Republic of the Philippines

CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Education, Arts, & Sciences
Graduate School

Educ 203 – Methods of Research

2 nd Semester, A.Y. 2022 – 2023

Critique Paper 3
(Mixed Methods Research)
Directions: Read the paper of Di Malta, G., Bond, J., Conroy, D., Smith, K., &
Moller, N. (2022) titled “Distance Education Students’ Mental Health,
Connectedness and Academic Performance During COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods
Study.” Make a five-page (reference list not included in the page count) critique of
the paper following the structure indicated below and by answering the guide
questions listed. You may cite other legitimate literatures to substantiate your
critique and conclusion. Use a Times New Roman font (if available in your laptop
or cellphone), size 12, and double-spaced. Follow the APA 7th edition format in
your in-text citation and reference list.

Submitted by:
Ms. Fragile T. Billones
MaEd Student

Submitted to:
Mr. Alvin D. Tenorio
Instructor
 I. Introduction

Distance education becomes a viable option to continue education when the COVID-19 pandemic

strikes the country. A seminal article by Keegan (1980) presents key aspects of distance education. Some of the

elements are: physical separation of teacher and learner; learning occurs in the context of an educational

institution; technical media are used; teacher and learner communicate; face-to-face meetings are possible; and

an industrial model of providing education is used. Although distance education is the best acceleration of

response during a pandemic, there are advantages and disadvantages to distance education. Some of the

advantages are self-paced study, time and space flexibility, time savings (no commute between home and

school), and the fact that a distance learning course often costs less. Disadvantages include a sense of isolation,

the struggle with staying motivated, a lack of face-to-face interaction, difficulty getting immediate feedback, the

need for constant and reliable access to technology, and occasionally some difficulty with accreditation (De

Paepe, Zhu, & Depryck, 2018; Lei & Gupta, 2010; Venter, 2003; Zuhairi, Wahyono, & Suratinah, 2006).

However, distance education has had a great impact on the mental health of students, as has their academic

performance. The main problems experienced by students include anxiety, mild and severe stress, social media

fatigue, and depression. At the same time, the symptoms are not always caused by mental health problems

(Grigorkevich et al., 2022).

Synthesis

The study of G. DI MALTA ET AL. (2022), titled "DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS’ MENTAL

HEALTH, CONNECTEDNESS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE DURING COVID-19: A MIXED-

METHODS STUDY" investigated the links between distance education students’ mental health, connectedness,

and academic performance during COVID-19. Through an online survey with 208 distance education students,

they analyzed the data using multiple regression, mediation, and content analysis. Connectedness (loneliness

and a sense of connection to the university) mediated links between mental health (well-being and anxiety) and

academic performance. A subsample analysis of students who met clinical concern thresholds for anxiety and

well-being revealed that poorer well-being was associated with less emotional intimacy, more loneliness, and

poorer self-reported academic performance. Anxiety was associated with less emotional intimacy, higher

relational intensity with one person, and poorer self-reported academic performance. These pathways were

triangulated and contextualized within students’ experiences of connectedness.

 II. Critical Analysis
1.
The authors aimed to investigate the links and in particular how connectedness might be a mechanism

of actions in the relationship between mental health and academic performance. They also formulate research

questions for this investigation, and these are: RQ1. Does connectedness mediate the relationship between

mental health and academic performance? RQ2. For students who meet clinical thresholds for low wellbeing or

anxiety disorders, how is connectedness associated with mental health? RQ3. What are students’ experiences of

connection and disconnection, which are associated with academic performance?

