2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Role of Information-Gathering on Students’ Satisfaction in Engineering Majors

This research paper focuses on the decision-making processes of undergraduate students in engineering. We explore how Information Gathering behaviors relate to students’ academic satisfaction with their engineering major.
The Self-Regulation Model of Decision-Making (SRMDM) encompasses three phases of Generation, Evaluation, and Learning, each influenced by Moderating Factors. Our focus is on Information Gathering, which happens as a decision-maker iterates between generating ideas and evaluating them. We hypothesize that self-regulated decision-making behaviors will lead a student to be more satisfied with their Engineering major choice. A competing theory is the theory of Maximizing Tendency where the maximizer decision-maker seeks to find the best option among available information that results in being less happy compared to satisficers who just look for ‘good-enough’ options. This research questions the association between Information Gathering and Satisfaction in Engineering.
The sample for this study is 724 primarily first-year students in Engineering at Clemson University. Measures used include a five-item Information Gathering scale from the Multi-dimensional Inventory of Decision-making Competency (MIDC) and a five-item Academic Satisfaction scale adapted for Engineering. This finding provides support for the SRMDM-based hypothesis that Information Gathering behavior may lead to increased Satisfaction in Engineering, so advisors/institutions are encouraged to support this process.