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Running head: FINAL THESIS ASSIGNMENT

1

Final Thesis Assignment: Sleep Quality and Academic Performance Between Second, Third and

Fourth Year College Students

Kirsten Miller & Emily Quinn

COMU 4001: Special Topics

Humber College

Dr. Daniel Bear

March 11, 2019

Turnitin Percentage: 40%

FINAL THESIS ASSIGNMENT 2

Acknowledgments

We would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge Heather Ramey and Daniel Bear

for your assistance, patience, and advice. On behalf of myself, Kirsten Miller, I would like to

acknowledge working through this process with Emily Quinn. Thank you for your patience. You

were a pleasure to work with. I would not want to go through this process with anyone other than

you. On behalf of myself, Emily Quinn, I would like to acknowledge Kirsten Miller for

supporting and working on this thesis with me. You are a wonderful writer, a critical thinker, and

an excellent thesis partner. Together we would like to acknowledge our thesis class their support

and peer edit sessions.


Sleep Quality and Academic Performance Between Second, Third and Fourth Year College

Students

Abstract

Up to 50% of college students experience daytime exhaustion (Orzech, Salafsky and

Hamilton, 2011). Sleep deprivation is specifically impacting the grades of first-year college

students (Orzech et al., 2011). Literature has heavily weighed towards sleep quality and

academic performance, particularly among first-year college students. The purpose of this study

is to address the gaps in the literature by examining how sleep quality is associated with

academic performance between second, third and fourth-year college students. This is a

population that lacks in research. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to

measure the quality and patterns of sleep among adults (Orzech et al., 2011). It is a nine-item

questionnaire that allows participants to rate sleep habits during the past month. It combines

these items to create seven component scores that break down an individuals sleep quality into

different categories. Participants with a PSQI score of five or greater were indicative of poor

sleep quality. and negative correlation between sleep and academics for second, third and

fourth-year students. This shows that high PSQI scores (indicating low levels of sleep quality)

are associated with low academic performance. Where as a low PSQI scores (indicating high

levels of sleep quality) can be associated with high academic performance.


Introduction

In the rapid-paced modern society, sleep deprivation has become a prominent problem.

(Curcio, Ferrara & Degennaro, 2006). Research has shown that sleep deprivation impacts various

age groups differently (Pagel & Kwaitkowski, 2010). For instance, the college population

experiences a high frequency of waking up in the night with difficulties falling back to sleep ().

This population also experiences a difficult sleep onset (According to Orzech et al. (2011), 50%

of college students experience exhaustion throughout the daytime, which negatively interferes

with their academic fulfillment. Sleep deprivation can impair cognitive learning, working

memory, alertness and overall prefrontal cortex functioning (Curcio et al., 2006; Lau, Wong,

Lau, Hui, & Tseng, 2015). One study has shown that the quality of sleep can enhance academic

performance among college students (Wong et al., 2012). This stresses that sleep may be an

important predictor of academic success. Despite these findings, there has been limited research

focusing on how sleep impacts academic performance of college students, particularly among

second, third and fourth-year college students whose experience might be different from first-

year students (Curcio et al., 2006; Gaultney, 2010; Orzech et al., 2011). Post-secondary

institutions have expressed concern towards student sleep deprivation negatively impacting

graduation rates (Gaultney, 2010). This shows the importance of the need to further study how

sleep is associated with academic performance second, third and fourth-year college students.

Therefore, in the current study, our research question is how sleep is associated with academic

performance between second, third and fourth-year college students. Our first hypothesis is that

PSQI scores and academic performance will be negatively correlated. Our second hypothesis is

that gender and sleep will not have a significant correlation. Our third hypothesis is that minority

status and amount of sleep will also not have a significant correlation.


Literature Review

Academic Performance

Successful learning is essential for academic and school achievement (Curcio et al.,

2006). As cited by Richardson, Bond, and Abraham (2012), an individual's cognitive capacity

can be used to explain academic performance throughout their education. Academic performance

would be in relation to postsecondary education, such as university or college education

(Richardson et al., 2012). Additional literature suggests that academic performance involves

being successful in terms of school achievement (Curcio et al., 2006).

