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The Savvy Scientist

Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

What is the Significance of a Study? Examples and Guide

If you’re reading this post you’re probably wondering: what is the significance of a study?

No matter where you’re at with a piece of research, it is a good idea to think about the potential significance of your work. And sometimes you’ll have to explicitly write a statement of significance in your papers, it addition to it forming part of your thesis.

In this post I’ll cover what the significance of a study is, how to measure it, how to describe it with examples and add in some of my own experiences having now worked in research for over nine years.

If you’re reading this because you’re writing up your first paper, welcome! You may also like my how-to guide for all aspects of writing your first research paper .

Looking for guidance on writing the statement of significance for a paper or thesis? Click here to skip straight to that section.

What is the Significance of a Study?

For research papers, theses or dissertations it’s common to explicitly write a section describing the significance of the study. We’ll come onto what to include in that section in just a moment.

However the significance of a study can actually refer to several different things.

Working our way from the most technical to the broadest, depending on the context, the significance of a study may refer to:

• Within your study: Statistical significance. Can we trust the findings?
• Wider research field: Research significance. How does your study progress the field?
• Commercial / economic significance: Could there be business opportunities for your findings?
• Societal significance: What impact could your study have on the wider society.
• And probably other domain-specific significance!

We’ll shortly cover each of them in turn, including how they’re measured and some examples for each type of study significance.

But first, let’s touch on why you should consider the significance of your research at an early stage.

Why Care About the Significance of a Study?

No matter what is motivating you to carry out your research, it is sensible to think about the potential significance of your work. In the broadest sense this asks, how does the study contribute to the world?

After all, for many people research is only worth doing if it will result in some expected significance. For the vast majority of us our studies won’t be significant enough to reach the evening news, but most studies will help to enhance knowledge in a particular field and when research has at least some significance it makes for a far more fulfilling longterm pursuit.

Furthermore, a lot of us are carrying out research funded by the public. It therefore makes sense to keep an eye on what benefits the work could bring to the wider community.

Often in research you’ll come to a crossroads where you must decide which path of research to pursue. Thinking about the potential benefits of a strand of research can be useful for deciding how to spend your time, money and resources.

It’s worth noting though, that not all research activities have to work towards obvious significance. This is especially true while you’re a PhD student, where you’re figuring out what you enjoy and may simply be looking for an opportunity to learn a new skill.

However, if you’re trying to decide between two potential projects, it can be useful to weigh up the potential significance of each.

Let’s now dive into the different types of significance, starting with research significance.

Research Significance

What is the research significance of a study.

Unless someone specifies which type of significance they’re referring to, it is fair to assume that they want to know about the research significance of your study.

Research significance describes how your work has contributed to the field, how it could inform future studies and progress research.

Where should I write about my study’s significance in my thesis?

Typically you should write about your study’s significance in the Introduction and Conclusions sections of your thesis.

It’s important to mention it in the Introduction so that the relevance of your work and the potential impact and benefits it could have on the field are immediately apparent. Explaining why your work matters will help to engage readers (and examiners!) early on.

It’s also a good idea to detail the study’s significance in your Conclusions section. This adds weight to your findings and helps explain what your study contributes to the field.

On occasion you may also choose to include a brief description in your Abstract.

What is expected when submitting an article to a journal

It is common for journals to request a statement of significance, although this can sometimes be called other things such as:

• Impact statement
• Significance statement
• Advances in knowledge section

Here is one such example of what is expected:

Impact Statement:  An Impact Statement is required for all submissions.  Your impact statement will be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief, Global Editors, and appropriate Associate Editor. For your manuscript to receive full review, the editors must be convinced that it is an important advance in for the field. The Impact Statement is not a restating of the abstract. It should address the following: Why is the work submitted important to the field? How does the work submitted advance the field? What new information does this work impart to the field? How does this new information impact the field? Experimental Biology and Medicine journal, author guidelines

Typically the impact statement will be shorter than the Abstract, around 150 words.

Defining the study’s significance is helpful not just for the impact statement (if the journal asks for one) but also for building a more compelling argument throughout your submission. For instance, usually you’ll start the Discussion section of a paper by highlighting the research significance of your work. You’ll also include a short description in your Abstract too.

How to describe the research significance of a study, with examples

Whether you’re writing a thesis or a journal article, the approach to writing about the significance of a study are broadly the same.

I’d therefore suggest using the questions above as a starting point to base your statements on.

• Why is the work submitted important to the field?
• How does the work submitted advance the field?
• What new information does this work impart to the field?
• How does this new information impact the field?

Answer those questions and you’ll have a much clearer idea of the research significance of your work.

When describing it, try to clearly state what is novel about your study’s contribution to the literature. Then go on to discuss what impact it could have on progressing the field along with recommendations for future work.

Potential sentence starters

If you’re not sure where to start, why not set a 10 minute timer and have a go at trying to finish a few of the following sentences. Not sure on what to put? Have a chat to your supervisor or lab mates and they may be able to suggest some ideas.

• This study is important to the field because…
• These findings advance the field by…
• Our results highlight the importance of…
• Our discoveries impact the field by…

Now you’ve had a go let’s have a look at some real life examples.

Statement of significance examples

A statement of significance / impact:

Impact Statement This review highlights the historical development of the concept of “ideal protein” that began in the 1950s and 1980s for poultry and swine diets, respectively, and the major conceptual deficiencies of the long-standing concept of “ideal protein” in animal nutrition based on recent advances in amino acid (AA) metabolism and functions. Nutritionists should move beyond the “ideal protein” concept to consider optimum ratios and amounts of all proteinogenic AAs in animal foods and, in the case of carnivores, also taurine. This will help formulate effective low-protein diets for livestock, poultry, and fish, while sustaining global animal production. Because they are not only species of agricultural importance, but also useful models to study the biology and diseases of humans as well as companion (e.g. dogs and cats), zoo, and extinct animals in the world, our work applies to a more general readership than the nutritionists and producers of farm animals. Wu G, Li P. The “ideal protein” concept is not ideal in animal nutrition.  Experimental Biology and Medicine . 2022;247(13):1191-1201. doi: 10.1177/15353702221082658

And the same type of section but this time called “Advances in knowledge”:

Advances in knowledge: According to the MY-RADs criteria, size measurements of focal lesions in MRI are now of relevance for response assessment in patients with monoclonal plasma cell disorders. Size changes of 1 or 2 mm are frequently observed due to uncertainty of the measurement only, while the actual focal lesion has not undergone any biological change. Size changes of at least 6 mm or more in  T 1  weighted or  T 2  weighted short tau inversion recovery sequences occur in only 5% or less of cases when the focal lesion has not undergone any biological change. Wennmann M, Grözinger M, Weru V, et al. Test-retest, inter- and intra-rater reproducibility of size measurements of focal bone marrow lesions in MRI in patients with multiple myeloma [published online ahead of print, 2023 Apr 12].  Br J Radiol . 2023;20220745. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20220745

Other examples of research significance

Moving beyond the formal statement of significance, here is how you can describe research significance more broadly within your paper.

Describing research impact in an Abstract of a paper:

Three-dimensional visualisation and quantification of the chondrocyte population within articular cartilage can be achieved across a field of view of several millimetres using laboratory-based micro-CT. The ability to map chondrocytes in 3D opens possibilities for research in fields from skeletal development through to medical device design and treatment of cartilage degeneration. Conclusions section of the abstract in my first paper .

In the Discussion section of a paper:

We report for the utility of a standard laboratory micro-CT scanner to visualise and quantify features of the chondrocyte population within intact articular cartilage in 3D. This study represents a complimentary addition to the growing body of evidence supporting the non-destructive imaging of the constituents of articular cartilage. This offers researchers the opportunity to image chondrocyte distributions in 3D without specialised synchrotron equipment, enabling investigations such as chondrocyte morphology across grades of cartilage damage, 3D strain mapping techniques such as digital volume correlation to evaluate mechanical properties  in situ , and models for 3D finite element analysis  in silico  simulations. This enables an objective quantification of chondrocyte distribution and morphology in three dimensions allowing greater insight for investigations into studies of cartilage development, degeneration and repair. One such application of our method, is as a means to provide a 3D pattern in the cartilage which, when combined with digital volume correlation, could determine 3D strain gradient measurements enabling potential treatment and repair of cartilage degeneration. Moreover, the method proposed here will allow evaluation of cartilage implanted with tissue engineered scaffolds designed to promote chondral repair, providing valuable insight into the induced regenerative process. The Discussion section of the paper is laced with references to research significance.

How is longer term research significance measured?

Looking beyond writing impact statements within papers, sometimes you’ll want to quantify the long term research significance of your work. For instance when applying for jobs.

The most obvious measure of a study’s long term research significance is the number of citations it receives from future publications. The thinking is that a study which receives more citations will have had more research impact, and therefore significance , than a study which received less citations. Citations can give a broad indication of how useful the work is to other researchers but citations aren’t really a good measure of significance.

Bear in mind that us researchers can be lazy folks and sometimes are simply looking to cite the first paper which backs up one of our claims. You can find studies which receive a lot of citations simply for packaging up the obvious in a form which can be easily found and referenced, for instance by having a catchy or optimised title.

Likewise, research activity varies wildly between fields. Therefore a certain study may have had a big impact on a particular field but receive a modest number of citations, simply because not many other researchers are working in the field.

Nevertheless, citations are a standard measure of significance and for better or worse it remains impressive for someone to be the first author of a publication receiving lots of citations.

Other measures for the research significance of a study include:

• Accolades: best paper awards at conferences, thesis awards, “most downloaded” titles for articles, press coverage.
• How much follow-on research the study creates. For instance, part of my PhD involved a novel material initially developed by another PhD student in the lab. That PhD student’s research had unlocked lots of potential new studies and now lots of people in the group were using the same material and developing it for different applications. The initial study may not receive a high number of citations yet long term it generated a lot of research activity.

That covers research significance, but you’ll often want to consider other types of significance for your study and we’ll cover those next.

Statistical Significance

What is the statistical significance of a study.

Often as part of a study you’ll carry out statistical tests and then state the statistical significance of your findings: think p-values eg <0.05. It is useful to describe the outcome of these tests within your report or paper, to give a measure of statistical significance.

Effectively you are trying to show whether the performance of your innovation is actually better than a control or baseline and not just chance. Statistical significance deserves a whole other post so I won’t go into a huge amount of depth here.

Things that make publication in  The BMJ  impossible or unlikely Internal validity/robustness of the study • It had insufficient statistical power, making interpretation difficult; • Lack of statistical power; The British Medical Journal’s guide for authors

Calculating statistical significance isn’t always necessary (or valid) for a study, such as if you have a very small number of samples, but it is a very common requirement for scientific articles.

Writing a journal article? Check the journal’s guide for authors to see what they expect. Generally if you have approximately five or more samples or replicates it makes sense to start thinking about statistical tests. Speak to your supervisor and lab mates for advice, and look at other published articles in your field.

How is statistical significance measured?

Statistical significance is quantified using p-values . Depending on your study design you’ll choose different statistical tests to compute the p-value.

A p-value of 0.05 is a common threshold value. The 0.05 means that there is a 1/20 chance that the difference in performance you’re reporting is just down to random chance.

• p-values above 0.05 mean that the result isn’t statistically significant enough to be trusted: it is too likely that the effect you’re showing is just luck.
• p-values less than or equal to 0.05 mean that the result is statistically significant. In other words: unlikely to just be chance, which is usually considered a good outcome.

Low p-values (eg p = 0.001) mean that it is highly unlikely to be random chance (1/1000 in the case of p = 0.001), therefore more statistically significant.

It is important to clarify that, although low p-values mean that your findings are statistically significant, it doesn’t automatically mean that the result is scientifically important. More on that in the next section on research significance.

How to describe the statistical significance of your study, with examples

In the first paper from my PhD I ran some statistical tests to see if different staining techniques (basically dyes) increased how well you could see cells in cow tissue using micro-CT scanning (a 3D imaging technique).

In your methods section you should mention the statistical tests you conducted and then in the results you will have statements such as:

Between mediums for the two scan protocols C/N [contrast to noise ratio] was greater for EtOH than the PBS in both scanning methods (both  p  < 0.0001) with mean differences of 1.243 (95% CI [confidence interval] 0.709 to 1.778) for absorption contrast and 6.231 (95% CI 5.772 to 6.690) for propagation contrast. … Two repeat propagation scans were taken of samples from the PTA-stained groups. No difference in mean C/N was found with either medium: PBS had a mean difference of 0.058 ( p  = 0.852, 95% CI -0.560 to 0.676), EtOH had a mean difference of 1.183 ( p  = 0.112, 95% CI 0.281 to 2.648). From the Results section of my first paper, available here . Square brackets added for this post to aid clarity.

From this text the reader can infer from the first paragraph that there was a statistically significant difference in using EtOH compared to PBS (really small p-value of <0.0001). However, from the second paragraph, the difference between two repeat scans was statistically insignificant for both PBS (p = 0.852) and EtOH (p = 0.112).

By conducting these statistical tests you have then earned your right to make bold statements, such as these from the discussion section:

Propagation phase-contrast increases the contrast of individual chondrocytes [cartilage cells] compared to using absorption contrast. From the Discussion section from the same paper.

Without statistical tests you have no evidence that your results are not just down to random chance.

Beyond describing the statistical significance of a study in the main body text of your work, you can also show it in your figures.

In figures such as bar charts you’ll often see asterisks to represent statistical significance, and “n.s.” to show differences between groups which are not statistically significant. Here is one such figure, with some subplots, from the same paper:

In this example an asterisk (*) between two bars represents p < 0.05. Two asterisks (**) represents p < 0.001 and three asterisks (***) represents p < 0.0001. This should always be stated in the caption of your figure since the values that each asterisk refers to can vary.

Now that we know if a study is showing statistically and research significance, let’s zoom out a little and consider the potential for commercial significance.

Commercial and Industrial Significance

What are commercial and industrial significance.

Moving beyond significance in relation to academia, your research may also have commercial or economic significance.

Simply put:

• Commercial significance: could the research be commercialised as a product or service? Perhaps the underlying technology described in your study could be licensed to a company or you could even start your own business using it.
• Industrial significance: more widely than just providing a product which could be sold, does your research provide insights which may affect a whole industry? Such as: revealing insights or issues with current practices, performance gains you don’t want to commercialise (e.g. solar power efficiency), providing suggested frameworks or improvements which could be employed industry-wide.

I’ve grouped these two together because there can certainly be overlap. For instance, perhaps your new technology could be commercialised whilst providing wider improvements for the whole industry.

Commercial and industrial significance are not relevant to most studies, so only write about it if you and your supervisor can think of reasonable routes to your work having an impact in these ways.

How are commercial and industrial significance measured?

Unlike statistical and research significances, the measures of commercial and industrial significance can be much more broad.

Here are some potential measures of significance:

Commercial significance:

• How much value does your technology bring to potential customers or users?
• How big is the potential market and how much revenue could the product potentially generate?
• Is the intellectual property protectable? i.e. patentable, or if not could the novelty be protected with trade secrets: if so publish your method with caution!
• If commercialised, could the product bring employment to a geographical area?

Industrial significance:

What impact could it have on the industry? For instance if you’re revealing an issue with something, such as unintended negative consequences of a drug , what does that mean for the industry and the public? This could be:

• Reduced overhead costs
• Better safety
• Faster production methods
• Improved scaleability

How to describe the commercial and industrial significance of a study, with examples

Commercial significance.

If your technology could be commercially viable, and you’ve got an interest in commercialising it yourself, it is likely that you and your university may not want to immediately publish the study in a journal.

You’ll probably want to consider routes to exploiting the technology and your university may have a “technology transfer” team to help researchers navigate the various options.

However, if instead of publishing a paper you’re submitting a thesis or dissertation then it can be useful to highlight the commercial significance of your work. In this instance you could include statements of commercial significance such as:

The measurement technology described in this study provides state of the art performance and could enable the development of low cost devices for aerospace applications. An example of commercial significance I invented for this post

Industrial significance

First, think about the industrial sectors who could benefit from the developments described in your study.

For example if you’re working to improve battery efficiency it is easy to think of how it could lead to performance gains for certain industries, like personal electronics or electric vehicles. In these instances you can describe the industrial significance relatively easily, based off your findings.

For example:

By utilising abundant materials in the described battery fabrication process we provide a framework for battery manufacturers to reduce dependence on rare earth components. Again, an invented example

For other technologies there may well be industrial applications but they are less immediately obvious and applicable. In these scenarios the best you can do is to simply reframe your research significance statement in terms of potential commercial applications in a broad way.

As a reminder: not all studies should address industrial significance, so don’t try to invent applications just for the sake of it!

Societal Significance

What is the societal significance of a study.

The most broad category of significance is the societal impact which could stem from it.

If you’re working in an applied field it may be quite easy to see a route for your research to impact society. For others, the route to societal significance may be less immediate or clear.

Studies can help with big issues facing society such as:

• Medical applications : vaccines, surgical implants, drugs, improving patient safety. For instance this medical device and drug combination I worked on which has a very direct route to societal significance.
• Political significance : Your research may provide insights which could contribute towards potential changes in policy or better understanding of issues facing society.
• Public health : for instance COVID-19 transmission and related decisions.
• Climate change : mitigation such as more efficient solar panels and lower cost battery solutions, and studying required adaptation efforts and technologies. Also, better understanding around related societal issues, for instance this study on the effects of temperature on hate speech.

How is societal significance measured?

Societal significance at a high level can be quantified by the size of its potential societal effect. Just like a lab risk assessment, you can think of it in terms of probability (or how many people it could help) and impact magnitude.

Societal impact = How many people it could help x the magnitude of the impact

Think about how widely applicable the findings are: for instance does it affect only certain people? Then think about the potential size of the impact: what kind of difference could it make to those people?

Between these two metrics you can get a pretty good overview of the potential societal significance of your research study.

How to describe the societal significance of a study, with examples

Quite often the broad societal significance of your study is what you’re setting the scene for in your Introduction. In addition to describing the existing literature, it is common to for the study’s motivation to touch on its wider impact for society.

For those of us working in healthcare research it is usually pretty easy to see a path towards societal significance.

Our CLOUT model has state-of-the-art performance in mortality prediction, surpassing other competitive NN models and a logistic regression model … Our results show that the risk factors identified by the CLOUT model agree with physicians’ assessment, suggesting that CLOUT could be used in real-world clinicalsettings. Our results strongly support that CLOUT may be a useful tool to generate clinical prediction models, especially among hospitalized and critically ill patient populations. Learning Latent Space Representations to Predict Patient Outcomes: Model Development and Validation

In other domains the societal significance may either take longer or be more indirect, meaning that it can be more difficult to describe the societal impact.

Even so, here are some examples I’ve found from studies in non-healthcare domains:

We examined food waste as an initial investigation and test of this methodology, and there is clear potential for the examination of not only other policy texts related to food waste (e.g., liability protection, tax incentives, etc.; Broad Leib et al., 2020) but related to sustainable fishing (Worm et al., 2006) and energy use (Hawken, 2017). These other areas are of obvious relevance to climate change… AI-Based Text Analysis for Evaluating Food Waste Policies

The continued development of state-of-the art NLP tools tailored to climate policy will allow climate researchers and policy makers to extract meaningful information from this growing body of text, to monitor trends over time and administrative units, and to identify potential policy improvements. BERT Classification of Paris Agreement Climate Action Plans

Top Tips For Identifying & Writing About the Significance of Your Study

• Writing a thesis? Describe the significance of your study in the Introduction and the Conclusion .
• Submitting a paper? Read the journal’s guidelines. If you’re writing a statement of significance for a journal, make sure you read any guidance they give for what they’re expecting.
• Take a step back from your research and consider your study’s main contributions.
• Read previously published studies in your field . Use this for inspiration and ideas on how to describe the significance of your own study
• Discuss the study with your supervisor and potential co-authors or collaborators and brainstorm potential types of significance for it.

Now you’ve finished reading up on the significance of a study you may also like my how-to guide for all aspects of writing your first research paper .

Writing an academic journal paper

I hope that you’ve learned something useful from this article about the significance of a study. If you have any more research-related questions let me know, I’m here to help.

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How To Write Significance of the Study (With Examples) 

Whether you’re writing a research paper or thesis, a portion called Significance of the Study ensures your readers understand the impact of your work. Learn how to effectively write this vital part of your research paper or thesis through our detailed steps, guidelines, and examples.

Related: How to Write a Concept Paper for Academic Research

Table of Contents

What is the significance of the study.

The Significance of the Study presents the importance of your research. It allows you to prove the study’s impact on your field of research, the new knowledge it contributes, and the people who will benefit from it.

