ERIC Number: EJ1124221
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Mar
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1305-8223
EISSN: N/A
Factors Influencing the Behavioural Intention to Use Statistical Software: The Perspective of the Slovenian Students of Social Sciences
Brezavšcek, Alenka; Šparl, Petra; Žnidaršic, Anja
EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, v13 n3 p953-986 Mar 2017
The aim of the paper is to investigate the main factors influencing the adoption and continuous utilization of statistical software among university social sciences students in Slovenia. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a conceptual model was derived where five external variables were taken into account: statistical software self-efficacy, computer attitude, statistics anxiety, statistics learning self-efficacy, and statistics learning value. The model was applied to the purposive sample of 387 university social sciences students in Slovenia who have been introduced to IBM SPSS Statistics during statistics courses. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that all external variables considered in the model directly or indirectly affect the behavioural intention to use statistical software and are therefore relevant for our study. The most influential factors are found to be statistics anxiety and statistics learning value. The latter one plays a central role in our extended TAM, as its impact is stronger when compared with other external variables. The findings from our empirical study are useful for statistics educators. The recommendations proposed can improve the educational process in order to strengthen students' attitudes towards statistics and to decrease the level of statistics anxiety.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Computer Software, College Students, Social Sciences, Computer Attitudes, Anxiety, Self Efficacy, Statistics, Structural Equation Models, Intention, Hypothesis Testing, Difficulty Level, Questionnaires, Likert Scales, Computer Uses in Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Slovenia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A