Abstract:

In the pursuit of a university degree, students are invariably tasked with showcasing their adeptness in crafting academic texts, such as Bachelor's or Master's Theses. This endeavor necessitates specific writing proficiencies, encompassing meticulous adherence to referencing and citation protocols (e.g., APA format), articulation of ideas rooted in existing scholarly literature, prevention of plagiarism, and comprehensive discussion of research findings. One of the principal hurdles students face in composing academic texts lies in accurately implementing the APA reference and citation style, often resulting in setbacks and heightened levels of anxiety. This study delineates an innovative group-based educational venture conducted via Instagram, aimed at augmenting university students' prowess in utilizing the APA format and evading plagiarism. To this end, an Instagram account, @apa_rte, was established. The purpose of this study is to explore the efficacy of an innovative educational intervention using Instagram (i.e., @apa_rte) to enhance university students’ proficiency in using the APA citation and reference guidelines.

The intervention utilized the Instagram account @Aparte as its educational platform. We assessed the effectiveness of the intervention through a quasi-experimental design involving students from three Spanish universities. The experimental group (N = 200) participated in the intervention, while the control group (N = 260) did not. Both groups completed questionnaires before and after the intervention to evaluate their proficiency in using APA guidelines, self-efficacy in writing and defending academic texts, anxiety levels related to academic writing and defense, and perception of Instagram's utility for academic purposes. The intervention spanned 20 weeks over two academic years: 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In the second year, we also assessed students' motivations to use @Aparte as a learning tool.

Following the intervention, results indicated significant improvements among students in the experimental group in their proficiency in using APA guidelines (p < .001) and self-efficacy in employing APA when crafting academic texts (p < .001). Moreover, their extrinsic motivation to utilize @Aparte decreased (p = .002). However, their levels of anxiety and perceived utility of Instagram as an academic tool did not exhibit significant changes. In contrast, the control group's competence in utilizing APA format remained relatively unchanged, while their anxiety levels (p < .001) and self-efficacy (p = .002) increased.

These findings suggest that the Instagram-based intervention effectively enhanced students' proficiency in utilizing APA guidelines.

Keywords:

Social media platform, educational intervention, education innovation, tertiary education.