-mr-heng-swee-keat-at-the-singapore-conference-washington-dc-usa.php
Peter, E. (2015, January 5). E-Readers Foil Good Night’s Sleep. Retrieved from Harvard Medical School at https://hms.harvard.edu/news/e-readers-foil-good-nights-sleep
Schoppert, P. (2013, September 23). Digital Publishing in Singapore: The Markets. Retrieved from PS Media Asia at http://www.psmedia.asia/content/digital-publishing-singapore-markets