Academic performance is important because it plays an essential role in determining the

occupational status and graduate employment (Richardson et al., 2012). The literature

demonstrates how academic performance predicts outcomes after college, such as an individual’s

future financial success and psychosocial wellbeing (Taylor, Vatthauer, Bramoweth, Ruggero &

Roane, 2013). It was determined that for some college programs, one’s annual earnings would

increase more than 8% for every 1-point increase in grade point average (GPA) (Taylor et al.,

2013). Therefore, since academic performance impacts many life outcomes, it is an important

variable to understand measure.

According to Richardson et al. (2012), a student’s academic performance is usually

measured cumulatively by their overall GPA, which is the mean of weighted courses. GPA is the

most common measure used for academic performance (Richardson et al., 2012). Additional

literature indicates how GPA is the standard measurement for academic performance (Taylor et

al., 2013). However, SAT and ACT scores have also been used to measure academic

performance (Taylor et al., 2013). The majority of the literature indicates that GPA is a more

effective measurement for academic performance rather than SAT and ACT scores. Therefore,

for the purpose of this study academic performance was measured using student GPA.


Sleep Among College Students

Current literature lacks a standard definition of sleep quality (Krystal & Edinger (2008);

Ramlee, Sanborn, & Tang 2017). In some cases, the term sleep quality may refer to a collection

of measurements on sleep time, efficiency, onset, fragmentation and total wake time while trying

to achieve sleep (Krystal & Edinger, 2008). Other research suggests that sleep quality can also be

considered to have a subjective definition (Cates, Clark, Wolley, Saunders, 2015), which means

the definition of sleep quality varies between individuals.

It is important to measure and understand sleep quality since poor sleep quality can lead

to daytime performance impairments and a diminished quality of life (Mollayeva et al., 2016).

Sleep quality is also an essential indicator of health and wellbeing (Ramlee et al., 2017).

Furthermore, the literature suggests how sleep can play an important role in working memory,

which is essential for learning and comprehension skills (Curcio et al., 2006; Lau et al., 2015).

Sleep quality is beneficial to many aspects of life and understanding sleep quality as well as

having effective ways to measure it is necessary.

According to Mollayeva et al. (2016), there are various tools to measure sleep

subjectively and objectively. One approach would be to use a carefully constructed questionnaire

that incorporates elements from the American Psychological Association pertaining to clinical

sleep dysfunctions (Mollayeva et al., 2016). Additional methods include electroencephalogram

(EEG) spectral analysis, and actigraphy (Krystal & Edinger, 2008). However, literature strongly

relies on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI is a clinical instrument used to

measure sleep quality (Cates et al., 2015; Mollayeva et al., 2016). According to Cates et al.

(2015), PSQI was developed to assess sleep disturbances and sleep quality in order to identify

individuals with good and poor sleep. According to literature, the PSQI has a strong reliability


coefficient, which makes it an effective tool to measure sleep quality (Cates et al., 2015). The

PSQI is composed of Likert-style questions, which according to Krystal and Edinger (2008) is a

core element to understanding subjective sleep quality. It is important to emphasize that even

though the PSQI was originally created for a clinical purpose, the literature indicates that it can

also be used for non-clinical purposes (Mollayeva et al., 2016).

The Relationship Between Sleep and Academic Performance

Literature suggests that sleep is associated with comprehension, working memory

performance, procedural memory, declarative memory, emotional processing, alertness and

overall academic performance (Curcio et al., 2006; Orzech et al., 2011; Lau et al., 2015). The

association between sleep quality and academic performance is further emphasized by Orzech et

al. (2011), which states that students with higher academic performance went to bed early in

contrast to their lower-performing peers. Wong et al. (2012) support this claim by stating that

students with more than eight hours of sleep received a GPA of 3.24, and those with fewer hours

of sleep received a GPA of 2.74. Another study indicates that difficult sleep onset and poor sleep

maintenance are correlated with low GPA in college (Pagel & Kwaitkowski, 2010). Thus, the

literature strongly supports the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance.

