Instructions
For this assignment, you will submit a draft of all items and questionnaires that will be given to your participants in your study. The items and questions should be listed in the exact order that they will be given to participants. You may use questionnaires that you have designed, questionnaires used in previous research, or any combination thereof. Your instructor will provide feedback so that these materials may be improved before data collection.
For additional details, please refer to the Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric document (ATTACHED).
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS BASED OFF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL TOPIC THAT WAS ALREADY CHOSEN AND COMPLETED. I HAVE ATTACHED MY COMPLETE RESEARCH PROPOSAL THAT INCLUDES THE TOPIC AND ALL OF THE DETAILS TO HELP YOU. YOU MUST DO THIS ASSIGNMENT BASED ON THIS RESEARCH PROPOSAL!
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UNFORMATTED ATTACHMENT PREVIEW
PSY 520 Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric Note that you are required to use Southern New Hampshire University students as research participants by using the PSY 510/520 Lounge in SNHUConnect (link is located in the left-hand navigation menu). You are strictly prohibited from using individuals outside of Southern New Hampshire University as research participants. For this assignment, you will submit a draft of all items and questionnaires that will be given to your participants in your study. The items and questions should be listed in the exact order that they will be given to participants. You may use questionnaires that you have designed, questionnaires used in previous research, or any combination thereof. Your instructor will provide feedback so that these materials may be improved before data collection. Guidelines for Submission: Submit a single document containing all introductory statements, instructions, and questions you will ask of your research participants. Critical Elements Introduction Instructions Clarity of Questions Response Choices Content Articulation of Response Exemplary (100%) Includes a clear statement of purpose and a motivational message encouraging participation Instructions are clear and easy to follow, reflecting a welldesigned instrument Questions are crystal clear, and a person would not have to ask for clarification Response choices need no interpretation and are appropriate for every question Proficient (90%) Includes a clear statement of purpose Needs Improvement (70%) Purpose is stated vaguely or in a confusing manner Not Evident (0%) Purpose is not stated Instructions are clear, but may involve a confusing set of steps Instructions are not included 15 Questions are confusing and ambiguous 20 Response choices are inappropriate to the questions. Few would be able to choose 20 All essential questions are properly addressed without duplication Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format All essential questions are properly addressed, though there may be redundancy Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Instructions are not clear, resulting in dropped or incomplete survey completions Questions are somewhat clear, but are worded clumsily and/or in need of clarification Response choices fit clumsily with the questions or not at all. Some people would be unable to choose One or more essential questions are left out and/or digressive questions asked Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Most essential questions are left out and there are many digressive questions Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 20 Questions are mostly clear, but may be worded clumsily or subject to interpretation Response choices need some interpretation in order to answer some questions Earned Total Value 15 10 100% Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE Effects of Social Media on Academic Performance for College Students Sharaya Janes Research Methods in Psychology I Dr Kube May 13, 2019 1 EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 2 Effects of Social Media on Academic Performance of College Students Social media is becoming more and more popular in all aspects of today’s society. Although there are many benefits to social media, there are also many disadvantages. One major downfall that comes with the popularity of social media, especially amongst college-aged students, is the effect it has on their academic performance. There has been an increase in the use of social media, hence exploding as a category of online discourse to enable many college students to create and share content and network at a prodigious rate (Tess, 2013). Technology advancements have turned mobile phones into computers. Problem Statement The impact of social media on the academic performance of college students can either be positive or negative. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of social media on behaviour performance of college students (Bernard &Ndzandza, 2018). Most of the students have been performing poorly in their academics. The academic levels are deteriorating day after day, and it seems the level is likely to continue to decline as time progresses. How has the emergence and involvement in social media affected the level of academic performance? The research question is to understand the impact that social media has brought to academic performance among college students. Based on previous research, they have associated the use of social media to various vices in the society, but there is no link to the effects it has to the academic performance (Gikas, & Grant, 2013). The research that is based on academic performance has not handled the matter thoroughly, hence the need for further research. The research should be based on the level of social media and the effects it has on academic performance. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Research questions This paper aims to find out if the usage of social media by students has any impact on their academic performance, and if it does have an impact on whether it is negative or positive. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is social media and why students use it? 2. How much time do students spend using social media? 