Related: How To Write Scope and Delimitation of a Research Paper (With Examples)

Where Should I Put the Significance of the Study?

The Significance of the Study is part of the first chapter or the Introduction. It comes after the research’s rationale, problem statement, and hypothesis.

Related: How to Make Conceptual Framework (with Examples and Templates)

Why Should I Include the Significance of the Study?

The purpose of the Significance of the Study is to give you space to explain to your readers how exactly your research will be contributing to the literature of the field you are studying 1 . It’s where you explain why your research is worth conducting and its significance to the community, the people, and various institutions.

How To Write Significance of the Study: 5 Steps

Below are the steps and guidelines for writing your research’s Significance of the Study.

1. Use Your Research Problem as a Starting Point

Your problem statement can provide clues to your research study’s outcome and who will benefit from it 2 .

Ask yourself, “How will the answers to my research problem be beneficial?”. In this manner, you will know how valuable it is to conduct your study. 

Let’s say your research problem is “What is the level of effectiveness of the lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) in lowering the blood glucose level of Swiss mice (Mus musculus)?”

Discovering a positive correlation between the use of lemongrass and lower blood glucose level may lead to the following results:

• Increased public understanding of the plant’s medical properties;
• Higher appreciation of the importance of lemongrass  by the community;
• Adoption of lemongrass tea as a cheap, readily available, and natural remedy to lower their blood glucose level.

Once you’ve zeroed in on the general benefits of your study, it’s time to break it down into specific beneficiaries.

2. State How Your Research Will Contribute to the Existing Literature in the Field

Think of the things that were not explored by previous studies. Then, write how your research tackles those unexplored areas. Through this, you can convince your readers that you are studying something new and adding value to the field.

3. Explain How Your Research Will Benefit Society

In this part, tell how your research will impact society. Think of how the results of your study will change something in your community. 

For example, in the study about using lemongrass tea to lower blood glucose levels, you may indicate that through your research, the community will realize the significance of lemongrass and other herbal plants. As a result, the community will be encouraged to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants.

4. Mention the Specific Persons or Institutions Who Will Benefit From Your Study

Using the same example above, you may indicate that this research’s results will benefit those seeking an alternative supplement to prevent high blood glucose levels.

5. Indicate How Your Study May Help Future Studies in the Field

You must also specifically indicate how your research will be part of the literature of your field and how it will benefit future researchers. In our example above, you may indicate that through the data and analysis your research will provide, future researchers may explore other capabilities of herbal plants in preventing different diseases.

Tips and Warnings

• Think ahead . By visualizing your study in its complete form, it will be easier for you to connect the dots and identify the beneficiaries of your research.
• Write concisely. Make it straightforward, clear, and easy to understand so that the readers will appreciate the benefits of your research. Avoid making it too long and wordy.
• Go from general to specific . Like an inverted pyramid, you start from above by discussing the general contribution of your study and become more specific as you go along. For instance, if your research is about the effect of remote learning setup on the mental health of college students of a specific university , you may start by discussing the benefits of the research to society, to the educational institution, to the learning facilitators, and finally, to the students.
• Seek help . For example, you may ask your research adviser for insights on how your research may contribute to the existing literature. If you ask the right questions, your research adviser can point you in the right direction.
• Revise, revise, revise. Be ready to apply necessary changes to your research on the fly. Unexpected things require adaptability, whether it’s the respondents or variables involved in your study. There’s always room for improvement, so never assume your work is done until you have reached the finish line.

Significance of the Study Examples

This section presents examples of the Significance of the Study using the steps and guidelines presented above.

Example 1: STEM-Related Research

Research Topic: Level of Effectiveness of the Lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ) Tea in Lowering the Blood Glucose Level of Swiss Mice ( Mus musculus ).

Significance of the Study .

This research will provide new insights into the medicinal benefit of lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ), specifically on its hypoglycemic ability.

Through this research, the community will further realize promoting medicinal plants, especially lemongrass, as a preventive measure against various diseases. People and medical institutions may also consider lemongrass tea as an alternative supplement against hyperglycemia. 

Moreover, the analysis presented in this study will convey valuable information for future research exploring the medicinal benefits of lemongrass and other medicinal plants.  

Example 2: Business and Management-Related Research

Research Topic: A Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Social Media Marketing of Small Clothing Enterprises.

Significance of the Study:

By comparing the two marketing strategies presented by this research, there will be an expansion on the current understanding of the firms on these marketing strategies in terms of cost, acceptability, and sustainability. This study presents these marketing strategies for small clothing enterprises, giving them insights into which method is more appropriate and valuable for them. 

Specifically, this research will benefit start-up clothing enterprises in deciding which marketing strategy they should employ. Long-time clothing enterprises may also consider the result of this research to review their current marketing strategy.

Furthermore, a detailed presentation on the comparison of the marketing strategies involved in this research may serve as a tool for further studies to innovate the current method employed in the clothing Industry.

Example 3: Social Science -Related Research.

Research Topic:  Divide Et Impera : An Overview of How the Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Prevailed on Philippine Political History.

Significance of the Study :

Through the comprehensive exploration of this study on Philippine political history, the influence of the Divide et Impera, or political decentralization, on the political discernment across the history of the Philippines will be unraveled, emphasized, and scrutinized. Moreover, this research will elucidate how this principle prevailed until the current political theatre of the Philippines.

In this regard, this study will give awareness to society on how this principle might affect the current political context. Moreover, through the analysis made by this study, political entities and institutions will have a new approach to how to deal with this principle by learning about its influence in the past.

In addition, the overview presented in this research will push for new paradigms, which will be helpful for future discussion of the Divide et Impera principle and may lead to a more in-depth analysis.

Example 4: Humanities-Related Research

Research Topic: Effectiveness of Meditation on Reducing the Anxiety Levels of College Students.

Significance of the Study: 

This research will provide new perspectives in approaching anxiety issues of college students through meditation. 

Specifically, this research will benefit the following:

 Community – this study spreads awareness on recognizing anxiety as a mental health concern and how meditation can be a valuable approach to alleviating it.

Academic Institutions and Administrators – through this research, educational institutions and administrators may promote programs and advocacies regarding meditation to help students deal with their anxiety issues.

Mental health advocates – the result of this research will provide valuable information for the advocates to further their campaign on spreading awareness on dealing with various mental health issues, including anxiety, and how to stop stigmatizing those with mental health disorders.

Parents – this research may convince parents to consider programs involving meditation that may help the students deal with their anxiety issues.

Students will benefit directly from this research as its findings may encourage them to consider meditation to lower anxiety levels.

Future researchers – this study covers information involving meditation as an approach to reducing anxiety levels. Thus, the result of this study can be used for future discussions on the capabilities of meditation in alleviating other mental health concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is the difference between the significance of the study and the rationale of the study.

Both aim to justify the conduct of the research. However, the Significance of the Study focuses on the specific benefits of your research in the field, society, and various people and institutions. On the other hand, the Rationale of the Study gives context on why the researcher initiated the conduct of the study.

Let’s take the research about the Effectiveness of Meditation in Reducing Anxiety Levels of College Students as an example. Suppose you are writing about the Significance of the Study. In that case, you must explain how your research will help society, the academic institution, and students deal with anxiety issues through meditation. Meanwhile, for the Rationale of the Study, you may state that due to the prevalence of anxiety attacks among college students, you’ve decided to make it the focal point of your research work.

2. What is the difference between Justification and the Significance of the Study?

In Justification, you express the logical reasoning behind the conduct of the study. On the other hand, the Significance of the Study aims to present to your readers the specific benefits your research will contribute to the field you are studying, community, people, and institutions.

Suppose again that your research is about the Effectiveness of Meditation in Reducing the Anxiety Levels of College Students. Suppose you are writing the Significance of the Study. In that case, you may state that your research will provide new insights and evidence regarding meditation’s ability to reduce college students’ anxiety levels. Meanwhile, you may note in the Justification that studies are saying how people used meditation in dealing with their mental health concerns. You may also indicate how meditation is a feasible approach to managing anxiety using the analysis presented by previous literature.

3. How should I start my research’s Significance of the Study section?

– This research will contribute… – The findings of this research… – This study aims to… – This study will provide… – Through the analysis presented in this study… – This study will benefit…

Moreover, you may start the Significance of the Study by elaborating on the contribution of your research in the field you are studying.

4. What is the difference between the Purpose of the Study and the Significance of the Study?

The Purpose of the Study focuses on why your research was conducted, while the Significance of the Study tells how the results of your research will benefit anyone.

Suppose your research is about the Effectiveness of Lemongrass Tea in Lowering the Blood Glucose Level of Swiss Mice . You may include in your Significance of the Study that the research results will provide new information and analysis on the medical ability of lemongrass to solve hyperglycemia. Meanwhile, you may include in your Purpose of the Study that your research wants to provide a cheaper and natural way to lower blood glucose levels since commercial supplements are expensive.

5. What is the Significance of the Study in Tagalog?

In Filipino research, the Significance of the Study is referred to as Kahalagahan ng Pag-aaral.

• Draft your Significance of the Study. Retrieved 18 April 2021, from http://dissertationedd.usc.edu/draft-your-significance-of-the-study.html
• Regoniel, P. (2015). Two Tips on How to Write the Significance of the Study. Retrieved 18 April 2021, from https://simplyeducate.me/2015/02/09/significance-of-the-study/

Written by Jewel Kyle Fabula

in Career and Education , Juander How

Jewel Kyle Fabula

Jewel Kyle Fabula is a Bachelor of Science in Economics student at the University of the Philippines Diliman. His passion for learning mathematics developed as he competed in some mathematics competitions during his Junior High School years. He loves cats, playing video games, and listening to music.

Browse all articles written by Jewel Kyle Fabula

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Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

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What is a thesis | A Complete Guide with Examples

Table of Contents

A thesis is a comprehensive academic paper based on your original research that presents new findings, arguments, and ideas of your study. It’s typically submitted at the end of your master’s degree or as a capstone of your bachelor’s degree.

However, writing a thesis can be laborious, especially for beginners. From the initial challenge of pinpointing a compelling research topic to organizing and presenting findings, the process is filled with potential pitfalls.

Therefore, to help you, this guide talks about what is a thesis. Additionally, it offers revelations and methodologies to transform it from an overwhelming task to a manageable and rewarding academic milestone.

What is a thesis?

A thesis is an in-depth research study that identifies a particular topic of inquiry and presents a clear argument or perspective about that topic using evidence and logic.

Writing a thesis showcases your ability of critical thinking, gathering evidence, and making a compelling argument. Integral to these competencies is thorough research, which not only fortifies your propositions but also confers credibility to your entire study.

Furthermore, there's another phenomenon you might often confuse with the thesis: the ' working thesis .' However, they aren't similar and shouldn't be used interchangeably.

A working thesis, often referred to as a preliminary or tentative thesis, is an initial version of your thesis statement. It serves as a draft or a starting point that guides your research in its early stages.

As you research more and gather more evidence, your initial thesis (aka working thesis) might change. It's like a starting point that can be adjusted as you learn more. It's normal for your main topic to change a few times before you finalize it.

While a thesis identifies and provides an overarching argument, the key to clearly communicating the central point of that argument lies in writing a strong thesis statement.

What is a thesis statement?

A strong thesis statement (aka thesis sentence) is a concise summary of the main argument or claim of the paper. It serves as a critical anchor in any academic work, succinctly encapsulating the primary argument or main idea of the entire paper.

Typically found within the introductory section, a strong thesis statement acts as a roadmap of your thesis, directing readers through your arguments and findings. By delineating the core focus of your investigation, it offers readers an immediate understanding of the context and the gravity of your study.

Furthermore, an effectively crafted thesis statement can set forth the boundaries of your research, helping readers anticipate the specific areas of inquiry you are addressing.

Different types of thesis statements

A good thesis statement is clear, specific, and arguable. Therefore, it is necessary for you to choose the right type of thesis statement for your academic papers.

Thesis statements can be classified based on their purpose and structure. Here are the primary types of thesis statements:

Argumentative (or Persuasive) thesis statement

Purpose : To convince the reader of a particular stance or point of view by presenting evidence and formulating a compelling argument.

Example : Reducing plastic use in daily life is essential for environmental health.

Analytical thesis statement

Purpose : To break down an idea or issue into its components and evaluate it.

Example : By examining the long-term effects, social implications, and economic impact of climate change, it becomes evident that immediate global action is necessary.

Expository (or Descriptive) thesis statement

Purpose : To explain a topic or subject to the reader.

Example : The Great Depression, spanning the 1930s, was a severe worldwide economic downturn triggered by a stock market crash, bank failures, and reduced consumer spending.

Cause and effect thesis statement

Purpose : To demonstrate a cause and its resulting effect.

Example : Overuse of smartphones can lead to impaired sleep patterns, reduced face-to-face social interactions, and increased levels of anxiety.

Compare and contrast thesis statement

Purpose : To highlight similarities and differences between two subjects.

Example : "While both novels '1984' and 'Brave New World' delve into dystopian futures, they differ in their portrayal of individual freedom, societal control, and the role of technology."

When you write a thesis statement , it's important to ensure clarity and precision, so the reader immediately understands the central focus of your work.

What is the difference between a thesis and a thesis statement?

While both terms are frequently used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings.

A thesis refers to the entire research document, encompassing all its chapters and sections. In contrast, a thesis statement is a brief assertion that encapsulates the central argument of the research.

Here’s an in-depth differentiation table of a thesis and a thesis statement.

Now, to craft a compelling thesis, it's crucial to adhere to a specific structure. Let’s break down these essential components that make up a thesis structure

15 components of a thesis structure

Navigating a thesis can be daunting. However, understanding its structure can make the process more manageable.

Here are the key components or different sections of a thesis structure:

Your thesis begins with the title page. It's not just a formality but the gateway to your research.

Here, you'll prominently display the necessary information about you (the author) and your institutional details.

• Title of your thesis
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date
• Your Supervisor's name (in some cases)
• Your Department or faculty (in some cases)
• Your University's logo (in some cases)
• Your Student ID (in some cases)

In a concise manner, you'll have to summarize the critical aspects of your research in typically no more than 200-300 words.

This includes the problem statement, methodology, key findings, and conclusions. For many, the abstract will determine if they delve deeper into your work, so ensure it's clear and compelling.

Acknowledgments

Research is rarely a solitary endeavor. In the acknowledgments section, you have the chance to express gratitude to those who've supported your journey.

This might include advisors, peers, institutions, or even personal sources of inspiration and support. It's a personal touch, reflecting the humanity behind the academic rigor.

Table of contents

A roadmap for your readers, the table of contents lists the chapters, sections, and subsections of your thesis.

By providing page numbers, you allow readers to navigate your work easily, jumping to sections that pique their interest.

List of figures and tables

Research often involves data, and presenting this data visually can enhance understanding. This section provides an organized listing of all figures and tables in your thesis.

It's a visual index, ensuring that readers can quickly locate and reference your graphical data.

Introduction

Here's where you introduce your research topic, articulate the research question or objective, and outline the significance of your study.

• Present the research topic : Clearly articulate the central theme or subject of your research.
• Background information : Ground your research topic, providing any necessary context or background information your readers might need to understand the significance of your study.
• Define the scope : Clearly delineate the boundaries of your research, indicating what will and won't be covered.
• Literature review : Introduce any relevant existing research on your topic, situating your work within the broader academic conversation and highlighting where your research fits in.
• State the research Question(s) or objective(s) : Clearly articulate the primary questions or objectives your research aims to address.
• Outline the study's structure : Give a brief overview of how the subsequent sections of your work will unfold, guiding your readers through the journey ahead.

The introduction should captivate your readers, making them eager to delve deeper into your research journey.

Literature review section

Your study correlates with existing research. Therefore, in the literature review section, you'll engage in a dialogue with existing knowledge, highlighting relevant studies, theories, and findings.

It's here that you identify gaps in the current knowledge, positioning your research as a bridge to new insights.

To streamline this process, consider leveraging AI tools. For example, the SciSpace literature review tool enables you to efficiently explore and delve into research papers, simplifying your literature review journey.

Methodology

In the research methodology section, you’ll detail the tools, techniques, and processes you employed to gather and analyze data. This section will inform the readers about how you approached your research questions and ensures the reproducibility of your study.

Here's a breakdown of what it should encompass:

• Research Design : Describe the overall structure and approach of your research. Are you conducting a qualitative study with in-depth interviews? Or is it a quantitative study using statistical analysis? Perhaps it's a mixed-methods approach?
• Data Collection : Detail the methods you used to gather data. This could include surveys, experiments, observations, interviews, archival research, etc. Mention where you sourced your data, the duration of data collection, and any tools or instruments used.
• Sampling : If applicable, explain how you selected participants or data sources for your study. Discuss the size of your sample and the rationale behind choosing it.
• Data Analysis : Describe the techniques and tools you used to process and analyze the data. This could range from statistical tests in quantitative research to thematic analysis in qualitative research.
• Validity and Reliability : Address the steps you took to ensure the validity and reliability of your findings to ensure that your results are both accurate and consistent.
• Ethical Considerations : Highlight any ethical issues related to your research and the measures you took to address them, including — informed consent, confidentiality, and data storage and protection measures.

Moreover, different research questions necessitate different types of methodologies. For instance:

• Experimental methodology : Often used in sciences, this involves a controlled experiment to discern causality.
• Qualitative methodology : Employed when exploring patterns or phenomena without numerical data. Methods can include interviews, focus groups, or content analysis.
• Quantitative methodology : Concerned with measurable data and often involves statistical analysis. Surveys and structured observations are common tools here.
• Mixed methods : As the name implies, this combines both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

The Methodology section isn’t just about detailing the methods but also justifying why they were chosen. The appropriateness of the methods in addressing your research question can significantly impact the credibility of your findings.

Results (or Findings)

This section presents the outcomes of your research. It's crucial to note that the nature of your results may vary; they could be quantitative, qualitative, or a mix of both.

Quantitative results often present statistical data, showcasing measurable outcomes, and they benefit from tables, graphs, and figures to depict these data points.

Qualitative results , on the other hand, might delve into patterns, themes, or narratives derived from non-numerical data, such as interviews or observations.

Regardless of the nature of your results, clarity is essential. This section is purely about presenting the data without offering interpretations — that comes later in the discussion.

In the discussion section, the raw data transforms into valuable insights.

Start by revisiting your research question and contrast it with the findings. How do your results expand, constrict, or challenge current academic conversations?

Dive into the intricacies of the data, guiding the reader through its implications. Detail potential limitations transparently, signaling your awareness of the research's boundaries. This is where your academic voice should be resonant and confident.

Practical implications (Recommendation) section

Based on the insights derived from your research, this section provides actionable suggestions or proposed solutions.

Whether aimed at industry professionals or the general public, recommendations translate your academic findings into potential real-world actions. They help readers understand the practical implications of your work and how it can be applied to effect change or improvement in a given field.

When crafting recommendations, it's essential to ensure they're feasible and rooted in the evidence provided by your research. They shouldn't merely be aspirational but should offer a clear path forward, grounded in your findings.

The conclusion provides closure to your research narrative.

It's not merely a recap but a synthesis of your main findings and their broader implications. Reconnect with the research questions or hypotheses posited at the beginning, offering clear answers based on your findings.

Reflect on the broader contributions of your study, considering its impact on the academic community and potential real-world applications.

Lastly, the conclusion should leave your readers with a clear understanding of the value and impact of your study.

References (or Bibliography)

Every theory you've expounded upon, every data point you've cited, and every methodological precedent you've followed finds its acknowledgment here.

In references, it's crucial to ensure meticulous consistency in formatting, mirroring the specific guidelines of the chosen citation style .

Proper referencing helps to avoid plagiarism , gives credit to original ideas, and allows readers to explore topics of interest. Moreover, it situates your work within the continuum of academic knowledge.

To properly cite the sources used in the study, you can rely on online citation generator tools  to generate accurate citations!

Here’s more on how you can cite your sources.

Often, the depth of research produces a wealth of material that, while crucial, can make the core content of the thesis cumbersome. The appendix is where you mention extra information that supports your research but isn't central to the main text.

Whether it's raw datasets, detailed procedural methodologies, extended case studies, or any other ancillary material, the appendices ensure that these elements are archived for reference without breaking the main narrative's flow.

For thorough researchers and readers keen on meticulous details, the appendices provide a treasure trove of insights.

Glossary (optional)

In academics, specialized terminologies, and jargon are inevitable. However, not every reader is versed in every term.

The glossary, while optional, is a critical tool for accessibility. It's a bridge ensuring that even readers from outside the discipline can access, understand, and appreciate your work.

