Information analysis ability of Russian university students: The effect of socio-demographic characteristics

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between information analysis ability and socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, field of study, university type, year of study, region, and university specialization. Previous research has shown that intellectual abilities may be linked to these factors, and the current study aims to clarify the nature of this connection for a more specific competence. The study involved 28,933 participants from 51 universities. The results showed that information analysis competence is slightly more developed among male students, although female students perform better in verbal information analysis, whereas male students excel in numerical analysis. The field of study also has an effect: medical and engineering students are more successful in information analysis, while education students are less proficient. Information analysis skills are best developed among students from medical universities, and worst among students from agricultural universities. Students from the North-West Federal District demonstrated the highest competence, while those from the North-Caucasus Federal District scored the lowest. Students from universities specialized in their field achieved higher results compared to those studying the same disciplines at non-specialized universities. The results interpretation and study limitations are discussed in the paper.