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Research Propsal - s3854748 Final
Research Propsal - s3854748 Final
Abstract
The word procrastination is a global phenomenon which virtually every individual
can experience in numerous forms. Procrastination can afflict a persons productivity, sense
academics within their research. Steel (2007) defined procrastination as a voluntarily delay,
an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay. This global
behavioural tendencies and poor personality attributes Hussain & Sultan (2010) defined that
traits such as poor analytical skills can be a direct relation to higher levels of procrastination
this is due to the student not capable of managing their time and life in an effective manner.
Steel (2007), gives an explanation of procrastination that stems from an individuals being;
delays academic work until substantial stress occurs (Sencal, Julien, & Guay, 2002), a
student putting off decisions which leads to a goal (Grpel, & Steel, 2008) and a student
delaying the studies at a school (Kaan, akr, lhan, & Kandemir, 2010, p. 303).
Regardless of what procrastination is defined as, the result is a significant negative impact for
students in regards to learning and achievement (Ferrari, & Tice, 2000). The five-factor
openness to experience (Engler., 2013). Pang, Tong & Wong (2011) states that as
deliberation, dutifulness and the ability to strive for achievement (Heward, 2010).
Two research questions have been defined: 1. Can personality traits help teachers
reduce the level of student procrastination. 2. Can personality traits predict students
academic level. This study has three hypotheses: 1. It hypothesised that higher levels of
personality traits which are prevalent in procrastination will perform academically worse than
participants who show less personality traits that are prevalent in procrastination
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 2
LIST OF TABLES .4
1. INTRODUCTION..5
2.LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.2 Personality Traits and Procrastination.....8
2.3 The Five Factor Model9
2.4 Personality Traits, Procrastination and Psychological Studies..10
2.5 Personality Traits, Procrastination and The Student..10
2.6 Conclusions........12
3.METHODOLOGY13
3.1 Positivism and Research Approach........13
3.2 Research Design Causal-Comparative14
3.3 Research Methods Quantitative Research.......15
3.4 Data Selection.16
3.5 Data Analysis.....18
3.6 Reliability and Validity..19
3.7 Ethical Risks..20
3.8 Reflective Statement..21
4. APPENDIXES.....22
Appendix A..22
Appendix B..23
Appendix C..24
5.REFERENCES 25
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cognitive and behavioural components (Rothblum, Solomon, & Murakami, 1986) in basic
task that is necessary to reach a needed goal. (Jaffe, 2013). The term procrastination is a
global phenomenon which virtually every individual can experience in numerous forms.
well-being and an array of other dilatory and negative consequences (Steel, 2007). This
report will investigate and systematically review the overall effect of procrastination on a
student, evaluate the problems associated with procrastination and students, the personality
within their research. Steel (2007) defined procrastination as a voluntarily delay, an intended
course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay while Solomon and
Rothblum (1984) describes it as a behaviour that is an act of needlessly delaying a task that
common self-regulatory failure that involves stalling the initiation or completion of important
duties or responsibilities until the last minute, after a predetermined deadline, or indefinitely
work on a task and discomfort with the delay While these definitions slightly differ, there
are common themes that procrastination is; a negative event; that is repeated and seen as
irrational, a means to complete or start a task but is unable and that the delay is voluntary.
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within a students educational journey. Procrastination and dilatory behaviours coincide with
one another, Rothblum Solomon & Maurakami (1986) give some extremely straightforward
examples of procrastination in everyday life which can relate to a students life. These
include: prolonging the amount of time spent in bed, a student not starting his homework due
to watching television and even spending too much time in the shower which in turn makes
the person run late to school. Even though there are almost thirty years of well-developed
research into the procrastination theres yet to be complete understanding of the true
underlying influences which cause procrastination, let alone procrastination within students
(Steel, 2007).