By defining complex terms and providing context, you're inviting a wider audience to engage with your research, enhancing its reach and impact.

Remember, while these components provide a structured framework, the essence of your thesis lies in the originality of your ideas, the rigor of your research, and the clarity of your presentation.

As you craft each section, keep your readers in mind, ensuring that your passion and dedication shine through every page.

Thesis examples

To further elucidate the concept of a thesis, here are illustrative examples from various fields:

Example 1 (History): Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807 by Suchait Kahlon.

Example 2 (Climate Dynamics): Influence of external forcings on abrupt millennial-scale climate changes: a statistical modelling study by Takahito Mitsui · Michel Crucifix

Checklist for your thesis evaluation

Evaluating your thesis ensures that your research meets the standards of academia. Here's an elaborate checklist to guide you through this critical process.

Content and structure

• Is the thesis statement clear, concise, and debatable?
• Does the introduction provide sufficient background and context?
• Is the literature review comprehensive, relevant, and well-organized?
• Does the methodology section clearly describe and justify the research methods?
• Are the results/findings presented clearly and logically?
• Does the discussion interpret the results in light of the research question and existing literature?
• Is the conclusion summarizing the research and suggesting future directions or implications?

Clarity and coherence

• Is the writing clear and free of jargon?
• Are ideas and sections logically connected and flowing?
• Is there a clear narrative or argument throughout the thesis?

Research quality

• Is the research question significant and relevant?
• Are the research methods appropriate for the question?
• Is the sample size (if applicable) adequate?
• Are the data analysis techniques appropriate and correctly applied?
• Are potential biases or limitations addressed?

Originality and significance

• Does the thesis contribute new knowledge or insights to the field?
• Is the research grounded in existing literature while offering fresh perspectives?

Formatting and presentation

• Is the thesis formatted according to institutional guidelines?
• Are figures, tables, and charts clear, labeled, and referenced in the text?
• Is the bibliography or reference list complete and consistently formatted?
• Are appendices relevant and appropriately referenced in the main text?

Grammar and language

• Is the thesis free of grammatical and spelling errors?
• Is the language professional, consistent, and appropriate for an academic audience?
• Are quotations and paraphrased material correctly cited?

Feedback and revision

• Have you sought feedback from peers, advisors, or experts in the field?
• Have you addressed the feedback and made the necessary revisions?

Overall assessment

• Does the thesis as a whole feel cohesive and comprehensive?
• Would the thesis be understandable and valuable to someone in your field?

Ensure to use this checklist to leave no ground for doubt or missed information in your thesis.

After writing your thesis, the next step is to discuss and defend your findings verbally in front of a knowledgeable panel. You’ve to be well prepared as your professors may grade your presentation abilities.

Preparing your thesis defense

A thesis defense, also known as "defending the thesis," is the culmination of a scholar's research journey. It's the final frontier, where you’ll present their findings and face scrutiny from a panel of experts.

Typically, the defense involves a public presentation where you’ll have to outline your study, followed by a question-and-answer session with a committee of experts. This committee assesses the validity, originality, and significance of the research.

The defense serves as a rite of passage for scholars. It's an opportunity to showcase expertise, address criticisms, and refine arguments. A successful defense not only validates the research but also establishes your authority as a researcher in your field.

Here’s how you can effectively prepare for your thesis defense .

Now, having touched upon the process of defending a thesis, it's worth noting that scholarly work can take various forms, depending on academic and regional practices.

One such form, often paralleled with the thesis, is the 'dissertation.' But what differentiates the two?

Dissertation vs. Thesis

Often used interchangeably in casual discourse, they refer to distinct research projects undertaken at different levels of higher education.

To the uninitiated, understanding their meaning might be elusive. So, let's demystify these terms and delve into their core differences.

Here's a table differentiating between the two.

Wrapping up

From understanding the foundational concept of a thesis to navigating its various components, differentiating it from a dissertation, and recognizing the importance of proper citation — this guide covers it all.

As scholars and readers, understanding these nuances not only aids in academic pursuits but also fosters a deeper appreciation for the relentless quest for knowledge that drives academia.

It’s important to remember that every thesis is a testament to curiosity, dedication, and the indomitable spirit of discovery.

Good luck with your thesis writing!

Frequently Asked Questions

A thesis typically ranges between 40-80 pages, but its length can vary based on the research topic, institution guidelines, and level of study.

A PhD thesis usually spans 200-300 pages, though this can vary based on the discipline, complexity of the research, and institutional requirements.

To identify a thesis topic, consider current trends in your field, gaps in existing literature, personal interests, and discussions with advisors or mentors. Additionally, reviewing related journals and conference proceedings can provide insights into potential areas of exploration.

The conceptual framework is often situated in the literature review or theoretical framework section of a thesis. It helps set the stage by providing the context, defining key concepts, and explaining the relationships between variables.

A thesis statement should be concise, clear, and specific. It should state the main argument or point of your research. Start by pinpointing the central question or issue your research addresses, then condense that into a single statement, ensuring it reflects the essence of your paper.

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Home » Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Table of contents.

Definition:

Thesis is a scholarly document that presents a student’s original research and findings on a particular topic or question. It is usually written as a requirement for a graduate degree program and is intended to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and their ability to conduct independent research.

History of Thesis

The concept of a thesis can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject. However, the modern form of the thesis as a scholarly document used to earn a degree is a relatively recent development.

The origin of the modern thesis can be traced back to medieval universities in Europe. During this time, students were required to present a “disputation” in which they would defend a particular thesis in front of their peers and faculty members. These disputations served as a way to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and were often the final requirement for earning a degree.

In the 17th century, the concept of the thesis was formalized further with the creation of the modern research university. Students were now required to complete a research project and present their findings in a written document, which would serve as the basis for their degree.

The modern thesis as we know it today has evolved over time, with different disciplines and institutions adopting their own standards and formats. However, the basic elements of a thesis – original research, a clear research question, a thorough review of the literature, and a well-argued conclusion – remain the same.

Structure of Thesis

The structure of a thesis may vary slightly depending on the specific requirements of the institution, department, or field of study, but generally, it follows a specific format.

Here’s a breakdown of the structure of a thesis:

This is the first page of the thesis that includes the title of the thesis, the name of the author, the name of the institution, the department, the date, and any other relevant information required by the institution.

This is a brief summary of the thesis that provides an overview of the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions.

This page provides a list of all the chapters and sections in the thesis and their page numbers.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the research question, the context of the research, and the purpose of the study. The introduction should also outline the methodology and the scope of the research.

Literature Review

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the relevant literature on the research topic. It should demonstrate the gap in the existing knowledge and justify the need for the research.

Methodology

This chapter provides a detailed description of the research methods used to gather and analyze data. It should explain the research design, the sampling method, data collection techniques, and data analysis procedures.

This chapter presents the findings of the research. It should include tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate the results.

This chapter interprets the results and relates them to the research question. It should explain the significance of the findings and their implications for the research topic.

This chapter summarizes the key findings and the main conclusions of the research. It should also provide recommendations for future research.

This section provides a list of all the sources cited in the thesis. The citation style may vary depending on the requirements of the institution or the field of study.

This section includes any additional material that supports the research, such as raw data, survey questionnaires, or other relevant documents.

How to write Thesis

Here are some steps to help you write a thesis:

• Choose a Topic: The first step in writing a thesis is to choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. You should also consider the scope of the topic and the availability of resources for research.
• Develop a Research Question: Once you have chosen a topic, you need to develop a research question that you will answer in your thesis. The research question should be specific, clear, and feasible.
• Conduct a Literature Review: Before you start your research, you need to conduct a literature review to identify the existing knowledge and gaps in the field. This will help you refine your research question and develop a research methodology.
• Develop a Research Methodology: Once you have refined your research question, you need to develop a research methodology that includes the research design, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.
• Collect and Analyze Data: After developing your research methodology, you need to collect and analyze data. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, or analyzing existing data.
• Write the Thesis: Once you have analyzed the data, you need to write the thesis. The thesis should follow a specific structure that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.
• Edit and Proofread: After completing the thesis, you need to edit and proofread it carefully. You should also have someone else review it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.
• Submit the Thesis: Finally, you need to submit the thesis to your academic advisor or committee for review and evaluation.

Example of Thesis

Example of Thesis template for Students:

Title of Thesis

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

References:

Appendices:

Note: That’s just a basic template, but it should give you an idea of the structure and content that a typical thesis might include. Be sure to consult with your department or supervisor for any specific formatting requirements they may have. Good luck with your thesis!

Application of Thesis

Thesis is an important academic document that serves several purposes. Here are some of the applications of thesis:

• Academic Requirement: A thesis is a requirement for many academic programs, especially at the graduate level. It is an essential component of the evaluation process and demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct original research and contribute to the knowledge in their field.
• Career Advancement: A thesis can also help in career advancement. Employers often value candidates who have completed a thesis as it demonstrates their research skills, critical thinking abilities, and their dedication to their field of study.
• Publication : A thesis can serve as a basis for future publications in academic journals, books, or conference proceedings. It provides the researcher with an opportunity to present their research to a wider audience and contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
• Personal Development: Writing a thesis is a challenging task that requires time, dedication, and perseverance. It provides the student with an opportunity to develop critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are essential for their personal and professional development.
• Impact on Society: The findings of a thesis can have an impact on society by addressing important issues, providing insights into complex problems, and contributing to the development of policies and practices.

Purpose of Thesis

The purpose of a thesis is to present original research findings in a clear and organized manner. It is a formal document that demonstrates a student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. The primary purposes of a thesis are:

• To Contribute to Knowledge: The main purpose of a thesis is to contribute to the knowledge in a particular field of study. By conducting original research and presenting their findings, the student adds new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• To Demonstrate Research Skills: A thesis is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their research skills. This includes the ability to formulate a research question, design a research methodology, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• To Develop Critical Thinking: Writing a thesis requires critical thinking and analysis. The student must evaluate existing literature and identify gaps in the field, as well as develop and defend their own ideas.
• To Provide Evidence of Competence : A thesis provides evidence of the student’s competence in their field of study. It demonstrates their ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems, and their ability to communicate their ideas effectively.
• To Facilitate Career Advancement : Completing a thesis can help the student advance their career by demonstrating their research skills and dedication to their field of study. It can also provide a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.

When to Write Thesis

The timing for writing a thesis depends on the specific requirements of the academic program or institution. In most cases, the opportunity to write a thesis is typically offered at the graduate level, but there may be exceptions.

Generally, students should plan to write their thesis during the final year of their graduate program. This allows sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis. It is important to start planning the thesis early and to identify a research topic and research advisor as soon as possible.

In some cases, students may be able to write a thesis as part of an undergraduate program or as an independent research project outside of an academic program. In such cases, it is important to consult with faculty advisors or mentors to ensure that the research is appropriately designed and executed.

It is important to note that the process of writing a thesis can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of effort and dedication. It is important to plan accordingly and to allocate sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis.

Characteristics of Thesis

The characteristics of a thesis vary depending on the specific academic program or institution. However, some general characteristics of a thesis include:

• Originality : A thesis should present original research findings or insights. It should demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study.
• Clarity : A thesis should be clear and concise. It should present the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions in a logical and organized manner. It should also be well-written, with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Research-Based: A thesis should be based on rigorous research, which involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources. The research should be well-designed, with appropriate research methods and techniques.
• Evidence-Based : A thesis should be based on evidence, which means that all claims made in the thesis should be supported by data or literature. The evidence should be properly cited using appropriate citation styles.
• Critical Thinking: A thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically analyze and evaluate information. It should present the student’s own ideas and arguments, and engage with existing literature in the field.
• Academic Style : A thesis should adhere to the conventions of academic writing. It should be well-structured, with clear headings and subheadings, and should use appropriate academic language.

Advantages of Thesis

There are several advantages to writing a thesis, including:

• Development of Research Skills: Writing a thesis requires extensive research and analytical skills. It helps to develop the student’s research skills, including the ability to formulate research questions, design and execute research methodologies, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Contribution to Knowledge: Writing a thesis provides an opportunity for the student to contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. By conducting original research, they can add new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
• Preparation for Future Research: Completing a thesis prepares the student for future research projects. It provides them with the necessary skills to design and execute research methodologies, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
• Career Advancement: Writing a thesis can help to advance the student’s career. It demonstrates their research skills and dedication to their field of study, and provides a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.
• Personal Growth: Completing a thesis can be a challenging and rewarding experience. It requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It can help the student to develop self-confidence, independence, and a sense of accomplishment.

Limitations of Thesis

There are also some limitations to writing a thesis, including:

• Time and Resources: Writing a thesis requires a significant amount of time and resources. It can be a time-consuming and expensive process, as it may involve conducting original research, analyzing data, and producing a lengthy document.
• Narrow Focus: A thesis is typically focused on a specific research question or topic, which may limit the student’s exposure to other areas within their field of study.
• Limited Audience: A thesis is usually only read by a small number of people, such as the student’s thesis advisor and committee members. This limits the potential impact of the research findings.
• Lack of Real-World Application : Some thesis topics may be highly theoretical or academic in nature, which may limit their practical application in the real world.
• Pressure and Stress : Writing a thesis can be a stressful and pressure-filled experience, as it may involve meeting strict deadlines, conducting original research, and producing a high-quality document.
• Potential for Isolation: Writing a thesis can be a solitary experience, as the student may spend a significant amount of time working independently on their research and writing.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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• Translation

Writing the Significance of a Study

By charlesworth author services.

• Charlesworth Author Services
• 20 July, 2022

The significance of a study is its importance . It refers to the contribution(s) to and impact of the study on a research field. The significance also signals who benefits from the research findings and how.

Purpose of writing the significance of a study

A study’s significance should spark the interest of the reader. Researchers will be able to appreciate your work better when they understand the relevance and its (potential) impact. Peer reviewers also assess the significance of the work, which will influence the decision made (acceptance/rejection) on the manuscript. 

Sections in which the significance of the study is written

Introduction.

In the Introduction of your paper, the significance appears where you talk about the potential importance and impact of the study. It should flow naturally from the problem , aims and objectives, and rationale .

The significance is described in more detail in the concluding paragraph(s) of the Discussion or the dedicated Conclusions section. Here, you put the findings into perspective and outline the contributions of the findings in terms of implications and applications.

The significance may or may not appear in the abstract . When it does, it is written in the concluding lines of the abstract.

Significance vs. other introductory elements of your paper

In the Introduction…

• The problem statement outlines the concern that needs to be addressed.
• The research aim describes the purpose of the study.
• The objectives indicate how that aim will be achieved.
• The rationale explains why you are performing the study.
• The significance tells the reader how the findings affect the topic/broad field. In other words, the significance is about how much the findings matter.

How to write the significance of the study

A good significance statement may be written in different ways. The approach to writing it also depends on the study area. In the arts and humanities , the significance statement might be longer and more descriptive. In applied sciences , it might be more direct.

a. Suggested sequence for writing the significance statement

• Think of the gaps your study is setting out to address.
• Look at your research from general and specific angles in terms of its (potential) contribution .
• Once you have these points ready, start writing them, connecting them to your study as a whole.

b. Some ways to begin your statement(s) of significance

Here are some opening lines to build on:

• The particular significance of this study lies in the… 
• We argue that this study moves the field forward because…
• This study makes some important contributions to…
• Our findings deepen the current understanding about…

c. Don’ts of writing a significance statement

• Don’t make it too long .
• Don’t repeat any information that has been presented in other sections.
• Don’t overstate or exaggerat e the importance; it should match your actual findings.

Example of significance of a study

Note the significance statements highlighted in the following fictional study.

Significance in the Introduction

The effects of Miyawaki forests on local biodiversity in urban housing complexes remain poorly understood. No formal studies on negative impacts on insect activity, populations or diversity have been undertaken thus far. In this study, we compared the effects that Miyawaki forests in urban dwellings have on local pollinator activity. The findings of this study will help improve the design of this afforestation technique in a way that balances local fauna, particularly pollinators, which are highly sensitive to microclimatic changes.

Significance in the Conclusion

[…] The findings provide valuable insights for guiding and informing Miyawaki afforestation in urban dwellings. We demonstrate that urban planning and landscaping policies need to consider potential declines.

A study’s significance usually appears at the end of the Introduction and in the Conclusion to describe the importance of the research findings. A strong and clear significance statement will pique the interest of readers, as well as that of relevant stakeholders.

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How To Write a Significance Statement for Your Research

A significance statement is an essential part of a research paper. It explains the importance and relevance of the study to the academic community and the world at large. To write a compelling significance statement, identify the research problem, explain why it is significant, provide evidence of its importance, and highlight its potential impact on future research, policy, or practice. A well-crafted significance statement should effectively communicate the value of the research to readers and help them understand why it matters.

Updated on May 4, 2023

A significance statement is a clearly stated, non-technical paragraph that explains why your research matters. It’s central in making the public aware of and gaining support for your research.

Write it in jargon-free language that a reader from any field can understand. Well-crafted, easily readable significance statements can improve your chances for citation and impact and make it easier for readers outside your field to find and understand your work.

Read on for more details on what a significance statement is, how it can enhance the impact of your research, and, of course, how to write one.

What is a significance statement in research?

A significance statement answers the question: How will your research advance scientific knowledge and impact society at large (as well as specific populations)? 

You might also see it called a “Significance of the study” statement. Some professional organizations in the STEM sciences and social sciences now recommended that journals in their disciplines make such statements a standard feature of each published article. Funding agencies also consider “significance” a key criterion for their awards.

Read some examples of significance statements from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) here .

Depending upon the specific journal or funding agency’s requirements, your statement may be around 100 words and answer these questions:

1. What’s the purpose of this research?

2. What are its key findings?

3. Why do they matter?

4. Who benefits from the research results?

Readers will want to know: “What is interesting or important about this research?” Keep asking yourself that question.

Where to place the significance statement in your manuscript

Most journals ask you to place the significance statement before or after the abstract, so check with each journal’s guide. 

This article is focused on the formal significance statement, even though you’ll naturally highlight your project’s significance elsewhere in your manuscript. (In the introduction, you’ll set out your research aims, and in the conclusion, you’ll explain the potential applications of your research and recommend areas for future research. You’re building an overall case for the value of your work.)

Developing the significance statement

The main steps in planning and developing your statement are to assess the gaps to which your study contributes, and then define your work’s implications and impact.

Identify what gaps your study fills and what it contributes

Your literature review was a big part of how you planned your study. To develop your research aims and objectives, you identified gaps or unanswered questions in the preceding research and designed your study to address them.

Go back to that lit review and look at those gaps again. Review your research proposal to refresh your memory. Ask:

• How have my research findings advanced knowledge or provided notable new insights?
• How has my research helped to prove (or disprove) a hypothesis or answer a research question?
• Why are those results important?

Consider your study’s potential impact at two levels: 

• What contribution does my research make to my field?
• How does it specifically contribute to knowledge; that is, who will benefit the most from it?

Define the implications and potential impact

As you make notes, keep the reasons in mind for why you are writing this statement. Whom will it impact, and why?

The first audience for your significance statement will be journal reviewers when you submit your article for publishing. Many journals require one for manuscript submissions. Study the author’s guide of your desired journal to see its criteria ( here’s an example ). Peer reviewers who can clearly understand the value of your research will be more likely to recommend publication. 

Second, when you apply for funding, your significance statement will help justify why your research deserves a grant from a funding agency . The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example, wants to see that a project will “exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved.” Clear, simple language is always valuable because not all reviewers will be specialists in your field.

Third, this concise statement about your study’s importance can affect how potential readers engage with your work. Science journalists and interested readers can promote and spread your work, enhancing your reputation and influence. Help them understand your work.

You’re now ready to express the importance of your research clearly and concisely. Time to start writing.

How to write a significance statement: Key elements 

When drafting your statement, focus on both the content and writing style.

• In terms of content, emphasize the importance, timeliness, and relevance of your research results. 
• Write the statement in plain, clear language rather than scientific or technical jargon. Your audience will include not just your fellow scientists but also non-specialists like journalists, funding reviewers, and members of the public. 

Follow the process we outline below to build a solid, well-crafted, and informative statement. 

Get started

Some suggested opening lines to help you get started might be:

• The implications of this study are… 
• Building upon previous contributions, our study moves the field forward because…
• Our study furthers previous understanding about…

Alternatively, you may start with a statement about the phenomenon you’re studying, leading to the problem statement.

Include these components

Next, draft some sentences that include the following elements. A good example, which we’ll use here, is a significance statement by Rogers et al. (2022) published in the Journal of Climate .