3. What is the impact of social media on students’ academic performance? Assumptions The researcher will be conducting this study presupposing the following; 1. Students use social media to communicate and study. 2. On average, students spend more than an hour a day on social media use. 3. The impact of social media on academic performance could be positive or negative at the same time. Scope and delimitation The study was conducted to assess the impact of social media on students’ academic performance. Twenty students who are actively using social media are the respondents of the study. It will be conducted during the months of June-July, 2019. The study will limit only on variables of social media that the researchers assum has effects of respondents’ academic performance. These variables are respondents ‘access to the internet, usage, perception on social media, and their frequency of using it’. 3 EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 4 Significance of the study Social networks are popular with students as they are a way of spending free time. They also serve as a quick and easy way for finding information either educational or entertaining. This necessitates the need to find the answer to the question, what effect does social media usage have on their users and how it affects the academic performance of students. This study will try and answer that question and allow the researcher to explore and gain new knowledge. Furthermore, this report can be used for future studies. Currently, the internet has taken a staunch place on the lives of many students. It has been difficult to imagine that a college student who has a lot to explore did not check for updates from social media. Most students spend most of their time on social media to follow up on the trending issues (Gikas, & Grant, 2013). These behaviors may not necessarily affect the performance of the students. Some students use social media to acquire essential information to apply in their studies. The social media has changed the public discourse of college students and is setting trends and new agendas that are ranging from education, environment, fashion, entertainment to technology. On the other hand, social media has been blamed for causing addiction to the users (Alsaad et al. 2018). Most students spend more than thirty minutes a day using their social media instead of concentrating on their academics. This may affect their performance as the college requires the students to meet specific grades in each exam. Social media has been used to facilitate communication among the students, and this has encouraged them to use networking technology. In the field of social science, the topic of social media has been highlighted due to the positive impact on the learners’ performance. The social EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 5 media has therefore encouraged research in the different fields of study. Most students have been attracted by these calls on research ( Alsaad et al. 2018). The entire process has been made possible by the changing technology industry. The internet has made classes easy to attend online hence saving time spent in school. LITERATURE REVIEW Existing Research and associated research designs Social media has been termed as an effective tool for college students. Many college students frequently use social media and this behavior may not necessarily affect the performance of the students. How social media is used determines how it affects students’ performance. Positive or negative practices that students use when accessing social media platforms determine how this affects their academic performance. According to Al-Rahmi, & Othman, (2013), some students use social media to acquire essential information to apply in their studies. One can use social media for knowledge purposes through; usage of social media for learning and teaching, through the promotion of social upliftmen and use of social media websites to define career goals. Social media has been blamed for causing addiction to the users as most students cannot go more than ten minutes a day without accessing their social media platforms (Al-Rahmi, & Othman, 2013). This may affect their performance as the college requires the students to meet specific grades in each exam and the student can’t achieve those good grades if they don’t concentrate on their classes. The article by Bernard J. (2018) confirms that social media has been used as an online discourse enabling people to create content and share information over the internet. Communication on social media has become rampant among college students. This has also been coined by Saad et EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 6 al. (2018). According to Bernard, (2018), they stated that the evolution of the internet has led to an increase in the use of social media, especially among young people. The social has been evolving day in day out, and this has resulted in changes in the behavior of most of the students who are engaged in such platforms (Bernard, 2018). Currently, the internet is taking a staunch place in the lives of many students. Many students spend most of their time on social media to follow up on trending issues. Advantages and disadvantages The research articles have provided strong information regarding the issue of social media platforms and academic performance. The literature research studies discussed above provides the advantages of setting an established evidence basis for the use of social media platforms on academic performance. This assertion means that the social media platform engagement has affected the level of being involved in academics. The low level of involvement in academics leads to low level of academic performance (Benard, 2018). A disadvantage of the studies that are reflected above on level of academic performance is that some have made use of a small number of sampling. The small groups utilized in certain cases may not provide the right evidence on the issue being addressed. The articles have not provided a solution to the existing situation of that there is an emergence of technology an unavoidable feature. The overall disadvantage in the above research is the lack of study specifically done with the social media platform. The study should have included the burden of engaging in social media platforms and the low level of academic performance. The lack of current data from research on EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 7 a social media platform and academic performance has inspired the need to examine the subject in the research study to confirm the hypothesis and then propose ways to improve on the academic performance (Al-Rahmi, Othman, & Yusuf, 2015). Social media facilitates the communication between students, teachers and their peers. In that regard, social media platforms impact academics positively. The internet has made classes easy to attend online hence saving time spent in school. The variables of social media that may affect the students’ academic performance are: • Access to the internet. • Usage of social media. • The student’s perception of social media • Frequency of using social media platforms. The information on variables above has been represented in the diagram below which is called a fishbone diagram or the Ishikawa model. It is a causal diagram showing the causal effects of different variables. The above variables will be used to identify the impact of using social media on the academic performance of the students. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 8 METHOD Participants The research will use graduate students from both PSY 510 and PSY 520, who are to be involved in giving the information that is needed to understand how those students who make use of social media platforms have been performing in their studies and to come out with a definite conclusion. The participants will be inclusive of males and females who will have different ages, ranging from 21 to 50 years of age. It is estimated that there will be 7-10 participants. The participants will make use of computers and smartphones to undertake the surveys (Al-Rahmi, & Othman, 2013). The data collected from the participants will be evaluated by use of an SPSS. Procedure The participants of the research will be required to comply with the procedure that is set for the research and should ensure that they make the best out of the survey. The participants will be required to read through the introduction part before engaging in the survey research part. The participant will participate through an informed consent since they will be requested of their willingness to participate in the survey as well as the interviews. The participants will first fill the demographic question, where they will indicate on which class level they are in and which courses they are undertaking. After that, the participants will answer the questions that follow that will enable the understanding of how academic performance is affected by student involvement in the use of social media platforms. The participants will be required to read a hypothetical scenario where they will fill out a student satisfaction that is based on the hypothetical scenario. There will be a second scenario that will be read by the participants, and they will be required to answer the EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 9 students’ satisfaction that is based on the second scenario they read (Al-Rahmi, & Othman, 2013). Then, after all, a more detailed account of what each survey aspects include follows and will be inclusive of the information on ethics. Materials The materials to be utilized in the study will be presented to the participants by the use of Qualtrics; an online survey program used by various schools including mine, Southern New Hampshire University. Such materials will be made available when the study has been initiated and when everything is set. Therefore, the materials will be generated and utilized in the scope of research. Demographics A demographics survey will ask about gender, age, current work status, and current field of work. Research Design This study used quantitative research methods. Sources of Data I used primary, secondary and tertiary data to find all the information used to put together this research. Primary data was acquired from ten students who acted as my respondents for this study. As for secondary data, I used previous studies conducted on this topic, literature books and texts. For tertiary data sources, I used indexes which I used for references. Instrumentation and Data Collection EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 10 I used questionnaires, survey, reading reviews from other studies, books, and texts. Survey and questionnaires were conducted on the 10 respondents where they were encouraged to answer honestly and without bias. The questions presented in the questionnaires were clear, concise and simple enough. This was to allow the respondents to understand the question and be able to answer it honestly to provide accurate information. I also read other research studies conducted by other researchers so I could be able to see their perspectives on this issue. The survey was conducted through the survey method that was thought to be important. The survey method used is online survey approach. The online survey approach is where a respondent is issued with questions that are presented in an online platform and requires a computer, literate individuals. The answers to the questions are presented in the survey online. The online survey approach in survey is useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. The questions presented in this approach were; are students acting appropriately and being safe when they use social media platforms? How much do your parents know about what you do on the internet? How much of your time do you spend on social media platforms posting your stuff and sharing with friends? How much time do you spend studying? How do you feel when engaging in social media platforms and books?. The type of responses obtained for the survey was positive towards the study since every student was determined to provide the right responses. The range of the total score of the surveys was that it scored above average in terms of response. Ethical Concerns All research should be conducted in the highest level of ethics to ensure that there is no harm caused to the participants as well as the researcher makes the best out of their study. