The goal of this research was to detail college students' beliefs abou
t the examinations they face. We interviewed those closest to the exam
preparation process, those who make the decisions about when, how, an
d what to study, college students themselves. Students responded to pr
ogressively more focussed questions. The conclusions that emerged from
several rounds of questioning were checked with a new sample of stude
nts. What emerged was a complex set of beliefs about the examination p
reparation process. The students expressed beliefs about four aspects
of exam preparation: (a) motivations to study for exams, (b) strategie
s for exam preparation, (c) affect about exam preparation, and (d) eff
ects of external factors on study (e.g., instructors, previous exam ex
periences, social environment, physical environment, and content that
is to be studied). (C) 1997 Academic Press.