A Survey of Computer Experience among First Year Female Undergraduates

A Survey of Computer Experience among First Year FemaleUndergraduatesSophie Cockcroft1School of Computer and Information ScienceUniversity of OtagoP.O Box 56Dunedin, New ZealandTel: +64-3-479 8090Fax No: +64-3-479 8311Email: scockcroft@AbstractThis paper presents the results of an exploratory survey which was carried out among 406 part time and full time first year students of four undergraduate degree programmes; BA Public and Social Administration (BAPSA), BA Teaching English as a Second Language (BATESL), BA Accounting (BAAC), and BA Information Systems (BAIS) .These students were enrolled on introductory computer modules. The survey was in two parts; Demographics,in which the students were asked about their computer background, work experience and age; and Definitions,in which they were asked more specific questions to determine their levels of computer literacy. Among those surveyed, 58% were female 35% male and 7% did not state their sex on the questionnaire paper.Although the majority of those surveyed will not ultimately seek careers in a computing field, some contact with computers in the workplace will be unavoidable in the majority of cases.1 Formerly at City University of Hong KongThe aim of this paper is to investigate the general level of computer literacy among women undergraduates on arrival at college. This will be done from a number of angles as follows:-By type of computer experience;In relation to age;By comparison to men with the same educational level;In relation to chosen degree discipline and mode of study;In relation to level of computer access.The promotion of women in Information Technology (IT) presents a challenge to tertiary level educators in Hong Kong. This paper seeks to provide some directions towards meeting that challenge through understanding the particular needs and potential of those women we are seeking to encourage.1BACKGROUNDThe computing profession offers a challenging and rewarding career for women. In a recent survey conducted by Computerworld, female computer professionals agreed more strongly than men that 'IS offers an excellent career track', and when it comes to job satisfaction and 78% said they were 'satisfied' as opposed to 75% of men [3]. Whilst most of the women in the survey population may not seek careers in the computer industry, there is little doubt that their future work will involve daily contact with computers. As educators we should do all we can to assist women in reaching their full potential in the computing field.The aim of this paper is to analyse the results of the survey with particular reference to the literacy scores achieved by first year female undergraduates, and to draw some conclusions about the approach these students have to the subject of computing and the problems they encounter. Of the female students among the survey population, 74.2% are following Teaching English as a Second Language orPublic and Social Administration courses and 25.8% are in Information Systems or Accountancy.The identification of specific user characteristics, or background factors that may differentiate levels of computer literacy is of importance to universities and colleges in order to assist the screening process of beginning students [2]. The study begins with a look at the results of the entire population both male and female in order to identify the main factors in the students' backgrounds which affect literacy scores. The data is then analysed course by course to compare differences between male and female within courses.2RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODSThe survey was conducted during lecture time in the first week of teaching of introductory modules in data processing. The Questionnaire was originally developed by Brock, Thomsen and Kohl of the Department of Management, University of Nevada, Las Vegas [1,2]. The questionnaire is composed of 10 demographic questions and 90 questions concerning computer literacy (see Appendix 1). The 10 demographic questions concern factors which are assumed to affect literacy. The following ten null hypotheses are proposed from these questions:There is NO difference in students' computer literacy upon starting an introductory module for those who:H o[1]:Were of a different genderH o[2]:Were of a different ageH o[3]:Had completed previous computer coursesH o[4]:Had differing levels of access to computersH o[5]:Owned a personal computerH o[6]:Worked a different number of hours per weekH o[7]: Were enrolled on different courses of studyH o[8]:Had some knowledge of a word processorH o[9]:Had some knowledge of a spreadsheetH o[10]:Had some knowledge of a programming language3RESULTSOf the 406 respondents, 39 (9.6%) scored zero because they did not attempt the literacy section of the questionnaire. It is considered that these students should be excluded from the initial analysis because in fact they did not take part in the test. The fact that they abstained is in itself data and will be discussed later. Since this study aims to identify gender differences, students who did not give their gender are also excluded from the analysis. The score out of 90 for the second part of the questionnaire was used as the dependent variable in statistical tests, and varied between 0 and 73. After data validation an initial analysis of variance was carried out on the data; the results are shown in Fig. 1. For convenience, significant results are shown in bold type.