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 11 Therefore, to ensure that ethical issues are avoided, there is a need to research with informed consent and debriefing occurring for each student. A consideration that must be put in place when conducting the study is that there should be a small pool of participants (John and Emefa 2018). Such a small pool of participants is a concern with the reporting because it would not be appropriate if there is any statistical significance for any real conclusion to be drawn other than the conclusion to conduct more research. There is another ethical concern about asking certain demographic questions. Such an issue can be resolved by providing an option to decline to answer any of the questions (Lau, 2017). The concern is that the participants are in some capacity peers, despite being from different classes they attend the same school. The highest concern is that privacy is required and needs to be of the highest degree. Data Analysis Plan Prepare new data The raw data from the online survey will be fed into an SSPS, which is a computer program which will be able to analyse the data. Each variable will be examined for descriptive data, such as the means, standard deviation and group mean. Scatterplots and boxplots will be created to find any outliners which may affect the analysis of the data. Analytic procedures The variables in the study will be evaluated using the analysis of variance or ANOVA and be analysed with the SPSS computer program which will provide the descriptive statistics, such as the means and standard deviation and confidence interval for each variable. An ANOVA, where there is a comparison of each variable, which highlights any significant differences or effect between the variables. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 12 Once the data collection has been completed the data will be coded as necessary, and then SPSS will be used for analysis purpose of the results. The participants will have a social media use that has an academic scenario, and a social media use that has no academic scenario. The research will establish a dependent sample t-test run to analyze the data collected. Descriptive statistics will be reported; average and standard deviations will be presented (Heffner, 2016). If the occupations are too revealing for the participant’s privacy, they will be omitted. There is a potential to have graphs, but they will only be used if it helps describe the outcomes of the survey. The range and average will be examined to determine if there are any outliers in the sample. Descriptive Statistics The descriptive statistics will be used to summarize the results of the findings of the research. The summary will be of the data from the surveys and cases studies. The statistics will have a central tendency which indicates the central point in a data set. The type of data statistics that will be measured is a measure of dispersion or variation and measures of central tendency. Principles and Standards The proposed data analysis methods have achieved ethical standards and the principles of researching in that the researchers can protect the privacy of the participants and has informed consent to the participants. The participants will be requested to participate and will be informed about the roles they are to play and the information they are to provide, and they will approve the same. The research will also ensure there are minimal risks of harm to the participants. Therefore, it is necessary that everything is conducted to the highest degree of standards (Gilbert, etc. l. 2018). The participants’ anonymity and confidentiality should also be protected to ensure that they are secure while providing information. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 13 Anticipated Results The anticipated results are statistically significant. The results will indicate that there is significant difference between the engagement in social media platforms and failure to engage while undertaking studies. The results indicate the academic performance is low when there is engagement in social media platforms and the academic performance increases where there is no usage of the social media platforms (Al-Rahmi, & Othman, 2013). The social media survey is going to be the most significant and relevant for the study, and that will show that the participants have a different ability to concentrate on academic and boost their performance. The results will be presented as a factual opinion and not as a statement of the causes of such behaviours among the participants. There will be a careful interpretation of the results to create the surety that there are no ethical issues that will mislead anyone with the results. There will be the anticipation of the limitations that will occur as a result of the sample size. The population is limited, and this makes normal distribution not to occur which also restricts the case of generalization of the results to the overall population. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA The data collected was analyzed and interpreted through the following parameters; 1. Access to Social Media and Usage by Students. These days most students can access social media platforms as there is internet everywhere easily. In their schools, in their homes, in hotels and everywhere one can think of, even bathrooms. It’s even seen as a basic need in this 21st century. With the internet everywhere, it has become easier for students to access social media platforms. This has led to the use of social media platforms to do everything, i.e., study, make friends and entertainment. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 14 A student can either use social media platforms positively or negatively. Those negative practices of social lead to a decline in a student’s performance while positive practices lead to positive academic performance. 2. Time Spent On Social Media Platforms By Students. One aspect of social media that determines whether it affects a student’s academic performance is the amount of time that one spends on those social media platforms. Most college students spend all their time on social media posting selfies, liking other pages and pictures, looking for friends, entertainment and watching videos (Jacobsen, & Forste, 2011). This can be a 24/7 thing as it is very addictive. Even most employees spend a significant amount of time on the internet just surfing on those social media platforms. Time spent on social media platforms determines the academic performance of a student. The more time a student spends on social platforms, not for academic purposes the more his academic performance declines. But if a student is using those social media platforms to acquire knowledge, then his performance will improve. 