Research over the years have found certain common trends within procrastination,
examples of these are studies using psychological research by Kuar & Sharma (2011) that
described males were disposed to delay starting work, while on the other hand females in the
studies were of high risk in regards to procrastination due to fear of failure. Rothblum
Solomon, Murakami (1986) discovered that it was more likely that individuals would be
more inclined to do work if it produced short term gains or positive reinforcement. In terms
of student behavioural tendencies and poor personality attributes Hussain & Sultan (2010)
defined that traits such as poor analytical skills can be a direct relation to higher levels of
procrastination this is due to the student not capable of managing their time and life in an
effective manner. Steel (2007), gives an explanation of procrastination that stems from an
individuals being; that personality traits can be a predictor the prevalence of procrastination.
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Literature Review
academic work until substantial stress occurs (Sencal, Julien, & Guay, 2002), a student
putting off decisions which leads to a goal (Grpel, & Steel, 2008) and a student delaying
the studies at a school (Kaan, akr, lhan, & Kandemir, 2010, p. 303). Regardless of how
procrastination is defined, the result is a significant negative impact for students in regards to
learning and achievement (Ferrari, & Tice, 2000). Whilst personality traits are loosely
defined as; characteristics, behaviours and attitudes that are unique to each persons being
that make up their mindset (Kaan, akr, lhan, & Kandemir, 2010). Psychologists choose to
aspects of traits and procrastination. For example; modern day research has shown that
students who show levels low of self-esteem (Ferrari, & Tice, 2000) self-efficacy and higher
laziness (Steel, & Ferrari, 2012) all have higher levels of procrastination.
Steel, Brothen, & Wambach (2001) thorough research was based on predisposition of
emotions towards starting or completing a task, the thought process behind this is that student
academic procrastination stems from previous emotions (stress, anxiety or worry) when
having to start a task that is required at future point of time. These psychological effects can
cause ripples in a students life and that negative emotions can follow in years to come
further reinforcing the student into procrastinating in future work. Research has discovered
that two of the largest correlated personality traits with procrastination is conscientiousness
and neuroticism (Watson, 2011). Having traits which are closely linked with being more
conscientiousness usually produce students whom procrastinates less, while students who
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have traits that follow closely with higher levels of neuroticism show more inclination to
neuroticism and openness to experience (Engler., 2013). This model is based on research
using natural language and theoretically based personality questionnaires, the model has
evolved over the years and is said to be applicable to society across cultures (Engler, 2013).
These five dimensions are an integral way of describing, sorting and evaluating individuals
Agreeableness includes attributes that are closely linked with prosocial behaviours such as
organised, purposeful action, goal orientated and being motivated to succeed. Neuroticism is
the individual is suffering from a psychological disorder for example mania, depression or
even lower than normal self-esteem. Lastly, openness to experience is characterised with
between procrastination and two of the big five personality factors - conscientiousness and
neuroticism (Lee, Kelly & Edwards, 2006). The psychological-study included 354
participants (219 male and 135 female) first-year undergraduate students. Lee et al. (2006)
had the students fill out a questionnaire made by Lee and his associates that was made to
define procrastination levels within participants; these results were than correlated with the
Five Factor Inventory. Lee et al. (2006) discovered that higher procrastination levels were
associated with dilatory behaviours, negative outlooks and psychological distress. Results
also indicated that participants that scored higher in questions which specified a higher drive
for goals and the attributes for organisation resulted in lower reported procrastination levels.
Lee et al. (2006) described personality traits neuroticism and conscientious as clear predictors
Substantial research has focused on conscientiousness as a largely significant factor for low
levels of procrastination, while high levels of neurotic traits leads to high levels of
procrastination. Older research by Knaus(1973) has been seen as the core of the
psychological framework to more recent research, he states that irrational belief is a large
contributing factor. Phchyl, & Flett (2012) follows on Knauss research and describes
irrational belief as; the more developed chance of rejection, the more probable that the
student will experience worry and concern as they approach the beginning of a task. This is
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due to thoughts about the project inducing the feeling of worry and concern, the
Knaus (1973) believed that there were two main irrational beliefs which related to
procrastination and neuroticism these are; if a student believes that they are inadequate or the
coursework is too difficult and demanding. Further research on Knaus early research has
transformed into four main irrational beliefs which relate to all students; these include fear of
failure, the need to perform perfectly, lower than average self-esteem and nervousness
(Brown, & Marshall, 2001). Brown and Marshall (2011) also describe the internal battle
students have when trying to complete work when they show higher levels of neuroticism.