1. Briefly situate your research study in its larger context . Start by introducing the topic, leading to a problem statement. Here’s an example:

‘Heatwaves pose a major threat to human health, ecosystems, and human systems.”

2. State the research problem.

“Simultaneous heatwaves affecting multiple regions can exacerbate such threats. For example, multiple food-producing regions simultaneously undergoing heat-related crop damage could drive global food shortages.”

3. Tell what your study does to address it.

“We assess recent changes in the occurrence of simultaneous large heatwaves.”

4. Provide brief but powerful evidence to support the claims your statement is making , Use quantifiable terms rather than vague ones (e.g., instead of “This phenomenon is happening now more than ever,” see below how Rogers et al. (2022) explained it). This evidence intensifies and illustrates the problem more vividly:

“Such simultaneous heatwaves are 7 times more likely now than 40 years ago. They are also hotter and affect a larger area. Their increasing occurrence is mainly driven by warming baseline temperatures due to global heating, but changes in weather patterns contribute to disproportionate increases over parts of Europe, the eastern United States, and Asia.

5. Relate your study’s impact to the broader context , starting with its general significance to society—then, when possible, move to the particular as you name specific applications of your research findings. (Our example lacks this second level of application.) 

“Better understanding the drivers of weather pattern changes is therefore important for understanding future concurrent heatwave characteristics and their impacts.”

Refine your English

Don’t understate or overstate your findings – just make clear what your study contributes. When you have all the elements in place, review your draft to simplify and polish your language. Even better, get an expert AJE edit . Be sure to use “plain” language rather than academic jargon.

• Avoid acronyms, scientific jargon, and technical terms 
• Use active verbs in your sentence structure rather than passive voice (e.g., instead of “It was found that...”, use “We found...”)
• Make sentence structures short, easy to understand – readable
• Try to address only one idea in each sentence and keep sentences within 25 words (15 words is even better)
• Eliminate nonessential words and phrases (“fluff” and wordiness)

Enhance your significance statement’s impact

Always take time to review your draft multiple times. Make sure that you:

• Keep your language focused
• Provide evidence to support your claims
• Relate the significance to the broader research context in your field

After revising your significance statement, request feedback from a reading mentor about how to make it even clearer. If you’re not a native English speaker, seek help from a native-English-speaking colleague or use an editing service like AJE to make sure your work is at a native level.

Understanding the significance of your study

Your readers may have much less interest than you do in the specific details of your research methods and measures. Many readers will scan your article to learn how your findings might apply to them and their own research. 

Different types of significance

Your findings may have different types of significance, relevant to different populations or fields of study for different reasons. You can emphasize your work’s statistical, clinical, or practical significance. Editors or reviewers in the social sciences might also evaluate your work’s social or political significance.

Statistical significance means that the results are unlikely to have occurred randomly. Instead, it implies a true cause-and-effect relationship.

Clinical significance means that your findings are applicable for treating patients and improving quality of life.

Practical significance is when your research outcomes are meaningful to society at large, in the “real world.” Practical significance is usually measured by the study’s  effect size . Similarly, evaluators may attribute social or political significance to research that addresses “real and immediate” social problems.

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How to Write the Rationale of the Study in Research (Examples)

What is the Rationale of the Study?

The rationale of the study is the justification for taking on a given study. It explains the reason the study was conducted or should be conducted. This means the study rationale should explain to the reader or examiner why the study is/was necessary. It is also sometimes called the “purpose” or “justification” of a study. While this is not difficult to grasp in itself, you might wonder how the rationale of the study is different from your research question or from the statement of the problem of your study, and how it fits into the rest of your thesis or research paper. 

The rationale of the study links the background of the study to your specific research question and justifies the need for the latter on the basis of the former. In brief, you first provide and discuss existing data on the topic, and then you tell the reader, based on the background evidence you just presented, where you identified gaps or issues and why you think it is important to address those. The problem statement, lastly, is the formulation of the specific research question you choose to investigate, following logically from your rationale, and the approach you are planning to use to do that.

Table of Contents:

How to write a rationale for a research paper , how do you justify the need for a research study.

• Study Rationale Example: Where Does It Go In Your Paper?

The basis for writing a research rationale is preliminary data or a clear description of an observation. If you are doing basic/theoretical research, then a literature review will help you identify gaps in current knowledge. In applied/practical research, you base your rationale on an existing issue with a certain process (e.g., vaccine proof registration) or practice (e.g., patient treatment) that is well documented and needs to be addressed. By presenting the reader with earlier evidence or observations, you can (and have to) convince them that you are not just repeating what other people have already done or said and that your ideas are not coming out of thin air. 

Once you have explained where you are coming from, you should justify the need for doing additional research–this is essentially the rationale of your study. Finally, when you have convinced the reader of the purpose of your work, you can end your introduction section with the statement of the problem of your research that contains clear aims and objectives and also briefly describes (and justifies) your methodological approach. 

When is the Rationale for Research Written?

The author can present the study rationale both before and after the research is conducted. 

• Before conducting research : The study rationale is a central component of the research proposal . It represents the plan of your work, constructed before the study is actually executed.
• Once research has been conducted : After the study is completed, the rationale is presented in a research article or  PhD dissertation  to explain why you focused on this specific research question. When writing the study rationale for this purpose, the author should link the rationale of the research to the aims and outcomes of the study.

What to Include in the Study Rationale

Although every study rationale is different and discusses different specific elements of a study’s method or approach, there are some elements that should be included to write a good rationale. Make sure to touch on the following:

• A summary of conclusions from your review of the relevant literature
• What is currently unknown (gaps in knowledge)
• Inconclusive or contested results  from previous studies on the same or similar topic
• The necessity to improve or build on previous research, such as to improve methodology or utilize newer techniques and/or technologies

There are different types of limitations that you can use to justify the need for your study. In applied/practical research, the justification for investigating something is always that an existing process/practice has a problem or is not satisfactory. Let’s say, for example, that people in a certain country/city/community commonly complain about hospital care on weekends (not enough staff, not enough attention, no decisions being made), but you looked into it and realized that nobody ever investigated whether these perceived problems are actually based on objective shortages/non-availabilities of care or whether the lower numbers of patients who are treated during weekends are commensurate with the provided services.

In this case, “lack of data” is your justification for digging deeper into the problem. Or, if it is obvious that there is a shortage of staff and provided services on weekends, you could decide to investigate which of the usual procedures are skipped during weekends as a result and what the negative consequences are. 

In basic/theoretical research, lack of knowledge is of course a common and accepted justification for additional research—but make sure that it is not your only motivation. “Nobody has ever done this” is only a convincing reason for a study if you explain to the reader why you think we should know more about this specific phenomenon. If there is earlier research but you think it has limitations, then those can usually be classified into “methodological”, “contextual”, and “conceptual” limitations. To identify such limitations, you can ask specific questions and let those questions guide you when you explain to the reader why your study was necessary:

Methodological limitations

• Did earlier studies try but failed to measure/identify a specific phenomenon?
• Was earlier research based on incorrect conceptualizations of variables?
• Were earlier studies based on questionable operationalizations of key concepts?
• Did earlier studies use questionable or inappropriate research designs?

Contextual limitations

• Have recent changes in the studied problem made previous studies irrelevant?
• Are you studying a new/particular context that previous findings do not apply to?

Conceptual limitations

• Do previous findings only make sense within a specific framework or ideology?

Study Rationale Examples

Let’s look at an example from one of our earlier articles on the statement of the problem to clarify how your rationale fits into your introduction section. This is a very short introduction for a practical research study on the challenges of online learning. Your introduction might be much longer (especially the context/background section), and this example does not contain any sources (which you will have to provide for all claims you make and all earlier studies you cite)—but please pay attention to how the background presentation , rationale, and problem statement blend into each other in a logical way so that the reader can follow and has no reason to question your motivation or the foundation of your research.

Background presentation

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, most educational institutions around the world have transitioned to a fully online study model, at least during peak times of infections and social distancing measures. This transition has not been easy and even two years into the pandemic, problems with online teaching and studying persist (reference needed) . 

While the increasing gap between those with access to technology and equipment and those without access has been determined to be one of the main challenges (reference needed) , others claim that online learning offers more opportunities for many students by breaking down barriers of location and distance (reference needed) .  

Rationale of the study

Since teachers and students cannot wait for circumstances to go back to normal, the measures that schools and universities have implemented during the last two years, their advantages and disadvantages, and the impact of those measures on students’ progress, satisfaction, and well-being need to be understood so that improvements can be made and demographics that have been left behind can receive the support they need as soon as possible.

Statement of the problem

To identify what changes in the learning environment were considered the most challenging and how those changes relate to a variety of student outcome measures, we conducted surveys and interviews among teachers and students at ten institutions of higher education in four different major cities, two in the US (New York and Chicago), one in South Korea (Seoul), and one in the UK (London). Responses were analyzed with a focus on different student demographics and how they might have been affected differently by the current situation.

How long is a study rationale?

In a research article bound for journal publication, your rationale should not be longer than a few sentences (no longer than one brief paragraph). A  dissertation or thesis  usually allows for a longer description; depending on the length and nature of your document, this could be up to a couple of paragraphs in length. A completely novel or unconventional approach might warrant a longer and more detailed justification than an approach that slightly deviates from well-established methods and approaches.

Consider Using Professional Academic Editing Services

Now that you know how to write the rationale of the study for a research proposal or paper, you should make use of Wordvice AI’s free AI Grammar Checker , or receive professional academic proofreading services from Wordvice, including research paper editing services and manuscript editing services to polish your submitted research documents.

You can also find many more articles, for example on writing the other parts of your research paper , on choosing a title , or on making sure you understand and adhere to the author instructions before you submit to a journal, on the Wordvice academic resources pages.

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• Dissertation

How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction

Published on September 7, 2022 by Tegan George and Shona McCombes. Revised on November 21, 2023.

The introduction is the first section of your thesis or dissertation , appearing right after the table of contents . Your introduction draws your reader in, setting the stage for your research with a clear focus, purpose, and direction on a relevant topic .

Your introduction should include:

• Your topic, in context: what does your reader need to know to understand your thesis dissertation?
• Your focus and scope: what specific aspect of the topic will you address?
• The relevance of your research: how does your work fit into existing studies on your topic?
• Your questions and objectives: what does your research aim to find out, and how?
• An overview of your structure: what does each section contribute to the overall aim?

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Table of contents

How to start your introduction, topic and context, focus and scope, relevance and importance, questions and objectives, overview of the structure, thesis introduction example, introduction checklist, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about introductions.

Although your introduction kicks off your dissertation, it doesn’t have to be the first thing you write — in fact, it’s often one of the very last parts to be completed (just before your abstract ).

It’s a good idea to write a rough draft of your introduction as you begin your research, to help guide you. If you wrote a research proposal , consider using this as a template, as it contains many of the same elements. However, be sure to revise your introduction throughout the writing process, making sure it matches the content of your ensuing sections.

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Begin by introducing your dissertation topic and giving any necessary background information. It’s important to contextualize your research and generate interest. Aim to show why your topic is timely or important. You may want to mention a relevant news item, academic debate, or practical problem.

After a brief introduction to your general area of interest, narrow your focus and define the scope of your research.

You can narrow this down in many ways, such as by:

• Geographical area
• Time period
• Demographics or communities
• Themes or aspects of the topic

It’s essential to share your motivation for doing this research, as well as how it relates to existing work on your topic. Further, you should also mention what new insights you expect it will contribute.

Start by giving a brief overview of the current state of research. You should definitely cite the most relevant literature, but remember that you will conduct a more in-depth survey of relevant sources in the literature review section, so there’s no need to go too in-depth in the introduction.

Depending on your field, the importance of your research might focus on its practical application (e.g., in policy or management) or on advancing scholarly understanding of the topic (e.g., by developing theories or adding new empirical data). In many cases, it will do both.

Ultimately, your introduction should explain how your thesis or dissertation:

• Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Builds on existing research
• Proposes a new understanding of your topic

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Perhaps the most important part of your introduction is your questions and objectives, as it sets up the expectations for the rest of your thesis or dissertation. How you formulate your research questions and research objectives will depend on your discipline, topic, and focus, but you should always clearly state the central aim of your research.

If your research aims to test hypotheses , you can formulate them here. Your introduction is also a good place for a conceptual framework that suggests relationships between variables .

• Conduct surveys to collect data on students’ levels of knowledge, understanding, and positive/negative perceptions of government policy.
• Determine whether attitudes to climate policy are associated with variables such as age, gender, region, and social class.
• Conduct interviews to gain qualitative insights into students’ perspectives and actions in relation to climate policy.

To help guide your reader, end your introduction with an outline  of the structure of the thesis or dissertation to follow. Share a brief summary of each chapter, clearly showing how each contributes to your central aims. However, be careful to keep this overview concise: 1-2 sentences should be enough.

I. Introduction

Human language consists of a set of vowels and consonants which are combined to form words. During the speech production process, thoughts are converted into spoken utterances to convey a message. The appropriate words and their meanings are selected in the mental lexicon (Dell & Burger, 1997). This pre-verbal message is then grammatically coded, during which a syntactic representation of the utterance is built.

Speech, language, and voice disorders affect the vocal cords, nerves, muscles, and brain structures, which result in a distorted language reception or speech production (Sataloff & Hawkshaw, 2014). The symptoms vary from adding superfluous words and taking pauses to hoarseness of the voice, depending on the type of disorder (Dodd, 2005). However, distortions of the speech may also occur as a result of a disease that seems unrelated to speech, such as multiple sclerosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This study aims to determine which acoustic parameters are suitable for the automatic detection of exacerbations in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by investigating which aspects of speech differ between COPD patients and healthy speakers and which aspects differ between COPD patients in exacerbation and stable COPD patients.

Checklist: Introduction

I have introduced my research topic in an engaging way.

I have provided necessary context to help the reader understand my topic.

I have clearly specified the focus of my research.

I have shown the relevance and importance of the dissertation topic .

I have clearly stated the problem or question that my research addresses.

I have outlined the specific objectives of the research .

I have provided an overview of the dissertation’s structure .

You've written a strong introduction for your thesis or dissertation. Use the other checklists to continue improving your dissertation.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

• A hook to catch the reader’s interest
• Relevant background on the topic
• Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

• A thesis statement or research question
• Sometimes an overview of the paper

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

Research objectives describe what you intend your research project to accomplish.

They summarize the approach and purpose of the project and help to focus your research.

Your objectives should appear in the introduction of your research paper , at the end of your problem statement .

Scope of research is determined at the beginning of your research process , prior to the data collection stage. Sometimes called “scope of study,” your scope delineates what will and will not be covered in your project. It helps you focus your work and your time, ensuring that you’ll be able to achieve your goals and outcomes.

Defining a scope can be very useful in any research project, from a research proposal to a thesis or dissertation . A scope is needed for all types of research: quantitative , qualitative , and mixed methods .

To define your scope of research, consider the following:

• Budget constraints or any specifics of grant funding
• Your proposed timeline and duration
• Specifics about your population of study, your proposed sample size , and the research methodology you’ll pursue
• Any inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Any anticipated control , extraneous , or confounding variables that could bias your research if not accounted for properly.

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How to Write the Scope of the Study

• By DiscoverPhDs
• August 26, 2020

What is the Scope of the Study?

The scope of the study refers to the boundaries within which your research project will be performed; this is sometimes also called the scope of research. To define the scope of the study is to define all aspects that will be considered in your research project. It is also just as important to make clear what aspects will not be covered; i.e. what is outside of the scope of the study.

Why is the Scope of the Study Important?

The scope of the study is always considered and agreed upon in the early stages of the project, before any data collection or experimental work has started. This is important because it focuses the work of the proposed study down to what is practically achievable within a given timeframe.

A well-defined research or study scope enables a researcher to give clarity to the study outcomes that are to be investigated. It makes clear why specific data points have been collected whilst others have been excluded.

Without this, it is difficult to define an end point for a research project since no limits have been defined on the work that could take place. Similarly, it can also make the approach to answering a research question too open ended.

How do you Write the Scope of the Study?

In order to write the scope of the study that you plan to perform, you must be clear on the research parameters that you will and won’t consider. These parameters usually consist of the sample size, the duration, inclusion and exclusion criteria, the methodology and any geographical or monetary constraints.

Each of these parameters will have limits placed on them so that the study can practically be performed, and the results interpreted relative to the limitations that have been defined. These parameters will also help to shape the direction of each research question you consider.

The term limitations’ is often used together with the scope of the study to describe the constraints of any parameters that are considered and also to clarify which parameters have not been considered at all. Make sure you get the balance right here between not making the scope too broad and unachievable, and it not being too restrictive, resulting in a lack of useful data.

The sample size is a commonly used parameter in the definition of the research scope. For example, a research project involving human participants may define at the start of the study that 100 participants will be recruited. This number will be determined based on an understanding of the difficulty in recruiting participants to studies and an agreement of an acceptable period of time in which to recruit this number.

Any results that are obtained by the research group can then be interpreted by others with the knowledge that the study was capped to 100 participants and an acceptance of this as a limitation of the study. In other words, it is acknowledged that recruiting 100 rather than 1,000 participants has limited the amount of data that could be collected, however this is an acceptable limitation due to the known difficulties in recruiting so many participants (e.g. the significant period of time it would take and the costs associated with this).

Example of a Scope of the Study

The follow is a (hypothetical) example of the definition of the scope of the study, with the research question investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.

Whilst the immediate negative health problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been well documented, the impact of the virus on the mental health (MH) of young adults (age 18-24 years) is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to report on MH changes in population group due to the pandemic.

The scope of the study is limited to recruiting 100 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 24 who will be contacted using their university email accounts. This recruitment period will last for a maximum of 2 months and will end when either 100 volunteers have been recruited or 2 months have passed. Each volunteer to the study will be asked to complete a short questionnaire in order to evaluate any changes in their MH.

From this example we can immediately see that the scope of the study has placed a constraint on the sample size to be used and/or the time frame for recruitment of volunteers. It has also introduced a limitation by only opening recruitment to people that have university emails; i.e. anyone that does not attend university will be excluded from this study.

This may be an important factor when interpreting the results of this study; the comparison of MH during the pandemic between those that do and do not attend university, is therefore outside the scope of the study here. We are also told that the methodology used to assess any changes in MH are via a questionnaire. This is a clear definition of how the outcome measure will be investigated and any other methods are not within the scope of research and their exclusion may be a limitation of the study.

The scope of the study is important to define as it enables a researcher to focus their research to within achievable parameters.

Learning how to effectively collaborate with others is an important skill for anyone in academia to develop.

A thesis and dissertation appendix contains additional information which supports your main arguments. Find out what they should include and how to format them.

A concept paper is a short document written by a researcher before starting their research project, explaining what the study is about, why it is needed and the methods that will be used.

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Importance of a Thesis Statement

• By Mackenzie Tabler in Uncategorized

Starting college can be extremely scary with all of the new concepts being thrown at you. It is a whole new way of living and the work can be very different. Writing is crucial to many college classes. Unlike high school level writing, college level writing can be a bit more thorough. Professors tend to look for key elements in your essays. One of the most essential parts to any essay is the thesis statement. Learning how to form a thesis statement is very important. A thesis statement is an imperative trait to form a strong essay. Normally one or two sentences, a thesis unifies and provides direction for a piece of writing.

There are two main reasons why thesis statements are so important for an essay.

• First, the writer develops a thesis to create a focus on an essay’s main idea. It is important for the writer to be able to write the main idea in a few sentences to create a clear idea for the paper. Not only does the thesis guide the reader, but also the writer. The thesis provides direction to help the writer keep their paper organized.
• Second, having a well-crafted thesis statement helps the reader understand the main idea of the essay. The thesis statement sets the reader up for the rest of the essay. Usually at the end of the introduction paragraph, the thesis leads into the body paragraph, which provides evidence and ideas to back up the thesis. The thesis statement is important because it tells the audience what they will be reading about.

Because thesis statements are essential in any essay, it is important for writers to understand what makes up a solid thesis. As the basis of an essay, a thesis must support three things: audience, purpose, and content. This basically just means answer who, why, and what in your thesis. Who are you writing this thesis for? Be sure to identify the audience to clarify who your paper is for. Why are you writing this thesis? Establish a purpose to ensure that the reader knows the direction of your paper. What will be included in this thesis? Determine the key points of your essay and include them in your thesis.

Here is a comparison to help you understand the importance: The role of a thesis statement is like the role of the sun in the solar system. Just as the planets orbit the sun in the solar system, the different parts of an essay orbit the thesis statement. The planets feed off of the sun, just like the body paragraphs and conclusion feed off of the thesis.