However, despite studies supporting the association between sleep quality and academic

performance, gaps within literature still exist. For instance, Cates et al. (2015) state that few

studies exist that examine students standing in different academic years. This is seen throughout

literature as many studies examine how sleep quality is associated with academic performance

among first-year college students. One study administered to first-year college students

examined how sleep habits are highly correlated with academic performance (Orzech et al.,

2011). In a study by Gaultney (2010) 46% of students studied were in the first year, whereas


only 26% of students studied were in the second year and 16% were in their third year. In

another study, more than half of the participants examined were first-year students (Curcio et al.,

2006). Therefore, there is not enough evidence in literature researching sleep among second,

third and fourth-year students. This highlights a need to conduct further research examining how

sleep is associated with academic performance amongst second, third, and fourth-year college

students.

The Current Study

Since literature has shown how sleep quality is associated with academic performance, it

is essential to address the gap in the literature in order to see if it pertains to students beyond

their first-year of college. This study was designed to address the gaps in the literature by

examining how sleep quality is associated with academic performance between second, third and

fourth-year college students, a population that lacks in research. Therefore, the following

research question was proposed: How is sleep associated with academic performance among

second, third and fourth-year college students? We hypothesize that PSQI scores and academic

performance will be negatively correlated

Theoretical Orientation

Post-positivist is a philosophy of research that examines how causes probably influence

outcomes (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Since post-positivist worldviews are congruent with

quantitative research, it corresponds with our survey methods (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). A

post-positivist orientation relies heavily on numeric measurements of variables which are used to

create a given research question (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Since this research study

examines the relationship between variables (sleep quality and academic performance) it is

congruent with this theoretical orientation. These variables will be measured numerically by the


use of a survey, further aligning this study's theoretical orientation to a post-positivist approach

(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Additionally, post-positivism examines human behaviours, which

would include behaviours such as sleeping (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Post-positivism

challenges the notion of absolute truth and recognizes that researchers cannot be absolutely

certain about their claims (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). By examining the relationship between

sleep quality and academic performances, this study does not seek out an absolute truth. This

study embraces the ideology that knowledge is conjectural (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).

Therefore, it is evident that this study is congruent with a post-positivist orientation.

Research Methodology

Participants

A convenient sample of N= 100 participants were invited to partake in the study.

Participants for this study were second, third and fourth-year Humber College Bachelor of Child

and Youth Care (BCYC) students in the School of Social and Community Services. The age of

participants range from 19 to 25. This study was inclusive of all genders, age, ethnicity, and

socioeconomic status.

Procedure

Researchers contacted faculty members in the School of Social and Community Services

at Humber College to arrange appropriate times and dates to visit students in their respective

classrooms. Ethics approval was obtained from Humber college Research Ethics Board (REB)

(See Appendix A). Ethical agreement forms were signed and researchers were aware of the

confidential parameters (See Appendix D). Students were given a letter of invitation and consent

form to partake in the research (See Appendix C). As researchers, we obtained our Tri-Council

Policy Statement (TCPS) (See Appendix B).

In order to obtain informed consent, participants were informed about the purpose of the


research, including risk and benefits (Consent, 2014). Disclosure of the information relevant to

the research was also included (Consent, 2014). Participants were given an opportunity to decide

if they wished to participate in the research and ask questions about any additional inquiries

(Consent, 2014). Participants were informed and assured that anything disclosed to researchers

would be confidential unless granted otherwise (Privacy and Confidentiality, 2014).

Additionally, participants were informed that data will be stored on an encrypted flash drive

(Consent, 2014). Participants were not excluded based on gender, age, sexual orientation, race,

religion, socioeconomic status and ability (Fairness and Equity, 2014).

After the code of ethics was outlined, researchers handed out the demographics survey to

participants (See Appendix E) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (See Appendix F)

for those who have given their informed consent. Participants were given 15 to 20 minutes to

complete both the demographic survey and PSQI questionnaire and returned surveys to the

researchers upon completion.

Measures

Demographics. A research demographics information questionnaire was focused on

information such as age, gender, ethnicity, minority status, parental education, program (degree)

and program year.

Grade Point Average. To measure GPA, participants had six categories to choose from:

below 50%, 50%-59%, 60%-69%, 70%-79%, 80%-89%, and 90%-100%. Answers were

quantified on a scale of 0 (GPA below 50%) to 5 (GPA between 90% -100%). Participants were

asked to answer based on GPA from the last term.