* * * A N A L Y S I S O F V A R I A N C E * * *Sum of Mean Sigsource of Variation Squares DF Square F of FMain Effects66367.918262552.61230.103000FEMALE(Ho1)1322.06911322.06915.591000AGE(Ho2)144.407348.136568637 PREVIOUS COURSES(Ho3)1458.0764364.519 4.299002COMP_ACCESS(Ho4)946.8694236.717 2.792027OWN_COMPUTER(Ho5)456.6373152.212 1.795148HOURS_PER_WK(Ho6)601.1524150.288 1.772134COURSE OF STUDY(Ho7)25344.09846336.02474.722000 WORDPROCESSOR(Ho8)17.154117.154202653 SPREADSHEET(Ho9)53.939153.939636426 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE(Ho10)2753.04012753.04032.467000Explained66367.918262552.61230.103000Residual24336.03128784.795total90703.949313289.789340 cases were processed.26 cases (7.6 pct) were missing.Fig. 1: Analysis of variance: 10 sources of variation in student scoresAt this point null hypotheses 1,3,4,7 & 10 are rejected. Five main factors which contribute to the variance of the literacy score are thus identified. They are, in descending order of significance: chosen course of study, experience in the use of a programming language, gender, number of computing courses attended in the past, and level of access to a computer. It is interesting to compare these results to the original survey [2] in which the significant factors identified were, in order of importance: previous computer courses taken, access to a computer at home, and experience in using video games. It will be noted that the last factor, experience in using video games, is not included in this study. less than half of the students included use of video games as part of their computer experience, and in an initial analysis this factor proved to be insignificant. A conclusion that can be drawn is that the underlying common thread in both studies is familiarity with computers.Empirical evidence has suggested that the variation in literacy score due to course of study at City Polytechnic would be borne in out data analysis [11]. Upon further inspection of the data it would appear that a large part of this difference is accounted for by the full time BAPSA students who had a very different pattern and style of answering. It was therefore decided after initial analysis to discuss these students' scores separately. It is of particular relevance to this work that as well as making up 44% of the sample, this group contains the largest proportion of women (67%). The differences in their answering styles are discussed at greater length later in the paper.In the following analysis of variance these BAPSA students were excluded and the five most important factors were analysed on their own. The results are shown in Fig. 2.* * * A N A L Y S I S O F V A R I A N C E * * *Sum of Mean SigSource of Variation Squares DF Square F of FMain Effects 23757.961 13 1827.535 14.449 .000FEMALE 1289.835 1 1289.835 10.198 .002PREVIOUS COURSES 1804.078 4 451.019 3.566 .008COMP_ACCESS 1368.153 4 342.038 2.704 .032COURSE 4410.665 3 1470.222 11.624 .000PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE 3983.486 1 3983.486 31.495 .000Explained 23757.961 13 1827.535 14.449 .000Residual 24284.355 192 126.481Total 48042.316 205 234.353211 cases were processed.5 cases (2.4 pct) were missing.Fig. 2: Analysis of variance: 5 most important sources of variation in students' scores (excluding BAPSA students)It can be seen that course of study, while still statistically significant, now has less importance in causing variation in the literacy score. The most important factor now is "experience of using a programming language". Finally a two-way analysis of variance was carried out for each of the significant factors in combination with the factor of being female. There were no significant interactions.4DISCUSSIONDifferences Attributable to Course of StudyA comparison of mean scores for each course in turn by gender reveals that there is little difference between male and female students within a particular course, except in the case of part-time students where the difference is more pronounced (see Fig.3). A similar difference has been noted between high school and university graduates [9], the gender difference being more pronounced in university graduates than high school graduates. The university graduates in [9] can be compared to the part-time students in this survey, if only by virtue of their age and work experience. It could be that due to the wider availability of hardware at reasonable prices in recentyears, the younger sample members had greater access to computers during their adolescence. It has been suggested that although game playing is by far the most popular use of home computers among teenagers it may in fact foster interest and pave the way for more complete use of facilities and the learning of programming languages [4].Although the data presented in Fig. 3 is interesting, the two-way interaction between being part-time and being female is not statistically significant. However, the factor of being part-time is a significant cause in variation in score in the whole sample. There are not enough examples of part-time and full-time students following the same course of study to do a three way analysis of variance between course, mode of study, and gender, but this would be an interesting