The Value of a Study Skills Inventory for Feedback and Criterion Purposes in an Educational Skills Course

Abstract

This study attempted to evaluate certain common uses of the Brown-Holtzman Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) in a college-level educational skills course. The uses investigated were: (a) a source of diagnostic feedback on student study habits, (b) a criterion for judging course effectiveness, and (c) a combination of the feedback and criterion functions. The results suggest that a test such as the SSHA is not adequate for any of these purposes, for a variety of reasons. The implications of the findings are discussed, as are proposals for the appropriate use of study habits inventories in educational skills courses.