2020, Staley, Larssyn, Göldi, Susan, Nikoulina, Anya

Several studies have made claims for the positive effects of the use of multimedia in education; however, there is a lack of systematic and comparable research, especially when it comes to video tutorials. Research also points to a difficulty in forming a strong conclusion when it comes to their effectiveness. This study evaluates the use and benefits of short screencast video tutorials, produced with Camtasia and published on YouTube, in preparing students for research-based writing assignments. The study employs a multi-method research design, comprising of analysis of video-tutorial viewership data from YouTube and a student questionnaire (n=76) on perceived benefits of these video tutorials. Both the data on how the tutorials are used as well as the questionnaire responses enable us to highlight which aspects of these tutorials positively affect the learning process, and importantly, how such tutorials should be adapted to be more useful. Findings indicate that the use of such tutorials is more dependent on the type of information (e.g. theory, instructions or examples) in the tutorials, than their length (within the range of three to six minutes) and that, novice, introductory-level students received greater benefit from the tutorials than more advanced, academic writing and research students.