Sleep Quality. PSQI was the instrument that was used to measure the quality and

patterns of sleep among adults (Orzech et al., 2011). It is a nine-item questionnaire that allowed


participants to rate sleep habits during the past month. It combined these items to create seven

component scores that break down an individuals sleep quality into different categories (Cates et

al., 2015). A sample question from the PSQI is “Cannot get to sleep within 30 minutes.”

Response ranged on a Likert type scale from 0 (not during the past week) to 3 (three or more

times a week). The PSQI demonstrates moderate internal consistency (Orzech et al., 2011) since

the seven scores have a reliability coefficient of ∝= 0.65, as shown in Table 1 (Appendix G). The

higher the PSQI score the less sleep quality a person had with a score of five or greater indicated

poor sleep quality (Orzech et al., 2011).

Global PSQI Score. IBM SPSS was utilized to statistically analyze the data collected.

IBM SPSS Statistics is the world's leading statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics, 2018). Once

surveys were completed, data was entered into SPSS. Nominal values were given to code all

demographics except age and school year.

The PSQI’s seven component scores were calculated using SPSS. Component one was

given a score based on question nine in the PSQI survey. Component two analyzed sleep latency

by calculating the sum of questions 2 and 5a. Component three examined sleep duration, which

was analyzed in question four. Component four analyzed sleep efficiency by calculating the

percentage of hours slept by each participant. Component five examines sleep disturbances and

consisted of the sum of questions 5b-5j. Component six examined the use of sleep medication

and assigned a score to the answers given in question six. Lastly, component seven examined

daytime dysfunction, by calculating the sum of questions seven and eight. Once the seven

component scores were determined, the total global PSQI score was calculated by the sum of

seven components.


Results

Demographic Descriptive Statistics of Sample

Out of the 100 participants N=100, 8% were male, 91% were female and 1% identified as

other. As seen in Table 2, the minimum age of participants is 19, while the maximum age is 42,

while (M=23.27 and SD= 3.93). Concerning school year, the minimum academic year was 2 and

the maximum academic year was 4, while (M= 3.42 and SD= 0.71). 53% of participants were not

considered to be a person of colour and 47% identified as a person of colour.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics Sample

Spearman Correlation

Using Spearman correlation, we analyzed the correlation between student's grades and

their sleep quality. As shown in Table 3, these two variables were significantly correlated, rs

(98)= -0.20, p = 0.04. Therefore, PSQI scores had a week negative correlation with academic

performance.

N Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation What is your gender? 100 2 0 2 .93 .293 How old are you? 99 23 19 42 23.27 3.925 What is your ethnicity? 99 11 0 11 3.87 4.432 Do you consider yourself to be a visible minority?

100 1 0 1 .47 .502

Mother’s highest level of education?

100 4 0 4 2.25 1.184

What kind of marks did you usually get?

100 3 2 5 3.42 .741

Valid N (listwise) 98


Independent Sample t-test

As seen in Table 4, data was analyzed using an independent sample t-test to see if gender

related to amount of hours slept. As seen in Table 5 (Appendix G), females experienced longer

periods of sleep (M=6.84, SD = 1.38, n = 91) than male participants (M=6.31, SD= 1.31, n=8).

As Table 4 shows, p > .05 indicating that there is no significant correlation between gender and

amount of sleep hours.

As indicated in Tables 6, data was analyzed using an independent sample t-test to see if

minority status related amount of hours slept. Individuals who did not identify as a person of

colour experienced longer periods of sleep (M=6.89 hours, SD =1.4, n = 53) than participants

who did identify as a person of colour (M = 6.64 hours, SD = 1.36, n = 47) (See Table 7 in

Appendix G). However, since p > .05 the relationship between minority status and amount of

hours slept is not significantly correlated.

Table 3

Spearman Correlation: Grades and PSQI

PSQI

What marks did you usually get?

Spearman's rho PSQI Correlation Coefficient 1.000 -.200* Sig. (2-tailed) . .046 N 100 100

What marks did you usually get?