Your audience should be able to easily find the thesis in your essay. The thesis statement should be clear and concise so the reader can identify it and efficiently understand the meaning of the paper. If someone can’t find the thesis in your essay, go back and make sure that you created a meaningful and well-understood thesis.

All styles of writing are different, but a strong thesis is something that they all share.

Mackenzie Tabler

© 2024 Writing Right.

Made with by Graphene Themes .

Writing Thesis Significance of the Study

Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study

• Statement of the problem will guide you to write a significance of the study.  Based on your statement of the problem you will see the potential benefits of your study. Just answer this question, “What are the benefits or advantages of the study based on statement of the problem?”
• Determine the specific contribution of your thesis study to the society as well as to the individual

Below is an example of significance of the study of thesis entitled, “Development of a Source Material in Food Dehydration Craft Technology for the Secondary Schools” by Mary Rose Florence S. Cobar.

Significance of the Study  

     The study of dehydration technology and fabrication can be a learning paradigm in the secondary level and vocational schools to enhance the students’ knowledge and entrepreneurial skills as well. The project’s goal is designed to help students improve academic competence, develop employability skills, implement a career plan and participate in a career pathway in preparation for post secondary education or careers in the food manufacturing or services sector after graduating from high school.

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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A transcendental phenomenological study of factors that contribute to first-generation minority college students' motivation in bachelor's degree attainment.

Garry Anthony Mebane , Liberty University Follow

School of Education

Doctor of Philosophy

Sharon Michael-Chadwell

First-generation college students, First-generation minority college students, Social Cognitive Learning, Self-efficacy, Persistent

Disciplines

Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Recommended Citation

Mebane, Garry Anthony, "A Transcendental Phenomenological Study of Factors That Contribute to First-Generation Minority College Students' Motivation in Bachelor's Degree Attainment" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5845. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5845

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences that motivated and contributed to first-generation minority college student success (FGMCSS) at a university in the southeastern United States. This study involved 12 first-generation minority college students (FGMCS) enrolled in an undergraduate degree program. Bandura's social cognitive theory guided this research, which explains that the human learning process develops through social context. Research questions emerged from understanding the problem and purpose statements. The question guiding this research was: What are the experiences that motivate and contribute to FGMCS success at a university in the southeastern United States? Data was collected using interviews, focus groups, and journaling. Data analysis entailed using epoché, phenomenological reduction, and creative variation techniques to uncover and explore emergent themes. The data analysis revealed six distinct themes: difficulties in adjusting to college life, involvement in various groups and activities, determination to complete a degree, confidence in overcoming obstacles, lack of support, and emotional and resource assistance received, which emphasized the intricate interaction of motivation, assistance, and obstacles encountered by FGMCS. The findings also uncovered several complex factors that contribute to the success of FGMCS, such as the desire for personal and family improvement, even in the face of doubt and lack of support. Additional research is needed to investigate successful tactics and interventions that may help overcome the many obstacles experienced by first-generation minority college students, eventually leading to their successful completion of degrees and academic achievements.

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• Open access
• Published: 06 August 2024

Competencies required to make use of Information Science and Technology among Japanese medical students: a cross-sectional study

• Yuma Ota 1 ,
• Yoshikazu Asada 2 ,
• Makiko Mieno 3 &
• Yasushi Matsuyama 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  840 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Competency in the use of information science and technology (IST) is essential for medical students. This study identified learning objectives and competencies that correspond with low self-assessment related to use of IST and factors that improve such self-assessment among medical students.

A questionnaire was administered to sixth-year medical students across 82 medical schools in Japan between November 2022 and February 2023.

Three learning objectives were identified as difficult for the students to achieve: (1) provide an overview of the regulations, laws, and guidelines related to IST in medicine; (2) discuss ethical issues, such as social disparities caused by the digital divide that may arise in the use of IST in medicine; and (3) understand IST related to medical care. Further, problem-based learning, engaging with IST beyond class, and learning approach impacted the students’ acquisition of competencies related to IST. Furthermore, it was recognized that the competencies required by medical students may change over the course of an updated medical school curriculum.

Conclusions

It is important for medical students to recognize the significance of learning, establishing active learning methods, and gaining experience in practically applying these competencies.

Peer Review reports

With the development of information science and technology (IST), digital health has begun to play an important role in clinical practice [ 1 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed digital health as an umbrella term that broadly defines the use of digital technology in health care [ 1 ]. The spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has highlighted the importance of telemedicine, indicating its significance in digital health [ 2 ]. As IST is expected to continue to develop in the future, digital health will play an even greater role [ 3 ], and this will require health professionals to adapt to it [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].

It has been reported that physician competencies regarding eHealth and telemedicine include the appropriate use of IST based on the understanding of its benefits and risks, access and equity in digital technology, practice of patient care using IST, and ethical considerations [ 8 , 9 ]. However, in a recent study on the development of digital health competencies, first- to seventh-year European medical students ( N  = 451) self-assessed competencies such as remote patient monitoring systems and the application of AI in radiology as low or very low [ 10 ]. Although many current medical students are digital natives, they lack the knowledge and skills required to utilize IST in the context of medicine [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].

Consequently, recent studies have highlighted the importance for medical students to acquire the competencies necessary to use IST related to digital health [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Competencies necessary to use IST in medicine and learning objectives related to the confidentiality of medical information have been included in pregraduate education in the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Additionally, it was recently reported that medical students’ digital health literacy includes skills for using electronic health records and digital ethical attitudes as well as knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine and medicine using advanced technologies [ 13 ]. In Japan, learning objectives related to the use of IST are described as competencies in the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education (MCC)—an official guide for undergraduate education [ 19 ]. In the 2017 revision, only the operation of electronic health records and protection of patients’ electronic personal data were listed as subcompetencies [ 20 ]. In the 2022 revision, the use of IST was listed as one of the 10 core competencies, along with a variety of additional subcompetencies, such as the understanding of ethics and the basic principles of IST applied to medical research and medical care.

Currently, medical education in Japan focuses on the operation of electronic medical records and the protection of personal information [ 21 , 22 ], while the other aspects of IST literacy education remain ambiguous. In addition, information is lacking on how students who have studied under the current curriculum self-assess their competencies to use IST, and what factors enhance their self-assessed competencies.

Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey among sixth-year medical students in Japan who were studying how to operate electronic medical records and protect patients’ medical information in the current Japanese curriculum. Further, we identified the factors related to self-assessment regarding the acquisition of competencies necessary to use IST. We addressed the following research questions:

Research Question 1: How do Japanese medical students under the current curriculum self-assess the acquisition of the competencies required to use IST?

Research Question 2: What factors are related to improvement in the self-assessment of the competencies that are graded as low?

Through this assessment, we expect to provide essential data for future medical curriculum management.

Study design

We conducted a questionnaire-based study.

Study setting and participants

We conducted the survey from November 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023 among final year (sixth year) medical students at 82 medical schools in Japan. After graduating from high school, Japanese medical students enter medical school following completion of courses in English, mathematics, natural sciences, and social studies, but not in informatics. In medical school, students generally complete a six-year curriculum, with most completing it by November of their final year, after which, there is a period focused on preparation for the national medical examination. Given this background, we determined that this was the appropriate time to survey the acquisition of these competencies in Japan’s current medical curricula.

We used G*Power 3.1.9.6 [ 23 ] to determine the sample size, assuming a moderate effect size (f = 0.15) based on Cohen [ 24 ]. Our sample included 143 students (5% significance level), 80% power, and 16 independent variables.

We consulted the learning objectives described as competencies in the MCC 2022 Revision to prepare the items for assessing medical students’ competencies necessary for using IST.

The MCC follows the concept of outcome-based education and identifies practical competencies that students should acquire and master by the time they graduate. The learning objectives are divided into four tiers: the first tier outlines the overview and objectives of the competencies; the second tier describes the components of each competency; the third tier, specific competencies are expressed by nouns (e.g. Knowledge of advanced IST); and the fourth tier describes the actions that learners can take and the expected outcomes. The first tier of information technology includes one item indicating IST, the second tier includes four, the third includes six, and the fourth includes 13. This curriculum is updated every three to five years after a review by medical education experts. Participants’ responses regarding the 13 items examining the learning objectives in the fourth tier (indicated by specific behaviors) were rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = not able, 2 = not very able, 3 = somewhat able, and 4 = able). Further, we assessed the presence or absence of information technology classes at medical schools using the Tier 3 learning objective categories to broadly capture the implementation of the classes at each university (0 = none, 1 = yes).

We used Microsoft Forms to create a questionnaire comprising three sections. The first section contained questions on sociodemographic data, such as medical students’ age, gender, type of institution (medical university or medical school of a general university), and whether they have had any work experience with IST. The second section asked about the students’ learning experiences before and after entering medical school, including whether they had learned about IST inside or outside school, when they first used IST inside or outside school, and whether they had experiences in problem-solving classes. The final section inquired about medical students’ competencies necessary to use IST. Table  1 outlines the relevance between the four-tier subcompetencies in the MCC and the question items in the present study.

Data collection

After obtaining permission from the 82 medical schools in Japan, we recruited participants for the survey. We mailed information about the study, along with a survey form to the schools. The faculty of each school distributed this information to sixth-year medical students. The students received a detailed research description that explained the purpose and significance of the study, outlined the survey items, and emphasized that participation was anonymous and voluntary.

Data analysis

For the items on competencies necessary to use IST based on the fourth tier learning objectives, we examined the means and standard deviations, medians and interquartile ranges. Further, we used Cronbach’s alpha to assess internal consistency—an alpha coefficient of 0.7 or more indicating a sufficient level of consistency [ 25 ].

To examine the factors that improve the self-assessment of the fourth tier learning objectives, we conducted a logistic regression analysis in which self-assessment was divided into two values: “able/somewhat able” and “not able/not very able.” To examine the factors that improve the low self-assessment of competencies, the learning objectives of the fourth tier that had a higher percentage of “not able” and “not very able” were used as the dependent variables in the logistic regression analysis. We chose factors that were associated with self-assessment in the univariate analysis as the independent variables (with a criterion of p  < 0.25) [ 26 ].

In this study, we considered p  < 0.05 as statistically significant, and performed all statistical analyses using EZR. We used the graphical user interface of R (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria; Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, Saitama, Japan) to perform the analyses [ 27 ]. A medical statistician (MM) validated all the statistical analyses.

Ethical consideration

The study description stated that participation was voluntary and would not affect the students’ grades. Medical students who agreed to participate accessed the questionnaire.

The study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Jichi Medical University School of Medicine (reference number: 22–097).

Demographic characteristics and pre- and post-medical school learning experiences

The 824 participants who agreed to participate in the study provided valid responses with no missing values for any questionnaire items. Of the participants, 63.7%, 35.2%, and 1.1% were male, female, and others, respectively. The median age was 25 years (IQR: 24–26). Of the participants, 50.9% were affiliated with a medical university. A total of 2.63% of participants had work experience in IST prior to medical school. Furthermore, 55.7% had learned IST in the classroom, and 23.7% had learned it outside the classroom before entering medical school. Participants who had started using IST in the classroom while they were in elementary school were the highest percentage (39.2%). In contrast, 44.5% of the respondents started using IST for self-study after entering medical school. In addition, 52.7% of the students attended problem-solving classes before entering medical school. Table  2 presents the percentage of students who attended classes on IST after entering medical school.

Self-assessment of competencies required to use IST

To determine the reliability of the overall competencies required to use IST, we checked the correlation matrix among the items and calculated Cronbach’s alpha. None of the items had a correlation coefficient lower than 0.4 (Appendix 1). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the overall competencies was 0.853, and no item (Appendix 2) had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient lower than 0.9.

Table  3 presents the results of the self-assessment of competencies mentioned under the fourth tier learning objectives. The mean scores for IT-01-02-01 and IT-01-02-02 were the highest at 3.50 and 3.37 (SD 0.82 and 0.69). In contrast, more than 30% of the students answered “not able or not very able” on three items (IT-01-01-02, IT-01-01-03, and IT-02-02-01).

Relevant factors affecting the learning objectives related to competencies self-assessed as low

We conducted a logistic regression analysis using the self-assessments of IT-01-01-02, IT-01-01-03, and IT-02-02-01 as dependent variables (Table  4 ). We did not consider gender with a variance inflation factor value greater than 2 as an independent variable because of multicollinearity (Appendix 3).

In the model that examined IT-01-01-02, the experience of taking classes IT-03-01 and IT-03-02, as well as problem-solving classes, was statistically significant. In the model that examined IT-01-01-03, the factors experience of taking classes IT-02-02 and IT-03-02, and experience with problem-solving classes were statistically significant. Similarly, in the model examining IT-01-01-03, the factors experience of taking classes IT-02-01, IT-02-02, IT-03-01, and first use of information science and technology outside of school were statistically significant.

To evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the logistic regression models, we used Nagelkerke’s pseudo R-squared (Nagelkerke R²). The logistic regression analysis showed that the Nagelkerke R² values were 0.2194 for IT-01-01-02, 0.1923 for IT-01-01-03, and 0.2195 for IT-02-02-01, indicating that the analyses for IT-01-01-02 and IT-02-02-01 had similar explanatory power, each explaining approximately 21.94% and 21.95% of the variance respectively. The analysis for IT-01-01-03 had a slightly lower explanatory power, explaining about 19.23% of the variance.

We conducted this cross-sectional investigation to examine the extent to which Japanese medical students perceive that they have acquired competencies to use IST upon completion of the curriculum, and the factors that may promote or hinder such acquisition.

We found that (1) medical students’ self-assessed certain competencies as high and others as low. Those with particularly low self-assessment included “Understand an overview of the regulations, laws, and guidelines related to information science and technology in medicine” (IT-01-01-02), “Discuss ethical issues, such as social disparities caused by the digital divide, that may arise in the use of information science and technology in medicine” (IT-01-01-03), and “Understand information science and technology related to medical care (medical information systems, wearable devices, applications, artificial intelligence, telemedicine technology, and the Internet of Things [IoT]) and discuss their potential applications” (IT-02-02-01). (2) The factor associated with improvement in the three self-assessed lower learning objectives (IT-01-01-02, IT-01-01-03, and IT-02-02-01) was the experience of taking a specific IST class at the medical school. Additionally, we found that for IT-01-01-02 and IT-01-01-03, participation in problem-solving classes before medical school was associated with improved self-assessment. For IT-02-02-01, the experience of learning IST outside formal classes before entering medical school correlated with higher self-assessment.

Factors correlated to IST-related subcompetencies pertaining to regulatory and ethical issues

IT-01-01-02 and IT-01-01-03, which define subcompetencies addressing regulatory and ethical issues related to IST in medicine, were associated with experiences with problem-based learning prior to medical school and experience with IT-03-02 classes (learning skills using IST in medicine classes in medical school). As IST is constantly evolving, the relevant regulations are changing [ 28 ], and in Japan, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information in Relation to Data Privacy [ 29 ] is revised in principle every three years. Medical students must adopt a learning strategy that responds to rapid changes, and they must learn to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired. Therefore, they must be metacognizant of their own knowledge and skills in IST and explore learning issues on their own. This learning process is consistent with the problem-solving learning framework [ 30 ]. The reason for the low self-evaluation of these two academic objectives may be related to the fact that the participants had little experience with problem-solving-based learning before entering medical school. Although Japan’s courses of study have been repeatedly revised since 1990 based on the standard of being able to spontaneously identify problems, think independently, make judgments, and express oneself, the 2010s did not see a departure from rote learning [ 31 ]. Therefore, participants in this study may have lacked experience with problem-based learning before entering medical school; in fact, 47% of the students had no experience with problem-based learning. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology indicated that even for 53% of students with experience, many were not good at problem-solving learning when they enrolled in junior high school [ 32 ]. In other words, they were unable to set their own tasks and learn about the rapidly changing regulations and ethical issues related to IST; consequently, their self-assessment was low.

Factors correlated to subcompetencies pertaining to IST use in medical practice

The results suggest that the low self-assessment of IT-02-02-01 is related to a lack of learning opportunities associated with IST in medicine within the curriculum. We found that students had the least experience with the IT-02-02 (advanced knowledge of IST class), but their experience with this class was associated with an improvement in the self-evaluation of IT-02-02-01. The correlation between the self-assessment of IT-02-02-01 and the “experience of learning IST outside of regular classes before entering medical school” suggests that the habit of self-learning content that cannot be learned through the MCC is essential for acquiring knowledge regarding IST in medical care. Among the participants, 24% had learned IST outside the formal curriculum before entering medical school, which may have resulted in the low self-assessment of IT-02-02-01.

Thus, learning experience within the curriculum is one of the most important factors in acquiring knowledge on IST in medicine, and therefore, future studies should re-examine whether IT-02-02-01 can be improved by a curriculum based on the MCC 2022 Revision. However, reports from other countries state that computer literacy indicators for medical students focus on software use and Internet safety [ 21 , 22 ]. These studies assume that there is a lack of learning experience related to IST in medicine within the curriculum. Additionally, as IST is constantly evolving, maintaining an up-to-date curriculum that comprehensively covers the subject can be challenging. Establishing fundamental competencies for active learning for medical students and enabling them to continuously learn about IST on their own may be an essential improvement measure for acquiring these competencies.

Limitation and future research plan

To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to describe medical students’ self-assessment of competencies related to the use of IST and the factors that affect this assessment. The results of this study are expected to be used for future curriculum management of competencies related to IST.

However, this study has several limitations. First, it was conducted only among Japanese medical students. This may affect the results’ generalizability because medical schools in Japan follow a six-year pattern and medical students extensively use IST in their daily lives. Second, this study was conducted over a single year; thus, it is possible that events that occurred in FY2022 may have affected the results. Finally, the survey on the acquisition of competencies to use IST was based on self-assessment by medical students. It is possible that the students’ responses contained cognitive biases, which questions the credibility of the self-assessment.

In the future, we expect that countries other than Japan will conduct surveys on medical students’ acquisition of competencies required to use IST, and the factors that affect their self-assessment. By comparing the results from other countries, we can determine the educational systems and cultural backgrounds that positively influence the acquisition of such competencies. Next, it is desirable to survey the actual status of acquisition of competencies required to use IST over several years. In this study, we found a correlation between the self-assessment of IST and the participants’ learning experience. Therefore, it is important to avoid bias in the responses related to factors that affect participants’ self-assessment. Finally, the competencies required to use IST should be examined objectively. Because self-assessed competencies are based on subjective responses from medical students, a third party should observe and assess medical students’ competencies required to use IST. No effective indicator can objectively measure the competencies required to use IST [ 6 ]; thus, we believe that further development is required to clarify the results.

We conducted a survey to identify the factors that improve Japanese medical students’ self-assessment of their acquisition of competencies required to use IST. The results showed that, among the learning objectives, medical students self-assessed their lack of mastery of regulatory and ethical issues related to IST, as well as their understanding of IST in medical care as low. The factors that enhanced medical students’ self-assessment were their experience of taking classes on IST, their experience of problem-based learning and learning IST outside formal classes, and the way they learn about IST. However, the rapidly evolving IST and the corresponding changes in regulation and curriculum have mandated that medical students adapt to the dynamic nature of IST. Therefore, we believe that the first step toward using IST in medicine is the recognition of the importance for medical students to learn about IST, adopt active learning methods as learners, and have experience in applying the skills they have acquired. We expect that the findings of this study will enhance medical education researchers’ awareness of the actual situation regarding students’ acquisition of competencies necessary to use IST and will facilitate the development of more effective interventions.

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical constraints but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Coronavirus disease

• Information science and technology

Model core curriculum

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Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere gratitude to the medical students who participated in this study. Our heartfelt thanks are also directed to Dr. Hitoaki Okazaki for his valuable assistance in recruiting survey participants, and to Ms. Kazumi Kato for expertly managing the administrative tasks at the graduate school. Additionally, we would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing.

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI under Grant Number 20K10384.

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YO collected, analyzed, and interpreted the data, and also played a major role in writing the manuscript. YA was responsible for data collection and interpretation. MM focused on data analysis. YM was in charge of data collection and interpretation. All authors were involved in refining the manuscript and approved the final version for submission.

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Ota, Y., Asada, Y., Mieno, M. et al. Competencies required to make use of Information Science and Technology among Japanese medical students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ 24 , 840 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05786-4

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Tim Walz wrote a master’s thesis on Holocaust education, just as his own school’s approach drew criticism

In Judi Agustin’s freshman year at Mankato West High School, her teacher instructed her to wear a yellow star.