They describe that if students report lower levels of self-esteem than in turn the self-
satisfaction of completing a work task doesnt outweigh the risk and embarrassment of not
Pang, Tong & Wong (2011) states that as conscientiousness is the greatest predictor
self-regulation, control, deliberation, dutifulness and the ability to strive for achievement
(Heward, 2010). Phchyl, & Flett (2012) documented that self-regulation is one of the most
important factors which influence levels procrastination, students that that use external and
internal indicators on when to begin, maintain and finish their own goal-directed are more
Conclusion
To reiterate so far, procrastination will always be and has always been a problem for
all individuals, this is compounded for students who have numerous tasks that can be
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procrastinated on. Students can encounter an array of tasks, activities and deadlines which
need to be met; with their time being unstructured and unregulated outside of school hours
procrastination can be easily indulged. As previous research that has been stated above,
students that have personality traits that are more neurotic are more inclined to procrastinate
while students that are more conscientious are less likely to procrastinate. Teachers should
attempt to evolve their teaching styles with what personality traits students have in the
classroom. The question lays that: can personality traits and its predictors, positively help the
work, theres an array of opportunities for a teacher to take. For example, a teacher could
identify a neurotic student that may have low self-esteem which is negatively affecting their
school work - a teacher could sit down and restate the importance of the test, while showing
understanding and explaining that the rewards of doing well outweighs the worry and stress
that is involved with studying. A teacher could also bring in techniques which allow students
to improve on traits within conscientiousness which they may be lacking, such as goal-
With this information, two research questions have been defined: 1. Can personality
traits help teachers reduce the level of student procrastination. 2. Can personality traits
predict students academic level. This study has three hypotheses: 1. It hypothesised that
higher levels of neurotic personality traits reported by participants will show an increase in
personality traits which are prevalent in procrastination will perform academically worse than
participants who show less personality traits that are prevalent in procrastination.
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PERSONALITY TRAITS AND PROCRASTINATION
Methodology
precise scientific methods based on mathematics and logic. (Hirschheim, 1985, p 3). Usually,
positivists are identified as empirical, quantitative, rigid, measuring the universe around
Positivism is a position where the goal of knowledge is simply to define the phenomena that
individuals experience, it is a rejection of speculation instead a need for facts and scientific
knowledge (Ritzer, 2003). Positivisms core principals are simple; operating by law of cause
and effect the positivist uses deductive reasoning to hypothesise theories that are testable
(Trochim, 2006). This positivism paradigm follows alongside with the aims of the research
The aim of this study is to test the relationship between personality traits and
positivism; cause and effect. It was assumed on previous research by Steele, Knaus and many
other previous psychologists that personality traits will have a direct effect on procrastination.
different method instead of defining and labelling students who are consistently
procrastinating as lazy, self-destructive, bad students or any other negative label which aims
to position the student as having the intended skills but choosing not to, this study has an
alternative outlook. As per the positivism views the definition of the phenomena
procrastination in individuals is different; students have personality traits which are causing
procrastination. In this case: instead of the student being lazy thus causing procrastination,
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the student doesnt have the required conscientious traits (organisational skills, goal driven
etc.) or too many neurotic traits (high nervousness, low self-esteem etc.) and these
phenomena are causing procrastination. As the study is testing the validity and reliability of
assumptions, the use above mentioned positivism ideologies, with clear use a formulated
hypothesis which is being supported or rejected; the deductive research approach is used.
an independent variable and a dependant variable (Gay & Airasian, 2000, 364). It involves
not control the independent variables as the influence of them has occurred before the
experiment. In turn, the experimenter is searching for the independent variables effect on the
dependant variable. (Gay & Airasian, 2000, 364). The casual-comparative design is
embedded in this research proposal as the experimenters are testing a cause and effect but
do not have control over the independent variable. An example as how the research design
intends to answer the hypothesis; If an individual has high neurotic traits (independent
variable that is not controlled by the experimenter) is testing the effect on procrastination
(dependent variable). The results of the change are recorded and interpreted. The casual-
comparative design is demonstrated in all three hypotheses; the effect of neurotic traits on
procrastination on student academic levels. In all situations, the independent variable is not
and validity of results. This research involves precise measurements and controlled
objectivity, numerical analysis of data and statistical practices using information technology.