Correlation Coefficient -.200* 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) .046 . N 100 100


Table 4 Independent t-test: Gender and Sleep

Levene's Test for Equality of

Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean Differen

ce

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the Difference

Lower Upper How many hours of actual sleep did you get at night (minutes)?

Equal variances assumed

.500 .481 1.030

97 .306 .5238 .5085 -.4855 1.5330

Equal variances not assumed

1.081

8.441

.310 .5238 .4845 -.5835 1.6311

Table 6

Independent t-test: Minority Status and Sleep

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean Differe

nce

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence Interval of the

Difference Lower Upper

How many hours of actual sleep did you get at night (minutes)?

Equal variances assumed

.021 .884 -.922

98 .359 -.2558 .2775 -.8065 .2949

Equal variances not assumed

-.923

97.112 .358 -.2558 .2771 -.8057 .2941


Discussion

Research results confirmed the initial hypothesis: PSQI scores and academic performance

will be negatively correlated. Our Spearman correlation test indicated that the higher PSQI score

an individual had, the lower their grades may be. This is a negative correlation, however, the

PSQI score needs to be appropriately interpreted. As previously stated, the higher a PSQI score

is, the lower quality of sleep one receives, while low PSQI scores indicate high levels of sleep

quality. Therefore these results communicate that the lower sleep quality one has, the lower

grades they may receive and vice versa. Therefore there is a significant relationship between

sleep quality and academic performance. Furthermore, after completing a t-test examining the

amount of sleep one gets in relation to gender and minority status, it is evident that the second

and third hypothesis were also confirmed. This is evident since there is no significant correlation

between the number of hours of slept and gender or minority status.

The literature reviewed for this study is aligned with these results since literature strongly

supports the relationship between sleep and academic performance. Our findings support this

claim by indicating that difficult sleep onset and poor sleep maintenance are correlated with low

GPA (Pagel & Kwaitkowski, 2010). Additional literature indicates how good sleep quality can

enhance academic performance among college students, which also aligns with the results

yielded from this study since low PSQI scores (indicating high levels of sleep quality) are

negatively correlated with high levels of academic performance (Wong et al., 2012). However,

previous literature mainly focused on sleep among first-year college students. Cates et al. (2015)

state that there is not enough research examining the relationship between sleep and academic

performance among students in different academic years. This study addresses this gap in the

literature, by indicating that sleep quality is significantly associated with academic performance


among second, third and fourth-year college student population as well.

Healthy sleeping patterns are a strong predictor for the longevity of one’s overall health

wellbeing (Lao, Tao, & Wu, 2016). Sleep can impair an individual's cognitive functioning (Lao

et al., 2016). Poor sleep quality can lead to daytime performance impairments and a diminished

quality of life (Mollayeva et al., 2016). Sleep quality is also an essential indicator of health and

wellbeing. Despite the benefits of sleep in relation to overall health wellbeing, sleep patterns

have been challenging to the college student population who are faced with stressors and

demands (Lao et al., 2016).

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) will be used to explain sleep in relation to health

wellbeing. TPB is a successful model that is used to explain sleep and predict health behaviours

(Lao et al., 2016). Healthy sleep patterns are projected by one’s behavioural intention (Lao et al.,

2016). Behavioural intention looks at how much effort an individual is willing to spending on

achieving a given behaviour (Lao et al., 2016). Academic performance would be considered a

type of intended behaviour. Sleep can be explained as a planned behaviour that one uses to

achieve the intended behaviour of academic performance. In other words, TPB can add context

to the results of this study by indicating that students who intend to have a high academic

performance plan to obtain good sleep quality. Furthermore, TPS also explains how students

who do not intend to achieve high academic performance do not plan to obtain good sleep

quality. The application of TPB to interpret the results of this study are aligned with additional

literature which states how students with higher academic performance went to bed earlier then

lower-performing peers (Orzech et al., 2001). This is further supported by Wong et al. (2012)

who states that students who get more than eight hours of sleep receive a higher GPA than

students who have fewer hours of sleep. Therefore, TPB is a rational way of making sense of the


results in this study. Since gender and minority status are not planned behaviours, it is

understandable that they do not impact the behaviour of sleep.