It was part of a Holocaust curriculum at the school, located in a remote area of Minnesota with barely any Jews. For a week, freshmen were asked to wear the yellow stars, which were reminiscent of the ones the Nazis made the Jews wear. Seniors played the part of the Gestapo, charged with persecuting the “Jews.”

Unlike everyone else in her class in the 2001-2002 school year, Agustin was Jewish. The experience “was incredibly hurtful and offensive and scary,” she recalled on Tuesday. Her father complained to the district, and wrote a letter to the local paper decrying the lesson.

In response, she recalled, a teacher intervened. That teacher, according to her recollection: current vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.

“When Tim Walz found out about it, he squashed it real quick, and as far as I understand they never did it again,” Agustin told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “So he was an advocate for my experience, as one of four Jewish kids in the entire school district. And I always felt like he had our back.”

A progressive favorite in Minnesota, where he is now governor, Walz is also heralded for his background as a public school educator. Lesser known is the fact that, while teaching in rural, largely white Midwestern school districts, Walz developed a particular interest in Holocaust and genocide education.

Walz is on the campaign trail this week with Vice President Kamala Harris, his running mate, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. JTA could not independently verify that he was the teacher who stopped the Mankato West lesson.

But it’s clear that how to teach the Holocaust well has occupied Walz for decades. In 1993, while teaching in Nebraska, he was part of an inaugural conference of U.S. educators convened by the soon-to-open U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Eight years later, after moving to Minnesota, he wrote a thesis arguing for changes in Holocaust education. And as governor, he backed a push to mandate teaching about the Holocaust in Minnesota schools.

Through it all, Walz modeled and argued for careful instruction that treated the Holocaust as one of multiple genocides worth understanding.

“Schools are teaching about the Jewish Holocaust, but the way it is traditionally being taught is not leading to increased knowledge of the causes of genocide in all parts of the world,” Walz wrote in his thesis, submitted in 2001.

The thesis was the culmination of Walz’s master’s degree focused on Holocaust and genocide education at Minnesota State University, Mankato, which he earned while teaching at Mankato West. His 27-page thesis, which JTA obtained, is titled “Improving Human Rights and Genocide Studies in the American High School Classroom.”

In it, Walz argues that the lessons of the “Jewish Holocaust” should be taught “in the greater context of human rights abuses,” rather than as a unique historical anomaly or as part of a larger unit on World War II. “To exclude other acts of genocide severely limited students’ ability to synthesize the lessons of the Holocaust and the ability to apply them elsewhere,” he wrote.

He then took a position that he noted was “controversial” among Holocaust scholars: that the Holocaust should not be taught as unique, but used to help students identify “clear patterns” with other historical genocides like the Armenian and Rwandan genocides.

Walz was describing, in effect, his own approach to teaching the Holocaust that he implemented in Alliance, Nebraska, years earlier. In the state’s remote northwest region, Walz asked his global geography class to study the common factors that linked the Holocaust to other historical genocides , including economic strife, totalitarian ideology and colonialism. The year was 1993. At year’s end, Walz and his class correctly predicted that Rwanda was most at risk of sliding into genocide.

“The Holocaust is taught too often purely as a historical event, an anomaly, a moment in time,” Walz Told the New York Times in 2008, reflecting on those Alliance lessons. “That relieves us of responsibility. Obviously, the mastermind was sociopathic, but on the scale for it to happen, there had to be a lot of people in the country who chose to go down that path.”

In his thesis, he noted that he intended to bring this curriculum to the Mankato school district as a “sample unit.” But another kind of lesson was unfolding there at the same time.

For years at Mankato West, high school students had been engaged in a peculiar lesson that was, all the same, not unusual for its time: In an effort to teach students who had never met a Jewish person what it might have been like to live under the Nazis, teachers had them role play.

For a week, freshmen wore the yellow stars, and seniors playing the Gestapo were given permission to torment them.

Such lessons had been going on since at least the 1990s, recalled Leah Solo, a Jewish student who graduated from Mankato West in 1998. For Solo, these lessons weren’t so bad.

“People knew I was Jewish, people knew to be sensitive around me,” Solo told JTA. Her teacher, who was not Walz and whom she liked, “was doing his best to try to teach a really hard subject to folks who had no idea. Most of these kids had never met a Jew before.” In her senior year she was given the choice of whether she wanted to play a Nazi or another kind of role, and chose the latter.

Things were different by the time Agustin took the class several years later. By then, the Holocaust role-playing wasn’t just limited to the confines of the classroom.

“They could come up to you in the lunchroom,” recalled Anne Heintz, a fellow student at the time. Local students whispered about the lesson before they got to high school, she said.

One senior, in Agustin’s recollection, got violent and started shoving the “Jewish” freshmen into lockers.

Outraged, her father wrote a letter to the local newspaper, and some parents complained to the school district. Agustin left the high school after her sophomore year. None of this happened in Walz’s classroom, according to the students, and Heintz recalled that the lessons had ended by the time she graduated in 2004.

“I’m not sure what his involvement was. I know it just ended,” Heintz, who is not Jewish, told JTA. “He was teaching at the time it ended.”

JTA could not verify whether Walz knew about the lessons, which had been going on for years, before they were stopped. A spokesperson for the high school told JTA they “don’t have any information” on the details of the lessons, but noted, “When Governor Walz was at Mankato West High School he was primarily a Global Geography Teacher and Football Coach. Subjects such as the Holocaust were taught in history courses.”

Agustin’s father, Stewart Ross, told JTA that he did not recall Walz being involved. Neither did Bob Ihrig, one of the teachers who taught the lesson as part of a World War II unit. He said it continued in a limited, classroom-only version until his retirement in 2014.

Ross, Ihrig and all three Mankato West High students spoke highly of Walz as a teacher and community leader, though only one, Heintz, actually had him in the classroom.

“What I remember most is, he always made all the subjects that we talked about super engaging,” she said. “It always seemed like he was able to make a subject really exciting for folks and really engage everyone in class. And I think that is part of how he speaks now that he’s on a national stage as well.”

Solo, who had Walz’s wife Gwen for a different class, took a student trip led by the couple to China, where Tim Walz taught for a year early in his career. She recalled how, in 2004, Walz stood up for her when she was working with John Kerry’s presidential campaign and security for a George W. Bush rally tried to boot them from the premises.

“When security also tried to kick him out, he was like, ‘I am a former Teacher of the Year who just returned from being deployed. I don’t think you want to kick me out,’” Solo recalled, describing an incident that made local news at the time. “And then after the rally, he came and signed up to volunteer with the Kerry campaign, because he did not appreciate that.”

Volunteering with Kerry’s campaign led directly to Walz’s entrance into politics . Solo would go on to work for Walz’s congressional campaigns.

Walz stuck with teaching as he began his political career; when he was elected to represent Mankato in 2006, he was the only active educator in Congress.

Last year, as Minnesota’s governor, Walz returned to Holocaust education, and supported and signed a law requiring the state’s middle and high schools to teach about the Holocaust. The law, initiated and championed by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, also encourages schools to teach about other genocides. A working group for the curriculum hit snags earlier this summer when a pro-Palestinian activist was removed from the committee amid debates on whether Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitutes genocide.

The mandate is still anticipated to go into effect in the 2025-2026 school year. “This is going to work out, this is going to be good, because the governor and his staff are highly attuned to the concerns and sensitivities of the Jewish community,” Ethan Roberts, the JCRC’s deputy executive director, told JTA.

Speaking at a JCRC event in June, Walz said he had been “privileged and proud” to have participated in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum training early in his career. But he said more needed to be done, and he emphasized that the curriculum chosen to accomplish the requirement would determine its success.

“We need to do better on Holocaust education. We need to do better on ethnic studies,” he told the crowd. “And I tell you this as a teacher and as governor, too, we don’t need test scores or anything to tell us that we’re failing.”

It was the kind of message that former Mankato West students said they came to expect from him.

“He is what you hope a great teacher is,” said Solo, “which is someone who’s not only teaching, but also learning at all times.”

With additional reporting by Jackie Hajdenberg. 

Correction and updates (Aug. 8): This story has been corrected to remove a reference to Tim Walz as department chair. It has also been updated to reflect additional sources about Holocaust instruction at Mankato West High School.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Addressing the links between and internal vs. external regulation factors, achievement emotions and gender in problematic use of ict at university.

• 1 Department of Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
• 2 Department of Systematic Theology, School of Theology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

Context: The study of internal and external regulation in the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the analysis of academic emotions have become increasingly important due to their impact on academic life at university.

Objectives: This research aims to investigate the links between internal vs. external regulation factors, achievement emotions, and gender in the problematic use of ICT among university students.

Methodology: The study recruited 317 university students, predominantly female (72.51%), using an ex-post facto design. The SRT-ERT scale was used to assess technology-related behaviors, and the AEQ Scales measured academic emotions before, during, and after class. Correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and ANOVA were employed to identify significant relationships.

Results: Significant relationships were identified between regulatory behaviors, with male students exhibiting more dysregulated behavior and greater exposure to dysregulatory technology environments. Individual and contextual behavioral nonregulation and dysregulation in the use of ICT were significantly predictive of negative academic emotions.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that both personal and contextual factors of regulation significantly influence the emotional experiences of students in academic settings. The study highlights the need for psycho-educational interventions to promote better regulatory behaviors among university students, particularly males.

1 Introduction

1.1 issues in the use and abuse of ict in university students.

Over recent years, ICT has become an increasingly important part of our daily lives. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed how we work, study and relate to other people with a radical shift to the use of various devices ( Ariza et al., 2021 ; Gea et al., 2021 ). UNESCO (2021) reports an increase in the use of ICT in education but highlights that 43% of young people lack basic digital skills, limiting their ability to take advantage of the opportunities presented by ICT. In Spain, 94.5% of people use the Internet every day, principally young people aged 16–24 ( Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2023 ). That increase can lead to dependence and screen addiction, with possible adverse effects on the mental and physical health of young people, particularly university students (aged 18–22; Gea et al., 2021 ).

Psychological factors such as loneliness, impulsiveness and reduced parental supervision in this life stage can lead to greater use of the Internet ( Li et al., 2021 ). The inappropriate use of ICT can affect both physical and mental wellbeing in students and can affect the immune system ( Shields et al., 2017 ; Li et al., 2021 ), which presents concerning risks for their development ( UNESCO, 2021 ). Prior research has identified adverse effects, including anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, poor mental health and poor academic achievement ( Alimoradi et al., 2019 ; Wong et al., 2020 ; Sanders et al., 2023 ), associated with nomophobia (fear or anxiety at not having your phone) and addiction to mobile devices ( Díaz-Miranda et al., 2020 ).

A significant relationship has also been found between inappropriate use of the Internet and poor academic achievement ( Aznar-Díaz et al., 2020 ), particularly in students who are repeating a school year, where a direct relationship has been observed between ICT abuse and poor achievement ( Barrio, 2018 ). ICT has been found to be the principal distraction from the teaching and learning process ( Díaz-Vicario et al., 2019 ; De la Hoz, 2021 ). In particular, frequency of use of videogames is inversely related with academic achievement and has been associated with a lack of motivation for academic tasks ( Díaz-López et al., 2021 ). Conversely, it is notable that responsible use of ICT is positively associated with better academic achievement ( Díaz-López et al., 2021 ; Sanders et al., 2023 ). It is crucial to be vigilant as to how ICT is being used in order to minimise its negative impact on academic achievement and the mental health of students.

1.2 Conceptualisation of the use and abuse of ICT

Using ICT properly is essential in the twenty-first century, particularly for young people. Young people often lack the tools to regulate their use of ICT and are thus exposed to a number of risks ( Sánchez-Caballé et al., 2020 ). Consequently, well-adjusted, responsible use of ICT should be promoted so as to allow young people to enjoy its benefits for learning, communication and work whilst ensuring their safety and building a positive digital society. This focus entails adjusting the use of ICT to the needs of young people and giving them critical, ethical skills and stressing the need to respect moral principles and values in order to avoid the risks of inappropriate use ( Prats-Fernández et al., 2018 ; Moreira-Sánchez, 2019 ).

Digital competence is an important element of current education and comprises a variety of skills, including management of information, content creation, communication, ethical skills, problem-solving, technical and strategic skills. Terms such as ‘digital literacy’ and ‘digital competence’ are often used to refer to this set of complex learnings ( Sánchez-Caballé et al., 2020 ).

Some people mistakenly believe that young people have these skills innately, but most experts do not believe that they do in fact have all the digital skills required ( Moreira-Sánchez, 2019 ; Sánchez-Caballé et al., 2020 ). As such, educational institutions have a fundamental role in helping students to develop this competence. It has been proposed that digital competence should be part of the university curriculum with a focus on the development of critical digital and ethical skills ( Gómez-Vahos et al., 2019 ).

However, addiction to mobile devices is not recognised as a specific disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The DSM explains that there is as yet insufficient evidence to include Internet Gaming Disorder as an official diagnosis and as such it falls under Section 3, ‘Conditions requiring further study’. A series of criteria are put forward and further study is recommended. Nevertheless, the World Health Organisation, in the most recent edition of its manual (ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2019 ) includes in its chapter on disorders of addiction ‘Gambling Addiction’ (online and offline) and ‘Videogame Addiction’. The scientific literature lacks consensus on how to categorize such behaviors, which are variably treated as behavioral addictions, mobile abuse, or evident risk factors ( Salehan and Negahban, 2013 ; Díaz-Miranda et al., 2020 ; Laurence et al., 2020 ; González-Cabrera et al., 2022 ; Chou et al., 2024 ).

Problematic use of ICT can be seen as an inability to control the use of cyberspace, with unease when not using. or when deprived of access to, technology ( Díaz-López et al., 2021 ). Problematic ICT use can also negatively impact individuals’ day-to-day life, who might fail to meet social, educational or family commitments, and spend excessive time using ICT ( Baloğlu et al., 2020 ).

1.3 Protective and risk factors: explanatory models

1.3.1 protection model: behavioral competence.

Protective factors are characteristics of the individual, family, group or community that favour human development and wellbeing. Those factors reduce vulnerability in general or in specific ways and help to mitigate the effects of risk factors ( de los Páramo, 2011 ).

Competence-based education (CBE) is a model of education that focuses on the development of practical, transferable abilities, skills and knowledge in order to handle real-life situations and solve problems effectively ( Irigoyen et al., 2011 ). The concept of competence entails the ability or skill to perform a tasks effectively in a given context ( Tobar-Otero and Canós-Darós, 2022 ). The competence-based model has three dimensions ( Gagné, 1965 , 1967 ; de la Fuente, 2023a , b ):

1. Conceptual knowledge or Knowing how to know. Refers to understanding and using concepts, theories and principles in a given field of knowledge, showing deep knowledge of fundamental concepts.

2. Procedural knowledge or Know-how. This is the capability (skill and meta-skill) to apply knowledge and skills in order to carry out a task successfully and effectively. Knowing how use skills in real life. The most notable aspects of procedural knowledge are meta-cognitive skills, which include strategies for the control and regulation of the learning process ( Callejas, 2015 ). Such skills include self-regulation of learning, planning, monitoring, critical evaluation of information, self-knowledge and reflection on thinking and learning ( de la Fuente and Justicia, 2018 ). Self-regulation is crucial to the control and regulation of the learning process ( Romo-Sabugal et al., 2020 ) and the use of technology.

3. Attitudinal knowledge or Knowing How to Be. This comprises the attitudes, values, motivation and emotions required for adequate performance in social and employment contexts ( Callejas, 2015 ; López-Gómez, 2016 ).

1.3.2 Risk-protection models focused on personal characteristics: self-regulation

Albert Bandura’s Cognitive-Social Theory underlines the importance of self-efficacy for motivation and behavior. Performance or achievement in an activity depends on perceived self-efficacy, the skills required and incentives ( Bandura, 1991 ). The theory suggests that self-efficacy regulates behavioral, affective, motivational and cognitive processes and decision-making ( Bandura, 1986 ). Students with high expectations of self-efficacy have greater motivation, better academic results and show greater self-regulation and intrinsic motivation to learn. Self-efficacy affects perseverance and motivation through goal setting ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ). Social skills and a sense of belonging are positively associated ( Liu et al., 2020 ). Behavioral self-regulation, such as planning, monitoring and evaluation of the subject’s behavior, acts as a protective factor ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ; de la Fuente, 2023a , b ) and allows the subject to be active in pursuit of their long-term objectives ( Del Castillo and Días, 2007 ). According to Zimmerman’s Theory of Self-Regulation, self-regulation is positively associated with personal adjustment and academic achievement ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ). These factors protect the academic success and psychological wellbeing of students ( Li et al., 2021 ).

There are factors in adolescence that can increase the likelihood of young people adopting risk behaviors and developing disorders common to this stage of life, whether social, family or personal. Such factors are said to be risk factors because they increase the vulnerability of adolescents to such issues ( de los Páramo, 2011 ). Personal risk factors include depression, social isolation, anxiety, low self-esteem, feelings of loneliness and worthlessness, hopelessness and poor self-efficacy in coping with conflict and handling negative emotions ( Gómez-Tabares et al., 2019 ). Examples of risk factors include academic stress, lack of social support, anxiety and depression ( de la Fuente et al., 2019 ). There is also a negative relationship with personality traits such as scrupulousness ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ).

Alongside that, emotional intelligence (EI), self-regulation and resilience are personal resources that positively impact the psychological wellbeing of adolescents ( Del Castillo and Días, 2007 ; Chamizo-Nieto and Rey, 2020 ). High levels of emotional and social skills, associated with emotional management and interpersonal interactions, are themselves associated with lesser aggression and antisocial behavior ( Nasaescu et al., 2018 ). Developing emotional skills such as identification, comprehension and emotional regulation facilitates adaptive coping with stress in daily life, so increasing subjective wellbeing ( Chamizo-Nieto and Rey, 2020 ).

Conversely, impulsiveness and lack of psychological resources are associated with the risk of suicide in young people ( Gómez-Tabares et al., 2019 ) and Internet addition, as a result of problems with inhibition control and emotional regulation ( Gómez-Tabares et al., 2019 ; Li et al., 2021 ). A person’s low perception of their own social skills can favour the development of a preference for online interaction and increase the risk of ICT abuse ( Nasaescu et al., 2018 ). In addition, evidence shows that a deficit of emotional regulation is a risk factor for cyberaggression ( Chamizo-Nieto and Rey, 2020 ).

1.3.3 Risk-protection models focused on Context

In relation to context, there are associated risk factors that may impact the mental health of students, such as being removed from or distant social and family support networks, dysfunctional parenting and situations of psychosocial and academic stress ( Gómez-Tabares et al., 2019 ). Albert Bandura indicated in the Theory of Learning from Observation that children’s social models are inseparable from their context, since they learn, imitate and recreate behavior from their most immediate environments, such as family and school ( Rodríguez-Rey and Cantero-García, 2020 ). It has been seen that the imprisonment of their father has lasting negative effects on the mental and social wellbeing of children, particularly those from ethnic minorities. Those effects may manifest in emotional behavioral problems and poor social adjustment ( Del Toro et al., 2023 ).

People who have grown up in a dysfunctional family environment tend to develop behavioral disorders at a young age. Such an environment is a risk factor for antisocial behavior, offending and increased negative emotionality in children ( Vera-Sánchez and Alay-Giler, 2021 ; Balladares-Fiallos and del Ponce-Delgado, 2022 ). It has also been found that the attitude of parents to the use of the Internet impacts the possible negative consequences on children ( Pan et al., 2020 ). Several authors have shown that the family is very important for the development and wellbeing of future generations and plays a fundamental role in the formation of values, standards and habits ( Ariza et al., 2021 ; Bernal et al., 2021 ; Balladares-Fiallos and del Ponce-Delgado, 2022 ).

The educational context may impact the health of students ( van den Toren et al., 2020 ). In that regard, it has been observed that there is a close connection between self-efficacy, confidence in ones own performance, and self-regulation. When that relationship is positive, there is a greater feeling of control over our actions and their outcome. As such, we can understand that students with learning difficulties tend to have lower self-efficacy and stronger focus on external factors than on personal aspects. It has also been observed that a feeling of belonging to the educational setting predicts academic achievement. And associated with that, we find two significant contextual factors: school support for learning and acceptance of diversity ( Liu et al., 2020 ).

1.3.4 Interactive protection-risk models: SR-ER behavior

The Theory of Self vs External Behavioral Regulation (SR vs. ER, de la Fuente, 2017 , 2021 ; de la Fuente et al., 2022c ) and the Conceptual Utility Model ( de la Fuente and Martínez-Vicente, 2023a , b , 2024 ) have postulated a continuum of the personal and contextual variable of regulation. Human behavior has to be understood as a whole, as a combination of personal and contextual variables. Thus, the model is interactive and intended to determine the relationship between an individual’s personal characteristics and their context ( de la Fuente, 2017 ; de la Fuente et al., 2022c ) as a mechanism to explain the technology-related behavior of individuals.