topic for further research.For students on the full time BAIS course the most significant factor is experience of a programming language. For full time BATESL the main factor is access to a computer. For the full time BAPSA the main factor is gender, followed by number of courses taken. For the part-time BAPSA students gender is also the main factor. In the case of the part-time BAAC students none of the factors being examined are significant. This is consistent with empirical observation that there is a high level of homogeneity on this course. The entrance requirement for the BAAC is high and the students have a high level of motivation. It can also be seen from Fig.3 that the scores of students on this course are relatively high compared to the rest of the sample.Course/Sex Male MeansGroup ScoreSize Female MeansGroupScoreSizeDifferenceBA Information Systems43 36.8835 33.63 3.25 BA Teaching English as aSecond Language5 21.4030 17.00 4.4 BA Accountancy (part-time)31 39.2626 31.128.14 BA Public and SocialAdministration (part-time)15 32.8626 18.6214.24 BA Public and SocialAdministration (full-time)34 7.9195 4.81 3.1 Fig. 3: Scores and group size by course of study and genderProgramming LanguagesExposure to programming languages is the second most significant source of variation in literacy score. It is most significant among the sub-population of students taking the BAIS course. This is consistent with empirical observations concerning the students of this course. About 50 per cent have studied science 'A' levels and the remaining students come from arts backgrounds. It is possible that students with a science background would have covered the introductory concepts of computing at school. Experience also tells us that these students are often would-be computer scientists and enthusiastic programming amateurs. The overall significance of this factor in the entire population reflects the fact that very competent users (e.g. 'hackers') will consistently gain higher literacy scores. It is not unrealistic to suggest that having reached the stage of programming a computerimplies a certain familiarity with and confidence in computing that could not be attained from merely using wordprocessors or spreadsheets.GenderThe investigation of computer literacy in relation to gender is the prime goal of this study. The proportion of the variance that can be explained by gender differences alone is not as great as that explained by course of study or programming experience. However a significant difference does exist .(i) Attitudes and genderStudies of teenage computer usage have explained gender differences in terms of factors associated with early socialisation [4]. The factors suggested by various studies [5, 9] include girls' lack of motivation, boys' aggressiveness at computer terminals, the association of computing courses with mathematics, and gender role expectations of parents which make it less likely that computers will be purchased for daughters. Regarding the association of computing courses with mathematics, Harrison and Rainer [7] noted that a higher level of 'math anxiety', more common in women, was a significant predictor of failure in a computing course and has a positive relationship with poor attitudes towards computers. In addition a pessimistic attitude toward computers and intimidation by computers have a significant negative relationships with computer skill. They found in their study [7] that male end-user computing personnel were more likely to possess advanced computer skills than females. This has serious implications for career advancement, the failure to obtain computer skills acting as a filter to block women from many careers or higher positions in existing jobs.(ii) Attitudes and learning performanceSome research has been carried out on attitudes and learning performance which may be of relevance, particularly to the part-time students. Computerisation hasgenerally affected female-dominated occupations more than those dominated by males, and men report higher levels of job satisfaction following the introduction of technology than do females [5,6]. It has been suggested that the introduction of technology has been used to exacerbate or create differences between men and women [6]. Differences in attitude may be also be associated with different experiences in the work-place. Socialisation regarding technology, and society's view that computer technology is both highly technical and part of a male domain, have also been cited as a source of different attitudes [5]. The most interesting finding of the work in [5] was that ownership of a computer eliminated gender based differences in computer attitude. This tends to support the opinion in [2] that all first year students should be encouraged to purchase their own computer prior to beginning their studies. Further, the act of purchasing a computer would be particularly beneficial for women from the point of view narrowing of attitudinal differences.Courses TakenThe factor of the highest significance in the original survey using this questionnaire takes a less prominent position in the results of this survey. It is at its most significant in the case of the low scoring BAPSA students. It would appear that in a sub-population of extremely low scoring individuals, those with a history of some computer training gain the advantage. The BAPSA