Implications for Child and Youth Practice, Policy and ResearchLimitations

The first limitation of the study is the male to female ratio. Out of the 100 participants that

participated in this study 91% of participants were female and 8% of participants were male. A

new study shows that women are more impacted by sleep deprivation (Mallampalli & Carter,

2014). With the lack of sleep, they report more anger, depression, and hostility than men when

they get insufficient sleep (Mallampalli & Carter, 2014). This would indicate why our study had

a high number of participants with a high PSQI score.

A second limitation is our sample size. A total of 100 participants were invited to partake in

our study. This is a small sample size. A sample size that is too small can increase the risk of a

Type II error skewing the results, which decreases the power of the study (Creswell & Creswell,

2018). Another limitation that should be taken into consideration is our sampling profile. A

convenient sample of CYC students in the School of Social and Community Services at Humber

College were invited to participate in the study. Perhaps results could change if the study was

conducted researching two different programs: Students in the Social and Community Service

and students in the Behavioural Sciences program.

The last limitation is access to literature. The literature weighed heavily on addressing sleep

and academic performance among first-year students. There was not enough literature addressing

if poor sleep quality and academics performance had the same impact between the second, third

and fourth-year student population.


Conclusion

Our study addressed the gaps in the literature between sleep quality and academic

performance among second, third and fourth-year college students.Our study was conclusive that

there is a significant negative correlation between PSQI scores and academic performance. This

shows that high PSQI scores (indicating low levels of sleep quality) are associated with low

academic performance, where as a low PSQI scores (indicating high levels of sleep quality) can

be associated with high academic performance. College students, who are emerging adults, are

faced with sleep disorders as a result of facing the demand and stressors of schoolwork (Lao et

al., 2016). This is resulting in 50% of college students experiencing exhaustion throughout the

daytime, impaired cognitive functioning and working memory (Curcio et al., 2006). This

research calls for action as college institutions have expressed concern towards student sleep

deprivation negatively impacting graduation rates (Gaultney, 2010). CYCs can use this

information to teach parents and youth in college how to plan for healthy sleep behaviours in

order to achieve intended academic performance. More research should be conducted in order to

further address how sleep quality is associated with academic performance among second, third,

and four-year college students.


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Appendix A

Research Ethics Board Approval Letter


Appendix B

Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) Certificates

Appendix C

Letter of Invitation/Informed Consent Form


Project Title: Sleep Quality and Academic Performance between Second and Third Year College Students Student Researchers: Emily Quinn and Kirsten Miller INVITATION Dear Humber Student: We invite you to participate in a study on sleep quality and academic performance among students. The procedure of this study will include an approximately 15-20 minutes survey, conducted as part of a thesis, by Humber Child and Youth Care students. As part of your participation, you will be asked about your Grade Point Average (GPA), sleep habits in the past month (including questions specific to your sleep experience). The study will also ask for basic demographic and background information, which are asked in most studies (e.g., age, ethnicity). POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND RISKS By participating in this study, you would have the opportunity to share your experiences as a Humber student. We do not believe that there are any more risks in participating than the risks you may experience in everyday life. WHAT WE WILL YOU DO WITH THE RESULTS The results from this research, without names or other identifying information, will be part of

a student thesis and will be presented and shared amongst 4th year CYC students and faculty at Humber College. It might be shared more widely, for example, as part of conference presentations or journal articles. If published, participants’ privacy will be protected by using pseudonyms or removing any identifying features. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA STORAGE All of the information you share in this study will be kept confidential. This means your name will not be used or associated in any way with the information we collect as part of this study. When your responses are stored, the researchers will use a number or pseudonym instead of your name. We may use quotes in our reports, again with all identifying information removed. Our three Humber Bachelor of Child and Youth Care (BCYC) faculty supervisors will have access to the information and the transcripts of the interviews and all information will be encrypted and locked in the Humber College BCYC office. Raw data will be deleted/destroyed, but electronic, non-identifying information will be kept indefinitely, for possible future analysis. You can refuse to sign this consent form and not participate in the present study. If you do agree to participate, you are free to withdraw from the study up until the analysis is complete (at least two weeks). If you choose to withdraw, the researcher(s) will destroy/deleted all of your survey information. NOTICE ABOUT SOME ONLINE SURVEY SERVICES (will be deleted by the researcher for studies not relying on online survey services) In some research projects, we use online survey services, such as SurveyMonkey. Many online survey services are US companies, and store their information in the United States. They may have privacy policies that say that they have the right to share the information collected through