Quantitative research main goal is to use this numerical data and generalise its results to
research has a clear definition of their research question and, data is in the form of numbers
and statistics, data is usually arranged in a graphics such as tables or charts and researchers
use of tools such as questionnaires. (Jervis, & Drake, 2014). This research proposal includes
the use of quantitative research methods all data will be numerical; the data will be
generalised from the sample and SPSS will be the technology used for data analysis
Self-report inventories will be the method of collecting data, with four questionnaires
being used in the experiment. There are numerous benefits for using self-reported data, firstly
in all the questionnaires being used include the parallel forms reliability questions where the
same question is asked but in a different way. The reasoning behind parallel forms reliability
are that it aids reliability that the participants are confirming their answers. (Jervis, & Drake,
2014). Questionnaires can be given to participants and answered in a relatively quick manner,
are usually inexpensive and they are scientifically scrutinised by peers (Aitken, 2002).
However, the experimenter doesnt have control over participants as they answer; this can
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(Aitken, 2002)
The Ten Item Personality Measure (Appendix A) is used to test which dimension of
which will be used to test procrastination levels in participants. The Depression Anxiety and
Stress Scale (Appendix C) that is designed to differentiate the levels of depression, anxiety
and other dilatory actions in participants and the UFFM-I Conscientiousness Scale(Appendix
D) will be used to test conscientious traits in participants. All these questionnaires involve
previous scientific research scrutiny and implementation, Likert scale with ranked options,
Data Selection
evaluating the setting is extremely significant, as any mistakes in this area can cause the
(Creswell, 2003). Recruiting the sample of participants from the population needs to be a
thorough procedure experimenters need to ensure that participants are representative of the
target group, free of participant bias and other related extraneous variables (Creswell, 2003).
Instruments and materials used within an experiment need to be carefully reviewed if theyre
valid and reliable for the experiment. (Creswell, 2003). The data selection method in this
proposal has gone under many considerations and changes from its original form these
changes stem from possible issues with extraneous/confounding variables and reliability.
posting a link on Facebook to the Victoria University official Facebook page and the
Victoria University Stalk Space page. This link would include all questionnaires, a brief
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description that this is a research task for Masters student in teaching and a consent form.
After the questionnaires are complete they would be informed on the background, aim of the
experiment and a small debriefing information section. The order of not allowing the
participants what the topic of the study is for is to reduce participant bias when answering
questions. However, this method of selecting participants was not used as the sample of
chance that more procrastinators would do online questionnaires and browse Facebook to
case Victoria University, Footscray Campus) and in person give out the questionnaires or
refer the potential participants to an online link that they could complete. The process of the
online link would be the same as the first concept. To aid the probability of participants
Once again, this method was not used to select participants, this would also not be a true
representation of a realistic population for two reasons; students who are at university could
be likely to procrastinate less as more procrastinators could simply go home straight after
class or not turn up at all. Secondarily, the reward on completion attracts more conscientious
personality traits that are goal driven and pushes away those away with low traits.
The data selection method chosen was aimed to reduce extraneous variables and
participant variables. The sample of participants would be chosen at a local high school; the
participants would be VCE level. This allows for confounding variables such as less parents
an age of matured personality traits. The questionnaires are distributed to the whole year level
this would require the school to agree to this and for parents to sign consent forms.
implications of the experiment to the school. These could range from the results indicting a
large percentile of procrastinators at the school, the need to combat this and the potential
Before participants start the questionnaires, they should be split up from one-another
so that potential influences of other participants are being controlled. A consent form will be
provided which involves the participant writing their academic level (grouped by As Bs
etc.). The participants are not told of the topic of the experimenter however; they are
informed that they have a choice to not undertake the experiment, that they can leave at any
time and skip any question they feel uncomfortable. Instructions are given that they should
remain quiet throughout, can leave at any time and if theres words, meaning or definitions to
be clarified that they are happy to help. When the participants are finished, they are given a
debriefing pamphlet on exit and are thanked for participating in the experiment.
