R:[nods]
M:I don’t really know whether you study better for subjects you like but ? you probably do more study for them. [pause] You also seem to like subjects that you are better at don’t you? You know, most of the time, you don’t like stuff you are not good at so? yeh? the subjects you like you seemta learn quicker.
R:That’s great! Thanks for your help!
Appendix 2
Transcript of Researcher’s Questions and John’s Responses
R:For my studies in education I am doing some research into study skills. There are no right or wrong answers and all the data will remain completely confidential. You can stop the interview at any time. Okay?
J:[nods]
R:You don’t mind if I tape record the interview?
J:No
R:Can you think about an exam you have had recently for me?
J:Yeh
R:What subject was it for?
J:Orthopaedics
R:Okay. And how did you go?
J:39.5 / 45
R:That was a good result?
J:That was in the top four
R:How did you actually study for it?
J:Well .. I went through all my lectures to start with and in the first few weeks when I wasn’t so busy I came home and rewrote my notes. I use blue and red pen to highlight the important facts. So I rewrote all my notes and then when it came closer to the date I started writing them onto ‘cue cards ‘ so I had all the salient points on the cue cards. So I basically keep putting them onto cue cards and once I have finished all my exam notes and ? yeh? I’ve got it all on ‘cue cards’ and I keep reading them. And every time I read them I remember some more and more and so I take those cue cards out and don’t read them again and eventually I’m left with 10 or so ‘cue cards’. I go through them and decide if they are likely to be in the exam questions and I have quite mastered it and I keep reading through them until I’m ready to sit for the exam.
R:Okay, so how do you actually go about actually remembering the information?
J:Like I said if I’ve got time I like to rewrite my notes but that takes a lot of time. Closer to the date I stop that and just keep reading and putting them onto ‘cue cards’ .. um.. and basically keep reading and .. reading my lecture notes .. I go through the text book and some past paper.. and I prepare my lecture notes and I try and expand on them so I can understand what I am going to have to write about.
R:So you don’t actually have any tricks for remembering the stuff? You don’t make patterns out of the words or anything like that?
J:With Orthopaedics it’s basically a lot of facts and it’s just remembering and rewriting the facts and sometimes I might use a pneumonic but it’s not that easy to use a pneumonic because basically, you know “A patient presents with?.” And you’ve got to know what the facts are.
R:Okay can you think of another exam you have had recently?
J:Yep
R:What was that for?
J:Skills
R:Okay. So did you have to prepare for it differently?
J:So it was a practical exam. It wasn’t a theory exam. Apart from reading lecture notes it was basically practising with friends.
R:How to you manage to remember practical information as opposed to the theoretical information?
J:I think I read somewhere that it takes two weeks to form a ingrain so basically we get together twice a week and draw a name out of a hat and try and remember the name and the name gives you a clue and you’ve got to remember all your contacts are and you’ve just got to keep practising. Yeh basically you see that name of the adjustment and your brain’s got to think okay and just before you do the adjustment take a deep breath and think of all the things you have gone through with your friends. And thinking what are the important points and hopefully you have done enough practice that it becomes automated.
R:Um.. Do you think motivation affects your ability to study?
J:Definitely, I think doing 10 or so Masters subjects if you are not motivated I think it becomes tough to sit there and rewrite your lecture notes and to try to remember so many facts. Motivation plays a big part.
R:Do you think there is anything else that affects your study?
J:Definitely the environment you are studying in and how you are feeling, lack of sleep, I suppose relationships all play a part
R:Right. In an exam if you get stuck on a questions what do you do?
J:Um, it all depends on if it is a theory or a practical. If it is say a theory question I’ll think about it but I’ll only think about it for say 30 secs ’cause if I know it I’ll know t straight away. So if I’m in a theory I’ll just leave it and if I’m doing another question and I think of something that answers the question I have left I’ll come back to it but basically I’ll leave it and try to get marks elsewhere and come back to the question. In a practical exam I suppose try and reread the question take a deep breath and you should know it and hopefully it will come back to you and if it doesn?t ask the examiner if I can come back to it and hopefully it come back to me.
R:Do you think there is anything that happens in an exam that reminds you of anything that you have forgotten? You know do you think there is anything .. “Oh.. I was studying that on a Wednesday after..” Do you try and make a process of your study so that you can try and remember it?
J:Not so much days but I read my notes a few times and I think I can almost pinpoint what lecture it was at, who gave the lecture and what his emphasis was. Sometime I can remember what ‘cue card’ it was on and I try to visualize what I was remembering. Sometimes it is difficult when you’ve got fact after fact but at least if you can’t remember the whole of it you can get some marks.
R:Right okay. Are you generally pleased with the results you get?
J:Practical more so than theory. I’m one of the only ones who hasn’t failed a practical station so I’m pretty happy with that. Theory sometimes I do really well other times not so well.
R:If in one theory subject you have different sorts of exams say multiple choice versus essays. Do you prepare differently?
J:Yeh. We have some True / False exams and you know.. with them you think that you don’t actually have to remember it .. psychologically.. you just think that you will have to recognize it .. so you don’t tend to study it as well. Whereas with other sorts of tests you know you have to know the facts so you actually remember them.
R:Well that’s it! Thanks for your help!
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