2.
Many studies have mentioned about the impacts of mental health to the academic performance of

students, and these have been covered adequately and clearly connected to the presents study. The findings of

the previous studies also help to figure out the present study and it was critically evaluated.
3.
Sequential explanatory design is a mixed-method design which researchers begin by conducting a

quantitative phase and follows up on specific results with a subsequent qualitative phase (Creswell & Plano

Clark, 2018). This is an appropriate design used by the authors where the quantitative phase is they explore

relationship between mental health variables (wellbeing and anxiety), the five connectedness variables (campus

connectedness, emotional intimacy and relational depth with a significant person at university, relational depth

with all people at the university, and loneliness) and the two academic variables (mean academic grade and self-

reported academic performance) (RQ1 & RQ2). Then, the qualitative phase aimed to allow better understanding

of the relationships between variables and contextualization of the statistical results (RQ3). Moreover, it

provided triangulation for the quantitative findings as well as illustrations of students’ experiences of

connectedness and disconnection based on their satisfaction with academic performance.

\
4.
Online survey consisted of self-report scales and open-ended questions using data collecting software

was used to gather the information. The authors make sure that the participants recruited are eligible which are

the students aged 18+ and studying at Open University. Through email, authors sent a pool to approximately

2000 students during their second module. They have well analyzed and synthesized all the information they

were collected from the online survey.

5.
In the discussion of the research, authors discussed that they sought to examine the relationships

between mental health, connectedness, and academic performance in a distance education context. In the

context, they found that student connectedness is associated with less anxiety and better academic performance.
Furthermore, lack of connectedness (loneliness) is a mechanism of action in the link between mental health

(wellbeing and anxiety) and academic performance. In other words, being lonely increases the chances of poor

academic performance in students with worse mental health. A sense of connection to university, on the other

hand, mitigates the experience of loneliness and its impact on mental health (well-being and anxiety). These

findings are consistent with different previous studies that could give more insights for the resolution of the

problems, and these are evident in the paper.

6.
Upon reading the research, it was detailed and organized. The authors explain well the purpose of their

research study, and the previous studies help to understand and figure out what is in the paper. It is also seen in

their research paper how they applied the mixed-methods research design. They explained what is meant by

quantitative and qualitative research. And there are the strengths of the paper.
7.
The only weakness found in the research paper is that it is too broad, which means it has too many

sources. The authors have many previous studies just to cover their topic, but there are some that are unfocused.

III. Summary and Conclusion

 The title of the study is “Distance Education Students’ Mental Health, Connectedness and Academic

Performance During COVID-19: A mixed-methods study". The researchers wanted to investigate the links

between distance education students’ mental health, connectedness, and academic performance during COVID-

19 using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. They did this through an online survey with 208

distance education students. Then, they were analyzed using multiple regression, mediation, and content

analysis. Connectedness (loneliness and a sense of connection to the university) mediated links between mental

health (well-being and anxiety) and academic performance. A subsample analysis with students who met

clinical concern thresholds for anxiety and wellbeing (n 1⁄4 123) revealed that poorer wellbeing was associated

with less emotional intimacy, more loneliness, and poorer self-reported academic performance. Anxiety was

associated with less emotional intimacy, higher relational intensity with one person, and poorer self-reported

academic performance. These pathways were triangulated and contextualized within students’ experiences of

connectedness. Future research using a longitudinal design is needed to establish causal links.

To conclude the study, the researchers found that student connectedness is associated with less anxiety

and better academic performance. Furthermore, lack of connectedness (loneliness) is a mechanism of action in

the link between mental health (wellbeing and anxiety) and academic performance. In other words, being lonely

increases the chances of poor academic performance in students with worse mental health. A sense of
connection to the university, on the other hand, mitigates the experience of loneliness and its impact on mental

health (well-being and anxiety). In qualitative findings, provide descriptions of students’ experiences of

connectedness and triangulation for the quantitative findings. These suggest that students appeared less likely to

have had significant moments of connection at the university when they were less satisfied with their self-rated

academic performance. To point out the lack of a paper, the authors should limit their previous studies to

covering the topic and focus on the topic.

References:
Fidalgo, P., Thormann, J., Kulyk, O., & Lencastre, J. A. (2020). Students’ perceptions on distance
education: A multinational study. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher
Education, 17(1).
 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00194-2

Wang, Y. (2023). The research on the impact of distance learning on students’ mental health. Education and
Information Technologies.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11693-w