their website anytime they are legally required to (for example, because they are ordered to by a court) and when they have to protect their own rights. US companies also have to follow the USA Patriot Act, which gives the US government a lot of powers to access data stored on servers located within the US. CONTACT INFORMATION AND ETHICS CLEARANCE If you have any questions or want more information, you can email the primary student researchers: Kirsten Miller at the following email: [email protected] or the faculty supervisors, Heather Ramey, at [email protected]; Sara Nickerson-White at [email protected]. This course has received approval to include primary research projects from the Research Ethics Board at Humber College (Protocol #________). If you have any comments or concerns about your rights as a participant, please call or email the Humber Research Ethics Board Chair (Dr. Jasteena Dhillon, [email protected], 416-675-6622, ext. 4543). Thank you for your help with our research! Please keep a copy of this form, in case you have questions or want it later. PARTICIPATION CERTIFICATION I agree to participate in this study. I have made this decision based on what I have read in this letter. I have had the chance to get more information, and I know that I can still email to ask questions in the future. I know that I have at least two weeks after I complete the survey to change my mind about participating in the survey. Date: _______________________________________________ Participant Signature: ________________________________________________ Print Name: _________________________________________________


Appendix D

Student Researcher Ethics Agreement

Name: Kirsten Miller Thesis Topic: Sleep Quality and Academic Performance between Second and Third Year College Students

An important part of conducting research is having respect for privacy and confidentiality.

In signing below, you are agreeing to respect the participant’s right to privacy and that of the people and organizations that may be included in the information collected. Such information may include interviews, questionnaires, and audio recordings. You are asked to respect people’s right to confidentially by not discussing the information collected in public, or with friends or family members. The study and its participants are to be discussed only during research meetings with your co-investigator, faculty supervisors, and/or others identified by your faculty supervisor.

In signing below, you are indicating that you understand the following:

§ I understand the importance of providing confidentiality to research participants.

§ I understand that the research information may contain references to individuals or organizations in the community, other than the participant. I understand that this information is to be kept confidential.

§ I understand that the information collected is not to be discussed or communicated outside of research meetings with my co-investigator, faculty supervisors, or others specifically identified by the faculty supervisors.

§ When entering data, I will be the only one to see the data and I will store the data in a secure location at all times.

§ When transcribing audio recordings (when applicable), I will be the only one to hear the recordings and I will store these recordings and transcripts in a secure location at all times.

§ I understand that the data files (electronic and hard copy) are to be secured at all times as specified in the ethics application (e.g., not left unattended, password protected and kept in a locked filing cabinet). In signing my name below, I agree to the above statements and promise to guarantee the confidentiality of the research participants. I confirm that I have read and understood the Humber REB application, as approved, and will follow the terms of this ethics approval.

Name: Kirsten Miller

Signature: ________________________________

Date: October 30, 2018


Student Researcher Ethics Agreement

Name: Emily Quinn

Thesis Topic: Sleep Quality and Academic Performance between Second and Third Year College Students

An important part of conducting research is having respect for privacy and confidentiality.

In signing below, you are agreeing to respect the participant’s right to privacy and that of the people and organizations that may be included in the information collected. Such information may include interviews, questionnaires, and audio recordings. You are asked to respect people’s right to confidentially by not discussing the information collected in public, or with friends or family members. The study and its participants are to be discussed only during research meetings with your co-investigator, faculty supervisors, and/or others identified by your faculty supervisor.

In signing below, you are indicating that you understand the following:

§ I understand the importance of providing confidentiality to research participants.

§ I understand that the research information may contain references to individuals or organizations in the community, other than the participant. I understand that this information is to be kept confidential.

§ I understand that the information collected is not to be discussed or communicated outside of research meetings with my co-investigator, faculty supervisors, or others specifically identified by the faculty supervisors.

§ When entering data, I will be the only one to see the data and I will store the data in a secure location at all times.

