ASSIST
Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students
This questionnaire has been designed to allow you to describe, in a systematic way, how you go about
learning and studying. The technique involves asking you a substantial number of questions that
overlap to some extent to provide good overall coverage of different ways of studying. Most of the
items are based on comments made by other students. Please respond truthfully, so that your answers
accurately describe your actual ways of studying, and work your way through the questionnaire quite
quickly, making sure that you give a response to every item.
Background information
Name or Identifier ........................................... Age ....... years Sex M / F
University or College ....................................... Course & Year ......................................
Course ......................................................... Year of study ........
A. What is learning?
When you think about the term 'LEARNING ', what does it mean to you?
Consider each of these statements carefully, and rate them in terms of how close they are to your own way of thinking about it.
Very Quite Not so Rather Very
close close close different different
a. Making sure you remember things well. 5 4 3 2 1
b. Developing as a person. 5 4 3 2 1
c. Building up knowledge by acquiring facts and information. 5 4 3 2 1
d Being able to use the information you've acquired. 5 4 3 2 1
e. Understanding new material for yourself. 5 4 3 2 1
f. Seeing things in a different and more meaningful way. 5 4 3 2 1
PLEASE TURN OVER
© 2006 Noel Entwistle , Velda McCune (University f Edinburgh) and Hilary Tait (Napier University)
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B. Approaches to studying [also called the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI)]
The next part of this questionnaire asks you to indicate your relative agreement or disagreement with comments
about studying made by other students. Work through the comments, giving your immediate response. In
deciding your answers, think in terms of this specific course unit or module, unless told to do otherwise. Again, it
is very important that you answer all the questions: when you’ve finished, please check you have done that.
5 means agree ( √ ) 4 = agree somewhat ( √? ) 2 = disagree somewhat ( x? ) 1 = disagree ( x ).
Try not to use 3 = unsure ( ?? ), unless you really have to, or if it cannot apply to you or your course.
√ √? ?? x? x
1. I manage to find conditions for studying which allow me to get on with my work easily. 5 4 3 2 1
2. When working on an assignment, I'm keeping in mind how best to impress the marker. 5 4 3 2 1
3. Often I find myself wondering whether the work I am doing here is really worthwhile. 5 4 3 2 1
4. I usually set out to understand for myself the meaning of what we have to learn. 5 4 3 2 1
5. I organise my study time carefully to make the best use of it. 5 4 3 2 1
6. I find I have to concentrate on just memorising a good deal of what I have to learn. 5 4 3 2 1
7. I go over the work I've done carefully to check the reasoning and that it makes sense. 5 4 3 2 1
8. Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with. 5 4 3 2 1
9. I look at the evidence carefully and try to reach my own conclusion about what I’m studying.5 4 3 2 1
10. It’s important for me to feel that I’m doing as well as I really can on the courses here. 5 4 3 2 1
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11. I try to relate ideas I come across to those in other topics or other courses whenever possible. 5 4 3 2 1
12. I tend to read very little beyond what is actually required to pass. 5 4 3 2 1
13. Regularly I find myself thinking about ideas from lectures when I’m doing other things. 5 4 3 2 1
14. I think I'm quite systematic and organised when it comes to revising for exams. 5 4 3 2 1
15. I look carefully at tutors' comments on course work to see how to get higher marks next time.5 4 3 2 1
16. There’s not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant. 5 4 3 2 1
17. When I read an article or book, I try to find out for myself exactly what the author means. 5 4 3 2 1
18. I’m pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to. 5 4 3 2 1
19. Much of what I’m studying makes little sense: it's like unrelated bits and pieces. 5 4 3 2 1
20. I think about what I want to get out of this course to keep my studying well focused. 5 4 3 2 1
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21. When I’m working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit together. 5 4 3 2 1
22 I often worry about whether I'll ever be able to cope with the work properly. 5 4 3 2 1
23. Often I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books. 5 4 3 2 1
24. I feel that I'm getting on well, and this helps me put more effort into the work. 5 4 3 2 1
25. I concentrate on learning just those bits of information I have to know to pass. 5 4 3 2 1
26. I find that studying academic topics can be quite exciting at times. 5 4 3 2 1
27. I'm good at following up some of the reading suggested by lecturers or tutors. 5 4 3 2 1
28. I keep in mind who is going to mark an assignment and what they're likely to be looking for. 5 4 3 2 1
29. When I look back, I sometimes wonder why I ever decided to come here. 5 4 3 2 1
30. When I am reading, I stop from time to time to reflect on what I am trying to learn from it. 5 4 3 2 1
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√ √? ?? x? x
31. I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute. 5 4 3 2 1
32. I'm not really sure what's important in lectures so I try to get down all I can. 5 4 3 2 1
33. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought of my own. 5 4 3 2 1
34. Before starting work on an assignment or exam question, I think first how best to tackle it. 5 4 3 2 1
35. I often seem to panic if I get behind with my work. 5 4 3 2 1
36. When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what’s being said. 5 4 3 2 1
37. I put a lot of effort into studying because I'm determined to do well. 5 4 3 2 1
38. I gear my studying closely to just what seems to be required for assignments and exams. 5 4 3 2 1
39. Some of the ideas I come across on the course I find really gripping. 5 4 3 2 1
40. I usually plan out my week's work in advance, either on paper or in my head. 5 4 3 2 1
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41. I keep an eye open for what lecturers seem to think is important and concentrate on that. 5 4 3 2 1
42. I’m not really interested in this course, but I have to take it for other reasons. 5 4 3 2 1
43. Before tackling a problem or assignment, I first try to work out what lies behind it. 5 4 3 2 1
44. I generally make good use of my time during the day. 5 4 3 2 1
45. I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember. 5 4 3 2 1
46. I like to play around with ideas of my own even if they don't get me very far. 5 4 3 2 1
47. When I finish a piece of work, I check it through to see if it really meets the requirements. 5 4 3 2 1
48 Often I lie awake worrying about work I think I won't be able to do. 5 4 3 2 1
49 It’s important for me to be able to follow the argument, or to see the reason behind things. 5 4 3 2 1
50. I don't find it at all difficult to motivate myself. 5 4 3 2 1
51. I like to be told precisely what to do in essays or other assignments. 5 4 3 2 1
52. I sometimes get 'hooked' on academic topics and feel I would like to keep on studying them. 5 4 3 2 1
C. Preferences for different types of course and teaching
5 means definitely like ( √ ) 4 = like to some extent ( √? ) 2 = dislike to some extent ( x? ) 1 = definitely dislike ( x ).
