Over several mornings in October and November of 2017 researcher James Bell conducted one of the methods (interviews) in our toolkit. A total of 14 students participated in the study. You can view the report from that visit here:
Our chief investigator for this project, James Bell, summarized his thoughts post-interviews as “Everything is about convenience.” Students chose study locations based on proximity to all of the other things they were doing and less based on the ambience of a space itself.
Where are students at 3 PM? James also noted that he could not find anyone to interview once students are done with their classes for the day--they leave the main parts of campus to go study or do other tasks.
Multiple students mentioned seeking assistance in studying from their boyfriend or girlfriend. Librarians, however, were not a noted source for assistance with studying. This may be due to the difference in the way students think about “studying” versus “research.”
