Note-taking, note-using and academic performance: a long term naturalistic study

Norton, Linda Susan

Abstract

This thesis reports a long-term, naturalistic study of note-taking and note-using strategies employed by university students. The aim of the thesis is to provide data to complement that provided by the mQre copious experimental literature.
Five main methods are used in the thesis:
i) An interview study is reported with students from all disciplines and ranging from first year undergraduates to postgraduates. The interview elicited information on note-taking strategies and reasons for taking notes.
ii) Questionnaire studies are reported with students who study psychology as a principal or as a subsidiary subject and with students who progress from their first to their final year. These questionnaires focus on note taking practices, attitudes to note-taking, and how notes are used after they have been taken, as well as with other study strategies.
iii) The actual notes taken during lectures are examined and described.
iv) Correlational and comparison studies are reported which examine the relationships between what is stated in the questiohnaires, what is actually noted and examination performance.
v) Finally, examination answer scripts are analysed to indicate which features (including the use of notes) lead to higher marks. The main results of this research suggest that many of the findings that appear in the experimental literature do not occur in the naturalistic studies described in this thesis. For example, there is little evidence to suggest that the quantity of notes taken or subsequent use of those notes has any relation to examination scores. However, some findings were more positive. Most students took notes and most highly valued the procedure. Women students took significantly more notes than men. The lecture situation (e.g. use of 'chalk and talk', slides and handouts) remarkably affected note taking. And finally, material noted in lectures which appeared in examination scripts was one of the key variables that predicted examination success.

Citation

Norton, L. S. (1985). Note-taking, note-using and academic performance: a long term naturalistic study

• Publicly Available Date: Jun 16, 2023