Try not to use 3 = unsure ( ?? ), unless you really have to, or if it cannot apply to you or your course.
√ √? ?? x? x
a. lecturers who tell us exactly what to put down in our notes. 5 4 3 2 1
b. lecturers who encourage us to think for ourselves and show us how they themselves think 5 4 3 2 1
c. exams which allow me to show that I've thought about the course material for myself. 5 4 3 2 1
d. exams or tests which need only the material provided in our lecture notes. 5 4 3 2 1
e. courses in which it's made very clear just which books we have to read. 5 4 3 2 1
f. courses where we're encouraged to read around the subject a lot for ourselves. 5 4 3 2 1
g. books which challenge you and provide explanations which go beyond the lectures. 5 4 3 2 1
h. books which give you definite facts and information which can easily be learned. 5 4 3 2 1
Finally, how well do you think you have been doing in your assessed work overall, so far?
Please rate yourself objectively on this nine-point scale, based on the grades you have actually been obtaining
Very well Quite Well About average Not so well Rather badly
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Thank you very much for spending time completing this questionnaire: it is much appreciated.
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A S S I S T Short Version
Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students
This questionnaire has been designed to allow you to describe, in a systematic way, how you go about learning
and studying. The technique involves asking you a substantial number of questions which overlap to some extent
to provide good overall coverage of different ways of studying. Most of the items are based on comments made by
other students. Please respond truthfully, so that your answers accurately describe your actual ways of studying,
and work your way through the questionnaire quite quickly, making sure that you give a response to every item.
In deciding your answers, think in terms of this particular lecture course. It is also very important that you
answer all the questions: check you have.
5 means agree ( √ ) 4 = agree somewhat ( √? ) 2 = disagree somewhat ( x? ) 1 = disagree ( x ).
Try not to use 3 = unsure ( ?? ), unless you really have to, or if it cannot apply to you or your course.
√ √? ?? x? x
1. I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember. 5 4 3 2 1
2. When I’m reading an article or book, I try to find out for myself exactly what the author means. 5 4 3 2 1
3. I organise my study time carefully to make the best use of it. 5 4 3 2 1
4. There’s not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant. 5 4 3 2 1
5. I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute. 5 4 3 2 1
6. Before tackling a problem or assignment, I first try to work out what lies behind it. 5 4 3 2 1
7. I’m pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to. 5 4 3 2 1
8. Much of what I’m studying makes little sense: it's like unrelated bits and pieces. 5 4 3 2 1
9. I put a lot of effort into studying because I'm determined to do well. 5 4 3 2 1
10. When I’m working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit together. 5 4 3 2 1
11. I don't find it at all difficult to motivate myself. 5 4 3 2 1
12. Often I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books. 5 4 3 2 1
13. I think I’m quite systematic and organised when it comes to revising for exams. 5 4 3 2 1
14. Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with.. 5 4 3 2 1
15. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought of my own. 5 4 3 2 1
16. I’m not really sure what’s important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can. 5 4 3 2 1
17. When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what’s being said. 5 4 3 2 1
18. I often worry about whether I'll ever be able to cope with the work properly. 5 4 3 2 1
Thank you very much for spending time completing this questionnaire: it is much
appreciated.
If you would like to make any additional comments about your ways of studying, please make them on the back of this sheet.
© 2006 Noel Entwistle ASSIST short version - amended, March, 2006
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Scoring Key
for the Short Version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST)
Scoring procedure
Students respond to items on a 1 - 5 scale (5 high). Sub-scale scores are formed by adding together the
responses on each of the items in that sub-scale. Scoring is usually carried out by computer, using a
program such as SPSS. Each item is set as a variable (e.g. D04 = Deep item 4), and then a scale total is
produced by creating a new variable by summing the items. For example, Deep approach = D02 + D06
+D10 + D12 +D15 + D17. The other two scale scores can then be formed in a similar way.
Deep Approach
D02 When I’m reading an article or book, I try to find out for myself exactly what the author means.
D06 Before tackling a problem or assignment, I first try to work out what lies behind it.
D10 When I’m working on a new topic, I try to see in my own mind how all the ideas fit together.
D12 Often I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books.
D15 Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of thought of my own.
D17 When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with what’s being said.
Strategic Approach
T03. I organise my study time carefully to make the best use of it.
T05. I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until the last minute.
T07. I’m pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to.
T09. I put a lot of effort into studying because I'm determined to do well.
T11. I don't find it at all difficult to motivate myself.
T13. I think I’m quite systematic and organised when it comes to revising for exams.
Surface Approach
S01. I often have trouble in making sense of the things I have to remember
S04. There’s not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant.
S08. Much of what I’m studying makes little sense: it's like unrelated bits and pieces.
S14. Often I feel I'm drowning in the sheer amount of material we're having to cope with.
S16 I’m not really sure what’s important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can.
S18. I often worry about whether I'll ever be able to cope with the work properly.
