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The model of "sense of community", for the purposes of this study, is based on a four-dimensional sense of community that is "applicable in all communities". These four dimensions are identified as Membership, Influence, Fulfillment of Needs, and Shared Emotional Connection. .
Burnout is defined as "a function of both individual and environmental influences in which internal and external contexts are considered relevant. The article goes on to state that burnout results in "emotional exhaustion", and "depersonalization". Depersonalization is said to cause students to remove themselves from other people and develop cynical and negative attitudes towards them.
The study was performed on 360 undergraduate students who voluntarily completed questionnaires. It was performed at such a time during the semester as to decrease the possibility of conflict between the study and midterms. "The average age of the participants was 21.5 years; 94.8% were full-time students; and the average number of years of university completed was 2.1". .
The purpose of this study was to establish a relationship between the student's sense of community and burnout, and to determine if there was in fact an inverse relationship between the two. The results did not definitively determine if this was the case, but the article did call to attention the need for further study in this area.
There seems to be a certain amount of ambiguity in the way this study was performed. Although it makes a convincing argument for the causes of student burnout, it may have left out other less obvious causes.
III. Relating Previous Research to my Own Research.
My related research helped me to focus my own research. Since the three articles that I reported on were research-based, they helped me to visualize what my research paper should look like. In the first article, on "separation-related symptoms" in college students", there were portions that directly related to my research.