The model has three core principles: a person’s level of behavioral regulation, the regulatory characteristics of the context and the interaction or combination of personal characteristics and context. Under the model, there are presage or predictive factors of personality and context that explain in combination the behavioral variability under analysis:

1. Individual factors: individuals’ levels of self-regulation in relation to ICT, in the sense of their capacity to manage their own behavior and emotions, can be categorised as follows: High : Proactive/Self-Regulation; Moderate : Non-regulation/Reactiveness or non-regulatory behavior (NR); Low : Dysregulation (DR). Moreover, self-regulation is crucial in determining appropriate technology use and offers protection against addictive behaviors. Research shows that behavioral self-regulation (impulsiveness and lack of control) significantly impacts where individuals fall on the continuum of appropriate to abusive technology use ( Javaeed et al., 2019 ; Saad and Gamal, 2020 ). The term “behavioral addiction” highlights the maladjustment due to lack of self-regulation in using technological devices ( Kuss et al., 2014 ; Zhao et al., 2024 ).

2. Contextual factors : The environment affects regulation of ICT to the extent that it offers environmental stimuli that predispose to and impact the behavior of the individual, whether in favour of or so as to hinder self-regulation ( de la Fuente, 2017 ; Pachón-Basallo et al., 2021 ). The Theory of Self vs External Behavioral Regulation postulates the following levels: High external regulation: Regulatory Context (ER); Medium level of external regulation: Non-regulatory Context (ENR); Low external regulation : Dysregulatory Context (EDR). Contextual factors are predictive of technology-related addictive behaviors ( Li et al., 2021 ). However, the interaction between an individual’s self-regulation level (SR-NR-DR) and their context (ER-ENR-ED) remains underexplored. Understanding this interaction can advance our knowledge of the factors contributing to addictive vs. non-addictive technology use. The different levels predicted by this theoretical model need further empirical validation.

3. The SR vs. ER Theory predicts that a student’s self-regulation and the regulatory nature of the context jointly determine motivational-affective variables. This principle has been tested, showing that self-regulation levels (low-medium-high) and the regulatory nature of teaching (low-medium-high) determine positive or negative emotions and burnout/engagement levels. These findings support the use of a five-level progressive scale to understand student-teacher interactions and their impact on emotional health. The theory’s constructs (SR-NR-DR; ER-ENR-EDR) help understand learning, teaching, and achievement factors by considering student and context characteristics. This understanding aids in developing psychoeducational intervention strategies. In health and educational psychology; these constructs help profile individuals’ self-care practices, promoting health and understanding behavioral contexts that support or hinder health ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ).

1.4 Academic emotions in class

Academic emotions span the spectrum of emotions experienced in connection with academic activities, assessment and achievement involved in the teaching and learning process. Academic emotions are chiefly categorised along two dimensions: valence (positive or negative) and activation. Positive emotions , such as enjoyment, hope and pride are associated with gratifying, stimulating academic experience whilst negative emotions include emotions that activate such as anxiety and anger and emotions that deactivate, such as boredom and hopelessness ( Pekrun et al., 2007 ; Pekrun, 2017 ).

Academic emotions have a significant impact on achievement and academic adjustment among students. Positive emotions such as enjoyment, pride and hope have been shown to be positively predictive of better grades for both university and secondary school students ( Barron and Harackiewicz, 2001 ; Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2009 ; Frenzel et al., 2007 ; Goetz et al., 2008 ). Conversely, deactivating negative emotions such as boredom and hopelessness have consistently been shown to be negatively correlated with academic achievement ( Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2009 ; González et al., 2009 ).

A recent study by examined how perfectionism dimensions and positive/negative affect relate to perceived motor competence in Spanish primary school children aged 8–12 years. They found that all dimensions of perceived motor competence (physical conditioning, sports competence, strength competence, self-confidence, peers and self-experience) were positively correlated with self-oriented perfectionism or the tendency toward self-improvement. This highlights how positive perfectionism tendencies can influence self-perceptions of ability in the physical domain during childhood Additionally, a study by, examined the self-perceived affective states of primary school students in Physical Education classes, considering gender and body mass index (BMI). The findings revealed that students without obesity/overweight issues reported higher positive affect scores, while those with obesity/overweight problems had higher negative affect scores. These results underscore the importance of addressing emotional well-being in educational settings to promote positive affective experiences and mitigate negative ones, particularly in relation to physical health and body image.

In relation to ICT use, the systematic review carried out by Wu and Yu (2022) which examined 23 publications concluded that positive emotions such as enjoyment, pride and relaxation tend to positively impact on different aspects of online learning, such as motivation, performance, satisfaction and achievement. However, it has been challenging to clearly describe the effects of negative emotions on the outcome of online learning given the divergence of views about their effects. It is important to highlight that both positive and negative academic emotions influence fundamental aspects of the educational process, including effort, learning strategies and, finally, academic achievement ( Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2007 ; Pekrun, 2017 ). As such, understanding the role of emotions in education is crucial not only in order to improve students’ experience of learning and performance, but also so as to analyse the role of emotion in the use of ICT in educational environments.

1.5 The influence of gender

Prior research looking at gender as a mediating or modulating factor has shown that both genders spend more time online for leisure than for study or work ( Fernández-Villa et al., 2015 ). There are, however, differences in the time spent online by each gender, albeit they are both at the same risk of becoming dependant or abusing the internet ( Salehan and Negahban, 2013 ; Gea et al., 2021 ).

First, males show greater self-efficacy (in the sense of a judgement of a person’s own capacities) and a more positive attitude towards the use of ICT ( Padilla-Carmona et al., 2022 ). Men who have higher levels of restriction have a lesser likelihood of becoming addicted to the Internet ( Li et al., 2021 ). However, it has been found that being male is a significant predictor of the development of Problematic Internet Use (PIU). Men are more vulnerable to the most severe symptoms of PIU and the condition has greater prevalence among them ( Baloğlu et al., 2020 ; Díaz-López et al., 2021 ).

Conversely, females have been seen to place greater value on things published online and are more influenced by online content ( Li et al., 2021 ). The use of the internet among females is more closely associated with their social and emotional environments. In addition, statistically significant differences have been found in time management, with perceived negative impacts on personal and social life due to the time devoted to Internet use ( Baz-Rodríguez et al., 2020 ).

Moreover, gender differences in ICT skills have been observed. A study on Finnish upper comprehensive school students found that boys tend to score better on technical-oriented items, while girls excel in school work-oriented and social interaction-related items ( Kaarakainen et al., 2017 ). This suggests that gender differences in ICT skills are more item-specific than general.

Gender also influences online preferences. Women tend to spend more time on online shopping, social media and chatting, for social reasons, whilst men prefer online betting and videogames and use the internet for recreation ( Fernández-Villa et al., 2015 ; Andreassen et al., 2016 ; Yudes et al., 2019 ; Gea et al., 2021 ). The gender factor moderates PIU, associated with anxiety in women, and more widespread problematic videogaming in men ( Baloğlu et al., 2020 ). Personal factors such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and poor attention also predict problematic use of mobile devices ( Laurence et al., 2020 ).

Additionally, gender differences in internet addiction have been studied. Research indicates that both genders share social media addiction as the primary predictor of internet addiction, but there are exclusive predictors for each gender. This highlights the importance of considering gender-specific variables in the development and treatment of internet addiction ( Mari et al., 2023 ).

Although videogame disorder has historically been more associated with men ( Pan et al., 2020 ), the videogame industry has concentrated on men, contributing to higher use among men ( Castro et al., 2015 ). Whilst gender may affect attitudes towards the use of the internet, there is no consensus as whether it is a determinative variable ( Gea et al., 2021 ).

Finally, gender also has a role in academic emotions. It has been found that there is a significant gender-based difference in positive emotions associated with the academic environment. Women tend to score more highly for emotions such as enjoyment, hope, and pride relative to men ( Barron and Harackiewicz, 2001 ; Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2007 ). However, gender differences are not so clear or consistent for negative emotions. Understanding student anxiety is crucial for broadening gender diversity in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), as it disproportionately and negatively influences women. Research has shown that women may be more likely to become trapped in a self-deprecating cycle driven by negative academic emotions, which can affect their retention in STEM ( Pelch, 2018 ).

1.6 The importance of preventive intervention

Use of the internet has increased significantly over recent years. Currently, 99.1% of students use the internet every day ( Garrote-Rojas et al., 2018 ), which has led to excessive use among youth populations ( Díaz-Miranda et al., 2020 ). Young people are the population at greatest risk of PIU and over recent years, Spain has recorded one of the highest levels of PIU among adolescents in Europe ( Aznar-Díaz et al., 2020 ). Inappropriate use of ICT is a significant problem among young people, with evident consequences ( Kokka et al., 2021 ). Since the phenomenon has many causes, from a biopsychosocial perspective, it is key to identify the determining factors that affect inappropriate use of ICT.

Providing education about appropriate use of ICT is fundamental to the prevention of problems at personal, social, academic and family contexts. The analysis should be approached from the perspectives of students, teachers, counsellors, family members and experts ( Díaz-Vicario et al., 2019 ). That would enable a practising general psychologist to offer strategies to strengthen a person’s internal regulation and the regulatory effect of their family and educational environment.

A comprehensive review conducted by Muñoz-Oliver et al. (2022) highlights the importance of integrating emotional intelligence (EI) into the curriculum to enhance students’ socio-emotional competencies. The study reviewed 41 emotional education programs implemented in educational settings over the last decade and found that these programs significantly improve students’ emotional regulation, social skills, and overall academic performance. The review also emphasized the need for teacher training in socio-emotional competencies and the involvement of families in program interventions. This aligns with the broader understanding that both positive and negative academic emotions influence fundamental aspects of the educational process, including effort, learning strategies, and, finally, academic achievement ( Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2007 ; Pekrun, 2017 ).

Psychologists in general practice working with educational psychologists have a key role in primary prevention . They can set up Family Schools (Spanish: Escuelas de Familia; de la Fuente, 2023b ) to provide support in early affective relationships, bodily changes, early exposure to substances of abuse and the use of technology ( Echeburúa et al., 2012 ). Such Schools can be a valuable tool to help adolescents who are both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying by giving them appropriate tools ( Quintana-Orts et al., 2023 ).

The focus of secondary prevention is direct work with young people. The aim is to teach coping strategies to handle online conflict, promote self-efficacy and boost the socio-emotional competencies of adolescents and young adults ( Divecha and Brackett, 2020 ; Quintana-Orts et al., 2023 ). Interventions are focused on personal protective and contextual factors so as to maximise the internal capacities of adolescents, such as social skills, which are essential to their protection ( Liu et al., 2020 ; van den Toren et al., 2020 ).

1.7 Objectives and hypothesis

In light of the aforementioned issues, this study examines the behavior of university students as users of information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim is to identify the internal and external factors that predict such behavioral patterns and their relationship with positive and negative emotions among university students. The specific objectives were:

1. To identify the levels of more and less frequent regulatory factors.

2. To determine the associations and predictive relationships between different levels of regulation, whether personal or contextual, and achievement emotions in class.

3. To analyze the influence of external regulation on internal regulation and to assess the impact of gender on the identified differences.

On the basis of those objectives, the following hypotheses were tested:

1.7.1 Descriptive hypotheses

1. The level of Internal and External Regulation of Technology (SRT, ERT) will be greater than internal and external Non-Regulation of Technology (NRT, ENRT) and internal and external Dysregulation of Technology (DRT, EDRT). In parallel, the level of SRT will be greater than the level of ERT.

2. The level of positive academic achievement emotions (enjoyment, satisfaction, pride) will be greater than negative emotions (boredom, anxiety, anger, hopelessness) in class. Among negative emotions, boredom will be significantly higher.

1.7.2 Association and linear prediction hypothesis

1. Levels of External Regulation of Technology (ERT/ENRT/EDRT) will show associations that are significant and positive with levels of Self-Regulation of Technology (SRT/NRT/DRT). It is assumed that Self-Regulation of ICT (SRT) will be negatively correlated with and negatively predictive of NRT, and ENRT, and DRT and EDRT.

2. It was hypothesised that Internal and External Regulation of ICT (SRT, ERT) will show positive correlations with and be positively predictive of positive emotions. However, NRT and ENRT and specially DRT and EDRT will show positive correlations with and be positively predictive of negative emotions. It is expected that this effect will be especially significant with boredom during class.

1.7.3 Inferential hypotheses

1. Levels of External Regulation of Technology (ERT/ENRT/EDRT) will determine levels of (internal) Self-Regulation of Technology (SRT/NRT/DRT).

2. The average score for SRT, NRT and DRT will determine the highest level of positive emotions and the lowest (or worst) level of negative emotions in class. It is expected that these variables will have a more material impact on the prediction of academic emotions in comparison with external regulatory variables ( ERT, ENRT, EDRT ).

3. Gender will significantly determine differences in levels of SRT and ERT among university students. In fact, males will score higher, and that difference will be significant, for DRT and EDRT. In relation to academic emotions, it is expected that male students will experience negative emotions to a greater extent than female students.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 participants.

A total of 317 university students at different universities participated in the study. The study was conducted in the R&D framework of the Red Inetas 1 and the specific R&D projects in question. Students were invited to participate in the study voluntarily. Of the participants, 230 were female (72.51%) and 87 were male (27.49%). Ages were in the range 18–25 (m = 20.08, SD = 2.37). The sample comprised students enrolled in social sciences courses, all of whom participated voluntarily. Due to the impossibility of creating a random sample, an incidental, non-probabilistic sample was used. An incidental, non-probabilistic sample refers to a sample selected based on convenience, without following a random or probability-based selection process. The inclusion criterion for the study was being a university student. The exclusion criterion was the absence of prior clinical pathologies or diagnoses recorded in the self-reported consent form.

2.2 Instruments

2.2.1 self-regulatory behavior and contextual regulation.

SRT and ERT were evaluated using the Scale for the Evaluation of the Use of Technological Devices in Class at University (SRT-ERT; de la Fuente, 2022 , 2024a , b ). This scale contains 36 item answered on a Likert scale (1 = Totally disagree; 5 = Totally agree) which in turn each contain six susbscales: SRT (“I consider the appropriate use of ICT in class”); NRT (“I seldom consider the appropriate use of ICT in class”); DRT (“I take decisions to be able to use ICT in class how I want, because nobody can tell me how to use ICT.”) ERT (“The environment in class (university, teachers other students) helps me to plan my use of ICT in class by setting goals and targets”); ENRT (“In the environment in class (university, teachers other students) people rarely discuss appropriate use of ICT.”); and EDRT (“The environment in class (university, teachers other students) helps me to really enjoy using ICT, because they encourage me to do what I want, if it makes me happy.”). The factorial structure showed acceptable values [Chi square = 1,628,730, p  < 0.001; df (702–118) = 584; CH/DF = 2,789; CFI = 0.927; GFI = 0.903; IFI = 0.926; TLI = 0.926; RMSEA = 0.023; RSMR = 0.042; Hoelter = 1,309 ( p  < 0.05), 1.360 ( p  < 0.01)) The total reliability of the scale was also satisfactory (α = 0.916; ω = 0.885). The subscales also demonstrated acceptable reliability: SRT (α = 0.881; Omega = 0.876); NRT (α = 0.701; ω = 0.683); DRT (α = 0.858; ω = 0.834); ERT (α = 0.943; ω = 0.925); ENT (α = 0.865; ω = 0.850); EDT (α = 0.915; ω = 0.901).

2.2.2 Academic emotions

The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ), ( Pekrun et al., 2005 , Spanish language version Paoloni, 2018 ), is a multidimensional self-reported questionnaire for the assessment of achievement emotions in university students before, during and after class. It has 80 Likert items that measure four positive emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride, relief) and five negative emotions (anger, anxiety, hopelessness, shame and boredom) through items such as “I am ashamed that other people understand the class material better than me” and “During class, I want to vanish and disappear from my seat.” The scale has demonstrated validity and reliability with a consistent, acceptable factorial structure in this sample. The confirmatory model presented good fit [Chi-square = 529.890; Degrees of freedom = 79; Ch/df = 6.70; SRMR = 0.053; p  > 0.08; NFI = 0.964; RFI = 0.957; IFI = 0.973; TLI = 0.978, CFI = 0.971; RMSEA = 0.080; HOELTER = 165 (p < 0.05) and 178 (p < 0.01)]. Good internal consistency was also found for the total scale (Alpha = 0.939; Part 1 = 0.880, Part 2 = 0.864; Spearman-Brown = 0.913 and 884; Guttman = 0.903). Example items include: Item 90: I get angry when I have to study; Item 113: My sense of confidence motivates me; Item 144: I’m proud of myself.

2.2.3 Procedure

Students gave written informed consent and subsequently completed the instruments online anonymously. The R&D Project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Navarra (Ref. 2018.170) and University of Almería (Ref. UALBIO2024/050). Students were invited to participate using an anonymized QR code. After reading the Participant Information Sheet and the Self-Informed Consent Sheet, they were invited to complete different inventories through the inetas online Platform ( www.inetas.net ; de la Fuente et al., 2015 ). They were asked to complete a seminal inventory during a quarter. The SRT-ERT inventory was completed in the middle of the quarter, while the AEQ (emotions in class) inventory was completed at the end of the quarter; They were asked to be thinking about a teaching-learning process or specific subject. The data was stored anonymously on a protected server. The researchers only had access to the anonymized responses using a number per participant that allowed the different response files to be linked. Students were invited to participate using an anonymized QR code. After reading the Participant Information Sheet and the Self-Informed Consent Sheet, they were invited to complete different inventories through the INETAS online Platform ( www.inetas.net ; de la Fuente et al., 2015 ). They were asked to complete a weekly inventory during a quarter. The SRT-ERT inventory was completed in the middle of the quarter, while the AEQ (emotions in class) inventory was completed at the end of the quarter. They were asked to be thinking about a teaching-learning process or specific subject. The data was stored anonymously on a protected server. The researchers only had access to the anonymized responses using a number per participant that allowed the different response files to be linked. The study was conducted in accordance with the normal ethical principles of the profession of psychology. The data were held in anonymised databases subject to the protections for personal data required by law. The data server is at (NETERRA DATACENTERS EUROPE1). The processing of data was carried out by Mapache Software Europe subject to the appropriate safeguards. The data controller was Project IP1.

2.2.4 Data analysis

An ex post facto , prospective, and cross-sectional design was employed ( Lohr, 2010 ). The ex post facto approach addresses situations where the variable of interest has already occurred and/or it is unethical to manipulate it. It is termed prospective because the independent variable precedes the dependent variable in the analysis. Additionally, the design is cross-sectional, as longitudinal follow-up is not feasible and data were collected within a short period.

2.2.4.1 Preliminary analysis

The quality of the data was first assessed by identifying outliers and missing cases. Univariate outliers were detected by calculating Z scores for each variable, with Z scores outside the ±3 range considered potentially atypical ( Tabachnick et al., 2007 ). The Mahalanobis distance (D 2 ) was used to identify atypical combinations of variables (multivariate outliers), measuring each individual’s multidimensional distance from the centroid of the observations ( Lohr, 2010 ). This helps detect significant deviations from typical variable combinations. Literature suggests either removing or reassigning outliers to the nearest extreme score ( Weston and Gore, 2006 ). This procedure was executed using SPSS (v.26, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA), which includes a specific routine for missing values analysis to determine the extent and nature of missing data (systematic or random).

Assumptions related to sample size, independence of errors, univariate and multivariate normality, linearity, multicollinearity, recursion, and interval measurement level were evaluated, all showing acceptable reliability levels. For sample size, the inclusion of 10–20 cases per parameter is recommended, with at least 200 observations being optimal ( Kline, 2005 ). Independence of errors means that the error term of each endogenous variable should not be correlated with other variables.

Univariate normality was tested by examining the distribution of each observed variable, including indices of asymmetry and kurtosis. Asymmetry values greater than 3 and kurtosis values greater than 10 indicate a need for data transformation. Additionally, Mardia’s multivariate index values below 70 suggest that deviations from multivariate normality are not significant enough to impact the analysis ( Mardia, 1970 ). While the assumption typically requires interval-level measurement, nominal or ordinal variables were sometimes included, provided that their score distributions, especially for dependent variables, were not markedly asymmetric.

