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Revised Study Process Questionnaire

R-SPQ-2F
educationpsychologyFree for research use

A 20-item instrument measuring two approaches to learning in tertiary students: Deep Approach (driven by intrinsic interest; intention to understand) and Surface Approach (driven by fear of failure; intention to reproduce). Each approach decomposes into Motive and Strategy subscales (5 items each), yielding four 5-item subscales in total.

Items
20
Response format
5-point Likert scale
Version
1.0
Subscales
6

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Approaches to learning were measured using the 20-item Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F; Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001), yielding Deep Approach and Surface Approach scores, each further decomposable into Motive and Strategy component subscales. Students rated items on a 5-point frequency scale (α: Deep = .73, Surface = .64).

Reliability & validation

Validation population
Hong Kong university students reported in Biggs, Kember, & Leung (2001)
Cronbach's α
0.57–0.73

Subscales

Deep ApproachSurface ApproachDeep MotiveDeep StrategySurface MotiveSurface Strategy

Response anchors

This item is never or only rarely true of me · sometimes true · true of me about half the time · frequently true of me · This item is always or almost always true of me

Known limitations

Component subscales (Deep Motive, Deep Strategy, Surface Motive, Surface Strategy) have modest internal consistency because of their brevity; main-factor scores (Deep, Surface) are more robust. Validated originally with Hong Kong undergraduates — invariance across cultures has been tested but is not universal; cite a matching validation for your sample.

Original citation

Biggs, J., Kember, D., Leung, D. Y. P. (2001). The revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 133-149.

https://doi.org/10.1348/000709901158433

Questions researchers ask

What does the R-SPQ-2F measure?

A 20-item instrument measuring two approaches to learning in tertiary students: Deep Approach (driven by intrinsic interest; intention to understand) and Surface Approach (driven by fear of failure; intention to reproduce). Each approach decomposes into Motive and Strategy subscales (5 items each), yielding four 5-item…

How many items does the R-SPQ-2F have?

The Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) has 20 items across 6 subscales: Deep Approach, Surface Approach, Deep Motive, Deep Strategy, Surface Motive, Surface Strategy.

Is the R-SPQ-2F free to use?

The R-SPQ-2F is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the R-SPQ-2F reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.57–0.73. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the R-SPQ-2F, and how do I cite it?

Biggs, J., Kember, D., Leung, D. Y. P. (2001). The revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 133-149. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709901158433

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Related scales

AMS-C 28Academic Motivation Scale — College VersionAEQAchievement Emotions QuestionnaireAHSAdult Dispositional Hope ScaleBFI-44Big Five InventoryBSCSBrief Self-Control ScaleMSLQMotivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire

Library entry verified January 2024. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.