| Summary: | Amaury Trockels, Eleanor Smith, Diana Velazquez-Pimentel Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 2AT, UKCorrespondence: Amaury TrockelsBarts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, 4 Newark Street, Whitechapel, London E1 2AT, UKEmail a.trockels@smd14.qmul.ac.ukWe read with great interest the study by Jafari et al which explored the links between study habits and academic achievement of medical-science students.1 The study concluded that there was a significant albeit weak (r=0.235, p<0.001), relationship between “desirable” self-reported study habits and academic achievement across relevant disciplines. Further, the authors demonstrated that 81.3% of students eported “moderate” study behaviours, which appears in agreement with current literature.1,2 Moreover, the authors exposed demographic factors that correlate with poorer outcomes including living situation (dormitories) and probation history. We would like to commend Jafari et al for their contribution to our scientific understanding and offer some comments regarding this study.Jafari et al used the Palsane and Sharma Study Habit Inventory (PSSHI) tool to determine the study habit scores of participants. Whilst the PSSHI has been validated by relevant studies, it may not be the most appropriate tool to assess the study habits which contribute most to academic performance.3,4 We question the relevance of the “well-being” domain, in which 48% of study participants scored unfavourably.1 Similar studies which used the PSSHI, reported that the weakest association between academic performance and a singular PSSHI domain was “well-being”.4,5 This suggests that the “well-being” domain is least relevant to producing improved academic outcomes, and it’s inclusion may negatively skew participants results, leading to a decreased association between overall PSSHI score and academic performance, particularly if individuals generally score poorly in this domain. We recommend that future researchers investigating the association between study habits and academic achievement should modify the PSSHI, to accurately capture the relevant study habits, which underpin successful learning. Read the original article
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