Data Analysis
predictions and hypothesis, making inferences about a population from the representative
sample. The eventual goal of inferential statistics is testing data to guarantee statistical
significance so that data can be generalised from the sample to the population (Drnyei,
2007). Statistical significance in basic terms is ensuring that the results you obtain from the
data is not due to chance. Inferential tests of significance can include; t-test, analysis of
summarising and collaborating the data. The results of all questionnaires will be compiled
into SPSS (a data analysis tool), the data will be summarised and data imputed into four
sections: results of neurotic traits, results of conscientious traits, academic level and
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procrastination results. To test the experiments multiple hypothesis the results would then be
collaborated to test the relationship and statistical significance of the variables. For example;
the higher levels of conscientious traits would be compared to procrastination levels. This
would be repeated until all relationships with variables are shown and all the hypothesis are
either supported or rejected. Lastly, generalisations from the data will set (if significant) from
As stated and described previously in this proposal, reliability and validity is at the
(Creswell, 2003). Reliability in this experiment will be ensured in numerous ways; firstly,
correlations will be assessed using SPSS (Cronbachs alpha), a high correlation usually
warrants an instruments reliability (Osburn, 2000). The questionnaires themselves have been
used in numerous experiments over the years which offers test-retest reliability, also the
questions have parallel forms reliability components where the questions are asked twice in
similar statements to confirm participant results. In terms of validity, the questionnaires have
gone through vigorous scientific scrutiny which ensures they are measuring what they are
have been considered to reduce the amount of participant/experiment bias from the selection
Ethical Risks
Ethical issues and risks have been well considered in preparation of this proposal. Respect,
inclusion, welfare and the overall view of beneficence has been incorporated. Firstly, the
population picked was inclusive for all there no was selective picking in terms of age, sex
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or race. With regard to ethical participant issues that have been considered; informed consent
from all participants and parents, no names or personal information that will establish who
they are have been recorded, experimenters are advised to help any student with literacy
problems, they will be debriefed, no risk or harm should come from participants as all the
questionnaires are aimed at all ages and they can withdraw at any given time. In regards of
ethical data analysis all recognisable information of participants is not available; the data
being kept should be safeguarded. However, dealing with VCE students who are potentially
underage there is always ethical issues to be aware of, especially the use of potential
confronting language within the questionnaires; to manage this all experimenters at the
school should have a working with childrens care card and is knowledgeable on healthy
Reflective Statement
If its not apparent from the style of this research proposal task; my background is
psychology and I have completed numerous literature reviews and a few research tasks
before - I did walk into the start of the year expecting easy things from AED5001. However,
this wasnt the case and the combination of being out of university for a few years and the
research task being quite hard (but enjoyable!) revealed a different narrative. The process of
being half in class and half online was a positive, it allowed me to completely be in control of
how my learning was tracking. It forced me to read more articles which in turn gave me new
perspectives on not only my own topic but on being a future teacher and on educational
research. Not only a new perspective, but it made me respect the process one needs to go
In reflection, if I had the chance to do a research task again Id stray away from going
through what Im used to in quantitative methods of research and try qualitative research.
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One of the most important aspects of this unit I believe is the collaborative mind-frame most
of the students had, the discussions outside of the class on topics/research/perspectives were
interesting and its an aspect you dont see much in other units. In terms of my learning, my
writing has not been tested for a very long time it was enjoyable to see how my personal
literacy skills has developed from the original task to now. In conclusion, this unit, research
task and the journey undertaken was something of value developing and increasing
knowledge on my topic was a sluggish task but the end-product was worthwhile.
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Appendixes
Appliedpsychometriclab.uga.edu. (2017).
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Appendix B
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Www2.psy.unsw.edu.au. (2017).
Appendix C
Www2.psy.unsw.edu.au. (2017)
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