§ When transcribing audio recordings (when applicable), I will be the only one to hear the recordings and I will store these recordings and transcripts in a secure location at all times.

§ I understand that the data files (electronic and hard copy) are to be secured at all times as specified in the ethics application (e.g., not left unattended, password protected and kept in a locked filing cabinet).

In signing my name below, I agree to the above statements and promise to guarantee the confidentiality of the research participants. I confirm that I have read and understood the Humber REB application, as approved, and will follow the terms of this ethics approval.

Name: Emily Quinn Signature: ________________________________ Date: October 30, 2018


Appendix E

Research Participant Demographic Information

Please answer to the best of your ability. There are no right or wrong answers to any of the questions in this survey. Completing this survey, and participating in this study, are voluntary. You are free to choose not to answer or “skip” any questions that make you feel uncomfortable.

1) What is your gender? ____________________

2) How old are you? ________________________ 3) With which of the following do you most closely identify? (check all that apply)

African Arab Black Chinese Filipino First Nations (status or non-status) Inuit Japanese Korean Latin American Métis South Asian (e.g., Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc.) Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai) West Asian (e.g. Afghan, Iranian, Turkish, etc.) White Other, please specify: ______________

4) Do you consider yourself to be a person of colour?

Yes No

5) What is your primary caregiver’s (e.g., mother’s) highest level of education?

no high school some high school high school some college or university undergraduate university or college professional degree or graduate school

6) In this past term at Humber, what kind of marks did you usually get?


Below 50% 50%-59% 60%-69% 70%-79% 80%-89% 90%-100%

7) What program are you in at Humber? _____________________________

8) Is it a... (circle one)

degree program diploma program other (e.g., certificate)

9) In your program at Humber, what year are you in?

1st 2nd 3rd 4th


Appendix F

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Questionnaire

Sleep Quality Assessment (PSQI) What is PSQI, and what is it measuring

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is an effective instrument used to measure the quality and patterns of sleep in adults. It differentiates “poor” from “good” sleep quality by measuring seven areas (components): subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction over the last month. INSTRUCTIONS: The following questions relate to your usual sleep habits during the past month only. Your answers should indicate the most accurate reply for the majority of days and nights in the past month. Please answer all questions. During the past month, 1 When have you usually gone to bed? _____________________ 2. How long (in minutes) has it taken you to fall asleep each night? _________________ 3. What time have you usually gotten up in the morning? _______________________ 4. A. How many hours of actual sleep did you get at night? _____________________ B. How many hours were you in bed? _______________________

5. During the past month, how often have you had trouble sleeping because you

Not during the past month (0)

Less than once a week (1)

Once or twice a week (2)

Three or more times a week (3)

A. Cannot get to sleep within 30 minutes

B. Wake up in the middle of the night or early morning

C. Have to get up to use the bathroom

D. Cannot breathe comfortably

E. Cough or snore loudly

F. Feel too Cold G. Feel too hot H. Have bad dreams I. Have pain J. Other reason (s), please describe, including how often


you have had trouble sleeping because of this reason (s): 6. During the past month, how often have you taken medicine (prescribed or over the counter) to help you sleep

7. During the past month, how often have you had trouble staying awake while driving, eating meals, or engaging in social activity

8. During the past month, how much of a problem has it been for you to keep up enthusiasm to get things done?

9. During the past month, how would you rate your sleep quality overall?

Very good (0) Fairly good (1) Fairly bad (2) Very bad (3)

Scoring

Scoring the PSQI Component 1 score:_____ Component 2 score:_____ Component 3 score:_____ Component 4 score:_____ Component 5 score:_____ Component 6 score:_____ Component 7 score:_____

Global PSQI Score: __________


Appendix G

Outputs

Table 1 Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.652 17

Table 5

Group Statistics: Gender and Sleep

What is your gender? N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean How many hours of actual sleep did you get at night (minutes)?

female 91 6.836 1.3843 .1451 male 8 6.313 1.3076 .4623

Table 7

Group Statistics: Minority Status and Sleep

Do you consider

yourself to be a visible minority? N Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

How many hours of actual sleep did you get at night?

Yes 47 6.640 1.3660 .1993 No 53 6.896 1.4018 .1925

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