Normal distribution of the sample was first confirmed by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for dependent variables ( Lohr, 2010 ) and Hoelter’s index was calculated to validate the size of the sample ( Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001 ). Subsequently, descriptive analysis of comparison of means was conducted to test the first and second hypotheses. For purposes of the Hypothesis 3, Pearson’s bivariate correlation was carried out. For the fourth hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was used. For Hypotheses 5, 6 and 7, ANOVA and MANOVA were carried out to confirm the effects among the research variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was also carried out using accepted standards of fit. For reliability analysis, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated and specific criteria for direct and indirect effects were applied ( Keith, 2019 ). The programs used were SPSS 26.0 ( IBM Corp, 2019 ) reliability and AMOS v. 23.0 ( Arbuckle, 2014 ) for confirmatory factorial analysis and SEM.

3.1 Descriptive results (hypothesis 1 and hypothesis 2)

In mean analysis, a higher score was obtained for SRT (m = 3.92; SD = 0.79), followed by ERT (m = 3.71; SD. = 0.94). The lowest scores were for DRT (m = 2.64; SD = 0.94) and EDRT (m = 2.54; SD = 1.02) respectively. Scores for SRT (m = 3.92; SD = 0.79) were higher than those for ERT (m = 3.71; SD = 0.94; see Table 1 ).

Table 1 . Descriptive statistics for study variables ( n  = 317).

In relation to academic emotions in class as whole, positive academic emotions in class had higher average scores than negative emotions [ t (316) = 42.109; p  < 0.001].

3.2 Association results (hypothesis 3)

3.2.1 association of regulatory behavior and context.

First, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between NRT and DRT (r = 0.53; p  < 0.01) and in turn a statistically significant negative correlation was found between DRT and SRT ( r  = −0.13; p  < 0.01). Conversely, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between ENRT and EDRT (r = 0.59; p  < 0.01) and in turn a statistically significant negative correlation was found between EDRT and ERT ( r  = −0.14; p  < 0.01; see Table 2 ).

Table 2 . Pearson correlations of internal and external regulation of technology.

3.2.2 Regulatory behavior and academic emotions In class

A statistically significant positive correlation was found between SRT and positive emotions (r = 0.34; p  < 0.01) and in turn a statistically significant negative correlation was found between SRT and negative emotions (SRT; r  = −0.16; p  < 0.01). That tendency was similar to a degree for ERT, which had a positive correlation with positive emotions ( r  = 0.30; p  < 0.01) but had no correlation with negative emotions. In relation to variables of internal and external non-regulation and dysregulation, it was found that NRT and DRT were moderately positively correlated with negative emotions ( r  = 0.40; p  < 0.01; r  = 0.34; p  < 0.01, respectively). It is noteworthy that the emotions most strongly correlated with NRT are anger (0.40) and hopelessness (0.43). Other weak but significant relationships were found between ENR and EDRT and negative emotions (r = 0.34; p  < 0.01 and r = 0.31; p  < 0.01), respectively (see Table 3 ).

Table 3 . Associations between levels of regulation of technology and emotions in class.

3.3 Multiple prediction (hypothesis 4)

3.3.1 external prediction of levels of internal regulation of technology.

Internal Regulation of Technology (SRT) [ F (3, 328) = 45,392; p < 0,001 ; r 2  = 0.286 (28.60%)], was significantly predicted by ERT ( B  = 0.523, p < 0. 001). For Internal Non-Regulation of Technology (NRT), the external factor model [ F (3, 328) = 73; p < 0,001 ; r 2  = 0.40 (40%)] showed that both ENRT ( F (328) = 7.5; p < 0.001) and EDRT [ F (330) = 4.99; p < 0.001] were statistically significant positive promoters of NRT.

The linear prediction model showed to a degree that was statistically significant [ F (3, 330) = 125.5; p < 0 .0.001 ; r 2  = 0.52 (52%)], that DRT was predicted by ENR ( B  = 0.232; p < 0. 001) and EDR ( B  = 0.552; p < 0 .001).

3.3.2 Emotional predication of levels of internal and external regulation

The linear prediction model tested [ F (6, 275) = 9,588; p < 0.001 ; r 2  = 0.155 (15.50%)] showed that internal ( B  = 0.300; p  < 0.001) and external ( B  = 0.134; p  < 0.05) regulation significantly predicted positive emotion in class. Conversely the linear prediction model tested [ F (6, 275) = 10,487; p < 0.001 ; r 2  = 0.177 (17.7%)] showed that non-regulatory conduct in relation to ICT ( B  = 0.141; p < 0.01) and dysregulatory conduct ( B  = 0.227; p  < 0.01) of students together with a non-regulatory environment ( B  = 200; p  < 0.01) significantly predicted negative emotions (particularly boredom).

3.4 Inferential results (hypotheses 5 and 6)

3.4.1 the effect of the level of external regulation on internal regulation.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect of type of context on Total Internal Regulation (SRTOT) [ F (2, 316) = 41,815; p < 0.001 ; r 2  = 0.444; Power  = 1], and that ERT significantly determines students’ SRT. Analysis of means identified a group with low total scores for regulation (m = −0.8795; SD = 0.40483; n = 118), a group with moderate level of regulation (m = −0,4,713; SD = 0.040389; n = 124) and a group with high level of regulation (m = 0.0781; SD = 0.42459; n = 74). No significant differences were found in error variance of the groups [ F (2, 313) = 0.367; p  = 0.693]. In addition, it was found that levels of external regulation were significantly different in relation to SRTOT [3 < 2 < 1, p  < 0.001).

3.4.2 The effect of the level of external regulation on academic emotions

There was a significant principal effect of the level of external regulation of ICT on positive and negative emotions [ F (4,534) = 9,269 (Pillai), p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.05; power = 1.00], with greater discriminatory power for negative emotions [ F (2,267) = 19,911 (Pillai), p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.130; power = 1.00], than positive emotions [ F (2,267) = 4,481 (Pillai), p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.035; power = 0.85; see Table 4 ].

Table 4 . Mean values of levels of emotion in function of external regulatory context.

MANOVA for positive and negative emotions also showed a significant principal effect of the level of external regulation [ F (14,532) = 5,204 (Pillai), p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.120; power = 1.00], with significant partial effects. It should be noted that the greatest effect was seen with hopelessness, anger and boredom which showed significant differences in function of each level of teaching context (see Table 4 ).

3.4.3 Effect of gender on internal and external levels of regulation

MANOVA showed a significant principal effect of gender on internal and external regulation [ F (6, 310) = 3,603 (Pillai) ; p  < 0.01; r 2  = 0.065; Power  = 0.953]. Pillai’s trace test showed that there were no joint differences between the groups echoing the finding that the matrices of observed covariance of dependent variables are identical across groups (Box mean = 16.207; p  < 0.135). In turn, significant partial effects were found, with a gender effect on DRT [ F (1, 311) = 12,044; p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.037; Power  = 0.933] and on NRT [ F (1, 311) = 3,830; p  < 0.05; r 2  = 0.012; Power  = 0.497]. In both cases, male students scored more highly. Male students also scored significantly more highly for ENRT [ F (1, 311) = 15,484; p  < 0.001; r 2  = 0.047; Power  = 0.976] and EDRT [ F (1, 311) = 6,552; p  < 0.01; r 2  = 0.020; Power  = 0.723]. Partial effects were found because male students had higher scores for NRT (m = 2.91; SD = 0.80) than female students (m = 2.72; SD = 0.71). Male students also scored more highly (m = 2.88; SD = 0.94) than female students (m = 2.48; SD = 0.91) for DRT.

In relation to context , male students had higher scores for ENRT (m = 2.96; SD = 0.93) than female students (m = 2.51; SD = 0.89). For EDRT, the scores of male students (m = 2.70; SD = 1.07) were higher than those of female students (m = 2.37; SD = 0.99; see Table 5 ).

Table 5 . Descriptive statistics for study variables ( n  = 317).

3.4.4 The effect of gender on academic emotions

MANOVA identified gender as principal effector for Positive Emotions [ F (1, 461) = 7.959, p  < 0.01, η 2  = 0.017]. However, there were no significant differences with negative emotions [ F (1, 461) = 0.223, p  = 0.637, η 2  = 0.000]. Statistical tests of homogeneity of variance showed that there were no significant differences between variances across groups for both dependent variables (Box m = 5.410; p  = 0.147). A significant partial effect showed that male students score significantly more highly for rage [ F (1,472) = 7,854; p < 0 .001; r 2  = 0.016; Power = 0.779; see Table 6 ].

Table 6 . Descriptive statistics for academic emotions by gender.

4 Discussion

4.1 discussion of hypotheses and results.

The objective of this study was to understand general behavior towards, and use of, ICT in a sample of university students. And to determine the internal and external regulatory factors that predict and differentiate behavior in relation to ICT at university and the relationship of such factors with academic emotions. Additionally, we aimed to study the differentiating effect of gender on these relationships.

In relation to Hypothesis 1 , it is confirmed in our sample of students that the highest scores obtained were for SRT, followed by ERT. Hypothesis 1 is confirmed inasmuch as the highest scores were obtained for Regulation (SRT and ERT) and the lowest scores were obtained for DRT and EDRT. For Hypothesis 2 , it is confirmed that SRT scored more highly than ERT.

For Hypothesis 3 , it was postulated that there is a predictive linear association between the levels of internal and external regulation of technology. More specifically, it was also expected that SRT and ERT would be negatively associated with NRT and ENRT. And that SNR and ENRT would be positively associated with DRT and EDRT. The results obtained support Hypothesis 3. It was found that there is indeed a high positive correlation between DRT and NRT and ENRT and EDRT which suggests that a lack of self-regulation and of a regulatory environment may lead to a higher degree of disorganisation and problems in the use of technology. This result is consistent with the relationship model postulated by Self- vs External-Regulation Theory ( de la Fuente, 2022 , 2024a ; de la Fuente et al., 2022a , b ) so that this study provides empirical support for that theory in the context of the use of ICT at university, which had not previously been investigated. These results underline the importance of integrating self-regulation of technology into programmes of education and training so as to prepare students to cope with the challenges that they face in a world that is increasingly interconnected and dominated by technology ( Díaz-Vicario et al., 2019 ; Laurence et al., 2020 ; García-Montero and Bustos-Córdova, 2021 ).

Conversely, however, we also found a negative relationship between, on the one hand, SRT and ERT and, on the other hand, NRT and ENRT (respectively). This suggests that the higher the level of regulation of technology, internal and external, the lower the number of ambivalent situations propitious to a lack of regulation. It was also found that self-regulated students experience greater academic success, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. These findings underline the importance of promoting self-regulation within the teaching process and suggest that that may be key to improved academic achievement and the motivation of students in technological environments ( García-Martín, 2012 ).

Hypothesis 4 postulated that ERT would promote SRT and have the converse effect on DRT. And that ENRT and EDRT would be positively predictive of DRT. As such and given the results obtained, Hypothesis 4 is borne out. This is because ERT promotes SRT and does not promote DRT. However, it was seen that ENRT and EDRT promote both DRT and NRT. As such, it supports complex interaction between personal and contextual factors and underlines the need to create holistic educational and intervention strategies ( de la Fuente et al., 2022c ). Dealing with self-regulation of technology does not require us just to consider the dynamics in academia and teamwork, but also to acknowledge the influence of teachers and parents as key facilitators in the inculcation of healthy ICT practice among students ( Pan et al., 2020 ; Pachón-Basallo et al., 2021 ).

The complementary analysis of the relationship between regulatory variables and academic emotions confirmed our expectations. SRT showed a significant positive correlation with positive emotions and negative correlation with negative emotions. Of particular note was the moderate relationship of NRT with negative emotions, specifically anger and hopelessness. These results are important because they may suggest the nexus between dysregulated use of ICT at university and emotional dysregulation of students. Indeed, it has been shown in a longitudinal study that experiencing anger is directly associated with prosocial conduct and aggression, as measured 2 years later ( Mesurado et al., 2018 ).

The analysis of the inferential hypotheses generated significant findings in relation to the influence of variables of internal and external regulation in the university context. It was confirmed that regulation by the environment in which university students find themselves does indeed affect their self-regulation. This shows the critical importance of context in academic performance and the acquisition of competences ( Tobar-Otero and Canós-Darós, 2022 ).

In relation to academic emotions, the results obtained indicate a significant influence of the suite of predictive variables in the SRT vs. ERT model on both positive and negative emotions. There was a particularly notable significant impact of variables of self-regulation (SRT, NRT, DRT) on the prediction of negative emotions. These results provide partial support for the hypothesis postulated since personal variables of regulation showed a considerable influence on the prediction of negative emotions.

In relation to positive emotions, it was determined that SRT, ERT, and EDRT explain approximately 15% of the variability observed in positive emotions, suggesting a significant relationship, albeit less pronounced than with negative emotions. Although some regulatory variables showed significant effects, not all of them had an impact similar to the variables of self-regulation on positive emotions. This finding aligns with previous research indicating that self-regulation is a crucial predictor of well-being and positive emotional outcomes ( López-Madrigal et al., 2022 ). However, the external variables of regulation did not affect positive emotions as clearly as expected, which does not completely support the initial hypothesis. This discrepancy highlights the complexity of the interaction between personal and contextual factors in influencing emotional outcomes.

Moreover, the study by Garzón-Umerenkova et al. (2022) underscores the mediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between academic behaviors and well-being, further emphasizing the importance of self-regulation in promoting positive emotions. Given these findings, future research should explore in greater depth the linear relationships between external regulatory factors and positive emotions, considering additional variables such as coping strategies, resilience, and positivity, as suggested by the 3P Model ( Biggs, 1989 ). This approach could provide a more comprehensive understanding of how educational contexts and personal regulatory capacities jointly influence emotional well-being in university students.

In addition, it is crucial to deepen our understanding of how variables of regulation in relation to ICT can favour or disfavour emotional regulation and experience of students. It is recognised that emotional regulation is a determinative variable that appears to play an important role in the development of negative affect and psychosomatic symptoms in students in higher education ( Teixeira et al., 2022 ). Such additional information would be essential to better understanding the impact of personal regulatory variables in the academic and emotional contexts of university students.

The analysis of gender differences showed differences for SRT and ERT. Male students scored more highly for DRT and EDRT, which is indicative of habits that are deficient in terms of self-regulation and exposure to disruptive environments. Prior research has underlined the differentiating, predictive role of gender and age in learning behavior. Self-regulation, as a key personal characteristic, reaffirms the importance of considering such factors when designing educational strategies and interventions to improve university learning ( de la Fuente and Martínez-Vicente, 2023a , b ).

Finally, and in relation to academic emotions, it was observed that female students experience slightly more positive emotions that males, with a statistically significant difference, albeit of reduced magnitude. However, no notable differences were found in negative emotions between the genders. It should be noted that the specialist literature has detected gender differences and shown that women tend to score more highly for emotions such as enjoyment, hope and pride relative to men ( Barron and Harackiewicz, 2001 ; Pekrun et al., 2004 , 2007 ).

4.1.1 Limitations

This study has limitations in terms of geography and demographics, as it considered only university students in Spain. Although the students in the sample were studying a number of disciplines, this concentration restricts the scope for generalizing the results to other populations. Additionally, the number of participants, although significant, may limit the extrapolation of the findings, particularly given the predominance of women in the sample. These limitations highlight the need to interpret the results in light of the specific context of the sample, acknowledging that differences from other populations and areas of study may affect the applicability of the conclusions. Furthermore, the cross-sectional design of the study limits the ability to infer causality between the variables studied. Future research should consider longitudinal designs to better understand the causal relationships and the long-term effects of ICT regulation on academic and emotional outcomes.

4.1.2 Future research

It would be valuable for future research to analyse in greater depth how specific contexts, such as university policies and access to technology resources, impact regulation of ICT. It would also be valuable to explore in greater detail how the interactions between and among students, teaching staff and the academic environment may influence the regulation of technology. As well as investigating gender differences in self-regulation, it would be important to understand the reasons behind such differences. It would also be of value to research the relationship between academic emotions and the appropriate use of ICT and to explore possible linear relationships.

4.2 Implications of the results for the practice educational psychology

4.2.1 training of university teaching staff and educational context.

Another implication of this study is the need to provide training to teaching staff so that they can promote self-regulation and appropriate use of ICT by students. Teaching staff can play a key role in the creation of educational environments that promote positive regulation in relation to technology. That could include teaching strategies that help students to develop skills of self-regulation and the adoption of university polices that promote the healthy use of ICT. As such, it is essential that both teaching staff and universities seek ways to limit negative aspects of ICT whilst exploiting it to the full. That could include awareness-raising programmes and the promotion of best practice in the use of technology at university, working with educational psychologists.

4.2.2 Model of interactive evaluation and intervention

Given that this study suggests a complex relationship between self-regulation and external regulation, it is crucial to adopt an interactive model of evaluation and intervention. That implies that intervention strategies should take account of both internal and external regulatory factors. That may require collaboration between psychologists, teaching staff and other people working in education to effectively address the challenges related to the use of ICT that arise at university.

In summary, these findings underline the importance of addressing regulation of technology in a university context and highlight the need to develop intervention strategies to promote self-regulation, promote co-regulation among students and to ensure appropriate use of new technology. In synthesis, the study brings into relief the importance of promoting the responsible and ethical use of ICT in education. That entails raising the awareness of young people, the training of teaching staff and guidance to parents and schoolteachers in addressing the challenges of the digital world ( Prats-Fernández et al., 2018 ; Gómez-Vahos et al., 2019 ).

4.2.3 Programmes of work to prevent and mitigate the problem

Interventions based on developing psychological resources have had positive impacts on daily life and wellbeing. Studies such as the RedSocs educational workshops, intended to promote the healthy use of technology among 1,200 students, parents and educators in Catalonia, have demonstrated their efficacy in promoting the appropriate use of the Internet ( Prats-Fernández et al., 2018 ). In the same way, the Cubilete programme conducted in students in Jaen successfully reduced excessive Internet use and negative behaviors in relation to online gaming and betting ( Berrios Aguayo et al., 2020 ). Recently, the Positive Emotional Training (PoET) programme has been trialled successfully in the general population and shown a significant reduction in symptoms associated with depression and anxiety together with a notable increase in optimism through online sessions ( Niemann et al., 2023 ).

Further, the study by Rincón et al. (2023) focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of the mobile app OneUS in promoting positive emotions and positive thinking so as to improve general wellbeing. That study represents a significant advance in the development of an evidence-based application focused on intentional mental training so as to promote wellbeing. Despite that, abandonment by participants and the limited generalisability of the results to clinical populations were acknowledged as challenges for the study.

5 Conclusion

The results of this investigation have revealed that university students should increase their competence in the use of ICT. It was also possible to observe a positive correlation between self-regulation and external regulation, which suggests that the teaching context in which students find themselves plays a crucial role in the way in which students manage their technology-related behavior. We also identified that greater self-regulation is associated with lesser dysregulation. The results of this study highlight the importance of seeking strategies to promote appropriate use of new technology within universities among students and educators.

It is fundamental that practising psychologists recognise the importance of regulation of technology and are prepared to address issues around the use of ICT. In that sense, it would be possible to develop a formative model of competence based on recent models ( de la Fuente and Martínez-Vicente, 2023a , b ) that includes strategies for intervention aimed at both students and at teaching staff. The promotion of self-regulation through digital education and awareness-raising in relation to the risks of inappropriate use of ICT.

It is also essential to bear gender differences in mind because male students scored more highly for Dysregulation of Technology and showed greater exposure to contexts that are dysregulatory in relation to technology. It is essential to develop specific intervention strategies that address those differences and promote co-regulation among students.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Research Ethics Committee of the University of Navarra (Ref. 2018.170). The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

JF: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. LL-L: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. MP-B: Resources, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. LM-Í: Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft. PB-S: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by RD & I Project 2022 (2022–2024), ref. PDC2022-133145-I00, University of Navarra (UNAV), Ministry of Science and Innovation, and European Social Found and RD & I Project 2022 (2023–2025), ref. PID2022-136466NB-I00, University of Navarra (UNAV), Ministry of Science and Innovation, and European Social Found.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

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Keywords: internal vs. external regulation behavior, achievement emotions in class, gender, university, ICT

Citation: de la Fuente J, Lecuona-López L, Pachón-Basallo M, San Martín-Íñiguez L and Blanco-Sarto P (2024) Addressing the links between and internal vs. external regulation factors, achievement emotions and gender in problematic use of ICT at university. Front. Psychol . 15:1382016. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382016

Received: 04 February 2024; Accepted: 18 July 2024; Published: 06 August 2024.

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Copyright © 2024 de la Fuente, Lecuona-López, Pachón-Basallo, San Martín-Íñiguez and Blanco-Sarto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Jesús de la Fuente, [email protected]

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