undergraduates are likely to come from arts backgrounds and it would appear that where in general scores are low, past attendance on an introductory course can make a difference to the score achieved.Computer AccessAccess to a computer is known to be associated with higher levels of computer literacy [4,9] and it has been found that the amount of time spent working with computers is significantly related to students' attitudes to working with computers[10]. The findings of this study confirm what has previously been established. Fig.4 shows levels of computer access for part-time and full-time students. It can be seen that the difference is more pronounced amongst the part-time students. Preliminary investigations suggest that the effect of having a computer at work on the probability of having access to a computer at home is different for men than it is for women (see Figs. 4 & 5). Although this analysis has not revealed any concrete relationship between mode of study, gender, computer access and computer literacy score, it is strongly felt that this is an area which needs further investigation, particularly with regard to gender differences in interpretation of the term "access".part-time full-timeMale Female Total Male Female Total Access%%%%%%None21.713.5 16.529.337.633.3 Computer at Friends 4.3 5.8 5.27.615.211.7 Computer at Home15.230.8 23.752.232.640.9 Computer at Work30.430.8 30.9 4.311.29.7 Home and Work28.319.2 23.7 6.5 3.4 5.1 Fig. 4: Access to computers by gender and mode of study% of those with access to a computer at home or workgiven computer atworkgiven not computer at workFig. 5: Access pattern by gender for part-time studentsZero and Limited RespondentsOf the students who did not attempt any of the questions, 94.9% were on the BAPSA course and 61.5% of them were women. Within the BAPSA course 21% scored zero, 75% scored 5 or less, and 90% scored 11 or less. This pattern of answering was very different from that of the rest of the survey population, with the majority of students attempting very few questions and getting a large proportion of those questions they did attempt right. This is illustrated in Fig. 6.Variable Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum NPERCENT CORRECTOF ATTEMPTED .67 .24 .00 1.00 141SCORE 4.56 5.20 .00 32.00 178ATTEMPTED 8.39 11.82 .00 81.00 178Fig. 6: Mean Scores, questions attempted and percentage of correct answers for BAPSA students.It is felt that this pattern of answering illustrates a diffident approach which could be interpreted as the result of a pessimistic attitude towards computers and afeeling of intimidation. The same cautious response was also elicited from female students in the demographics section where of the students who had access to computers at home, and still answered 'none' to the question "How much computer experience have you had?" 62% were women and 28% men; the remaining 10% failed to indicate their sex.Without the removal of limited responses, the two-way interaction occurs in the analysis of variance between gender and computer access. It would appear that there is a difference between genders at one level of computer access which is different at another level. A further study is indicated which analyses more closely the level and quality of computer access.5CONCLUSIONThis has been the first analysis of data from City Polytechnic students using this questionnaire. Suspicions about the effectiveness of this questionnaire as a literacy measurement tool although not confirmed, cannot be ruled out at this stage. A discussion of the concept of literacy is beyond the scope of this paper. It has been suggested that the questionnaire has many shortcomings in terms of interpretation: these are currently being addressed with a view to amending the questionnaire for the use of future generations of students [11]. The results of this survey should provide some assistance in this task, particularly with regard to the re-phrasing of demographics questions.This study reinforces empirical evidence that introductory modules for students on different courses should be structured according to their particular combination of background and experience. The negative response elicited in particular from the BAPSA students illustrates a need for a more fundamental approach to the subject with a sympathetic and encouraging attitude from the staff teaching from both departments involved [8]. Students should be encouraged to gain access to a computer off campus, and preferably be involved in choosing and purchasing their own computer. The relative success of students who have taken atleast one course prior to commencement of a degree programme illustrates the effectiveness of introductory courses of this type that are being run at the moment. Whilst we should not expect first year undergraduates from arts backgrounds to be computer literate on arrival, we should try to instill an understanding of basic concepts during the first semester and above all foster a confident and familiar attitude with computers in order to prepare them for the workplace.AcknowledgementsThe author would like to thank Mrs. Eva Wong & Mrs. Pat Wade for the use of questionnaires administered by them; also Mr. Ernest Jordan for his expert advice on statistics.6REFERENCES[1]Brock, F., Thomsen, W.E. & Kohl, J.P. 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