Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) - Study | Psychology

IB Questions

• HL Extension Digital Technology

Name of the Researcher(s)

Mueller and Oppenheimer

Publication

2014

Aim

To investigate if taking notes by hand or taking digital notes on a computer is more effective.

Method

True Experiment (Laboratory)

Design

Independent Sample Design

Procedure and Participants

Participants - 109 UCLA Undergraduates

1. Participants were randomly allocated to two conditions:
   a. Computer Condition
   b. Hand Note-Taking Condition

2. They were instructed to take notes from four lectures, talking about bats, bread, vaccines and respiration.

3. Participants were not allowed to take notes home and were told a test would be held in one week.

4. The conditions were divided into two further conditions:

   a. Study Condition - Participants were given 10 minutes to revise their notes before the test.

   b. No-Study Condition - Participants were tested directly.

5. The test was made up of 40 questions, 10 questions for each lecture and had been categorized into factual and conceptual questions.

Results

Conditions that weren’t allowed to study did poorly on factual questions but good on conceptual ones. Conditions that studied did significantly better than the ones that did not study, and in addition the hand-written notes did significantly better than the computer condition.

Conclusion

Hand-Written notes are better for short- and long-term memory.

Strengths

+ Highly Standardized—> Replicable
+ High Internal Validity
+ High Mundane Reality

Limitations

- Participant Variability
- Low Ecological Validity