3.3. Data collection and analysis
The data collected in this research were all quantitative data. Data collected included the number of times students took theWeb-based
formative assessment, the pre-test and post-test scores of the summative assessment, and the pre-test and post-test scores of the LPI. All
data were analyzed using SPSS Ver12.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago).
Five types of data analysis techniques were performed. First, to investigate whether PDA-WATA motivated students to take Web-based
formative assessment spontaneously, an independent t-test was used to understand how students in the PDA-WATA group and in the
N-WBT group differed in the number of times they spontaneously took the Web-based formative assessment (TIMES).
Second, to investigate how PDA-WATA and N-WBT influenced the way students used self-regulatory learning behaviors to perform selfregulated
learning, ANCOVA (analysis of covariance)was performed. During ANCOVA, to regulate the effects of pre-test and entry behavior on
the post-test scores, the ‘pre-test scores of the LPI’ was taken as the covariate, the ‘post-test scores of the LPI’ was taken as the dependent
variable and the ‘two different types ofWeb-based formative assessment (PDA-WATA and N-WBT)’was taken as the fixed factor when testing
the relationship between the ‘post-test scores of the LPI’ and the ‘two different types ofWeb-based formative assessment.’ The Bonferroni post
hoc testwas also used to investigate the differences between students in the PDA-WATA group and students in the N-WBTgroup in using selfregulatory
learning behaviors to perform self-regulated learning in the e-Learning environment designed in this research.
Third, a further analysis was also conducted. Students were divided into two types based on their pre-test scores of the LPI. Since LPI is
a 7-point Likert scale, 4-point means ‘neutral’. Hence, those students scoring higher than 104 points (26 items 4 points) in the pre-test of
the LPI are defined as more often using self-regulatory learning behaviors to perform self-regulated learning (students with a high level of
self-regulated learning) before participating in this research. Those scoring lower than 104 points were defined as less often using selfregulatory
learning behaviors to perform self-regulated learning (students with a low level of self-regulated learning) before