3. The Impact of Social Media on Students’ Academic Performance. Using social media platforms in themselves does not affect the academic performance of students, especially when they are used minimally. What affects the performance of a student is excessive use of social media for non-academic purposes. When used for academic purposes it helps the students’ academic performance. By being used for academic purposes, I mean using them for e-learning, looking through student forums to gain knowledge and other positive uses. FINDINGS John & Emefa outlines that, the emergence of social media in the 1990s impacted significant changes in the world. Since then there has been a significant development in communication EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 15 platforms. The findings of this research concluded that social media usage had an impact on students’ academic performance and that the impacts were both negative and positive. They include; Positive Impacts Some of the positive effects include developments of new ideas and content which is utilized by various students in a different part of the world. A lot of students were using the social media platform to enhance their research on different topics (Selwyn, 2012). They were also used in fostering a positive relationship with peers as well as teachers, improving learning motivation, presenting personalized course requirements and materials as well as developing collaborative abilities (Lau, 2017). Hence, social media has facilitated learning in the 21st century. Social media has also been able to enrich knowledge by providing a platform for connecting to new ideas more flexible. Social media has also created other platforms such as e-learning where students can study at a distance. The platform also benefits students by creating a connection between various learners in class projects and assignments (Jacobsen, & Forste, 2011). Hence, students can assist each other in conducting personal studies. Following these effects, social media has therefore improved learning and the performance of students by presenting learning materials. The impacts of social media on academic achievement cannot be underestimated. Also, it can help students to overcome academic frustration. Students can communicate via internet sources where they can solve various concepts in education. Besides, there should be educational platforms that tend to educate learners on how to utilize social media for maximum gain (Gilbert, etc. l. 2018). EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 16 Negative Impacts One of the negative impacts is a deviation from career and personal goals by the student. Overuse of social media platforms by the students can make them not focus and thus lose sight of their personal and career goals. They do this by using all their time on social media platforms even when they are supposed to be concentrating on their studies (Rambe, 2012). Social media can be very addictive and influencing. We have had many students committing suicide due to things they have seen on the internet. Negative practices when using social media platforms can also cause students to forgo their studies in favour of what is cool and trending right then. This is done through peer pressure and students being afraid of being labelled losers and bullied. Social media platforms are where most students go to make new friends and interact. In this way, students can be misled as people may influence them and what they do and the students will do what they are told to be in good with a particular crowd. Conclusion Social media has significant impacts on academic performance. However, the positive impacts vastly outweigh the negative consequences as it has facilitated communication between various students and their teachers; thus they can share the information which improves their overall performance. In tertiary institutions, research and other work can only be conducted via various social media platforms. There should also be developed channels that educate learners on how to utilize social media to gain maximum benefits. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 17 References Al-Rahmi, W., & Othman, M. (2013). The impact of social media use on academic performance among university students: A pilot study. Journal of information systems research and innovation, 4(12), 1-10. Al-Rahmi, W., Othman, M. S., & Yusuf, L. M. (2015). The role of social media for collaborative learning to improve academic performance of students and researchers in Malaysian higher education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(4). Gikas, J., & Grant, M. M. (2013). Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media. The Internet and Higher Education, 19, 18-26. Gilbert, M, T., Alsaad, A., alrushaidan, N., alhugai, A., Alfa had, S. (2018). THE IMPACT OF social media on academic performance of selected college students http://aircconline.com/ijait/V8N5/8518ijait03.pdf Heffner, Tara. (2016). “The effects of social media use in undergraduate students” Theses and Dissertations. 1440. Http://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1440. Jacobsen, W. C., & Forste, R. (2011). The wired generation: Academic and social outcomes of electronic media use among university students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(5), 275-280. John, B, K., & Emefa, D, P. (2018). Effect of social media on the academic performance of students in Ghanaian universities: a case study of the University of Ghana, legion. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS 18 Lau, W. W. (2017). Effects of social media usage and social media multitasking on the academic performance of university students. Computers in human behavior, 68, 286-291. Rambe, P. (2012). Constructive Disruptions for Effective Collaborative Learning: Navigating the Affordances of Social Media for Meaningful Engagement. Electronic Journal of eLearning, 10(1), 132-146. Selwyn, N. (2012). Social media in higher education. The Europa world of learning, 1, 1-10. Tess, P. A. (2013). The role of social media in higher education classes (real and virtual)–A literature review. Computers in human behavior, 29(5), A60-A68.