Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.84.4.246-251

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Effectiveness of PowerPoint-Based Lectures Across
Different Business Disciplines: An Investigation
and Implications
Lisa A. Burke , Karen James & Mohammad Ahmadi
To cite this article: Lisa A. Burke , Karen James & Mohammad Ahmadi (2009) Effectiveness
of PowerPoint-Based Lectures Across Different Business Disciplines: An Investigation and
Implications, Journal of Education for Business, 84:4, 246-251, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.84.4.246-251
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.4.246-251

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 22:52

Effectiveness฀of฀PowerPoint-Based฀Lectures฀
Across฀Different฀Business฀Disciplines:฀An฀
Investigation฀and฀Implications

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:52 11 January 2016

LISA฀A.฀BURKE฀
UNIVERSITY฀OF฀TENNESSEE฀AT฀CHATTANOOGA฀
CHATTANOOGA,฀TENNESSEE฀

MOHAMMAD฀AHMADI
UNIVERSITY฀OF฀TENNESSEE฀AT฀CHATTANOOGA

CHATTANOOGA,฀TENNESSEE

KAREN฀JAMES฀
LOUISIANA฀STATE฀UNIVERSITY฀IN฀SHREVEPORT
SHREVEPORT,฀LOUISIANA

ABSTRACT.
ABSTRACT.฀The฀authors฀investigated฀
business฀faculty฀members’฀degree฀of฀PowerPoint฀(PPT)฀use฀across฀different฀functional฀
areas฀in฀a฀business฀program฀and฀their฀use฀
of฀specific฀PPT฀features.฀The฀authors฀also฀
examined฀students’฀perceptions฀of฀PPT’s฀
effectiveness฀across฀different฀business฀
courses฀(e.g.,฀accounting,฀economics,฀management,฀business฀law,฀marketing).฀After฀
discussing฀the฀findings,฀the฀authors฀offer฀
practical฀tips฀for฀effectively฀using฀PPT.
Keywords:฀business฀education,฀effectiveness฀of฀instructional฀methods,฀PowerPoint
Copyright฀©฀2009฀Heldref฀Publications

246฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

R
W

hy฀ do฀ some฀ business฀ faculty฀
still฀ walk฀ to฀ class฀ with฀ a฀ piece฀
of฀ chalk฀ and฀ their฀ textbook฀ in฀ hand,฀
whereas฀others,฀with฀flash฀sticks฀draped฀
around฀ their฀ necks,฀ spend฀ hours฀ with฀
computer฀ carts,฀ PowerPoint฀ (PPT)฀ presentations,฀ and฀ computer฀ projectors?฀
Are฀ some฀ types฀ of฀ business฀ courses฀
taught฀ more฀ effectively฀ using฀ low-tech฀
rather฀than฀PPT-intensive฀methods?฀And฀
what฀do฀students฀think฀about฀the฀effectiveness฀ of฀ PPT฀ approaches฀ when฀ used฀
across฀different฀business฀courses?฀These฀
questions฀spurred฀the฀current฀investigation฀ with฀ an฀ eye฀ toward฀ clarifying฀ a฀
mixed฀body฀of฀findings฀in฀the฀literature฀
about฀ PPT’s฀ effectiveness฀ and฀ improving฀ undergraduate฀ instructional฀ methods฀in฀business.

The฀ nature฀ of฀ business฀ disciplines฀
vary;฀ some฀ courses฀ (e.g.,฀ management,฀
marketing,฀ business฀ law)฀ are฀ endowed฀
with฀burgeoning฀amounts฀of฀text,฀whereas฀more฀quantitative฀business฀disciplines฀
(e.g.,฀accounting,฀statistics,฀management฀
science,฀ quantitative฀ business฀ analysis,฀
finance)฀ are฀ full฀ of฀ problem฀ solving฀
and฀applying฀and฀interpreting฀numbers-฀
oriented฀scenarios.฀Even฀though฀the฀content฀ of฀ business฀ courses฀ vary,฀ the฀ push฀
toward฀ making฀ all฀ business฀ classrooms฀
smart—with฀ computers,฀ computer฀ projectors,฀Internet฀hookups,฀and฀the฀most฀
recent฀PPT฀versions—seems฀ubiquitous฀
(Craig฀&฀Amernic,฀2006).฀The฀ultimate฀
question฀ is฀ what฀ instructional฀ methods฀

best฀enhance฀student฀learning฀across฀the฀
various฀business฀disciplines.฀
Therefore,฀ in฀ the฀ present฀ study,฀ we฀
sought฀to฀gather฀quantitative฀and฀qualitative฀data฀regarding฀students’฀perceptions฀
of฀effectiveness฀of฀PPT฀use฀across฀different฀ business฀ courses,฀ students’฀ insights฀

about฀ when฀ and฀ why฀ PPT฀ is฀ effective,฀
and฀ the฀ frequency฀ and฀ nature฀ of฀ PPT฀
use฀ by฀ business฀ faculty.฀ Ultimately,฀ we฀
advanced฀ research฀ propositions฀ using฀
results฀of฀the฀present฀study฀and฀relevant฀
theoretical฀and฀empirical฀works฀and฀discussed฀implications฀from฀our฀findings.
The฀ use฀ of฀ technology฀ is฀ common฀
in฀ today’s฀ classrooms฀ and฀ the฀ demand฀
for฀technology-enhanced฀learning฀environments฀ is฀ expected฀ to฀ continue฀ its฀
substantial฀growth฀over฀the฀next฀decade฀
(Debevec,฀Shih,฀&฀Kashyap,฀2006;฀Hall฀
&฀Elliott,฀2003).฀Schrum฀(2005)฀reported฀ that฀ technological฀ advances฀ have฀
exceeded฀ the฀ most฀ optimistic฀ expectations฀but฀agreed฀educational฀institutions฀
have฀ not฀ yet฀ realized฀ the฀ full฀ potential.฀The฀ delivery฀ of฀ information฀ in฀ the฀
undergraduate฀ business฀ classroom฀ has฀
changed฀ with฀ the฀ growth฀ and฀ explosion฀ of฀ technology.฀ Not฀ surprisingly,฀
researchers฀ are฀ increasingly฀ studying฀
the฀ use฀ of฀ technologies,฀ such฀ as฀ presentation฀ media,฀ in฀ various฀ disciplines฀
including฀ information฀ systems฀ (e.g.,฀
Bradley,฀Mbarika,฀Sankar,฀Raju,฀&฀Bangaly,฀ 2007),฀ accounting฀ (e.g.,฀ Beets฀ &฀

Lobingier,฀ 2001;฀ Sugahara฀ &฀ Boland,฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:52 11 January 2016

2006),฀ management฀ communication฀
(Williams,฀ 2004),฀ economics฀ (Rankin฀
&฀ Hoaas,฀ 2001),฀ and฀ across฀ business฀
courses฀ more฀ generally฀ (e.g.,฀ James,฀
Burke,฀&฀Hutchins,฀2006).
As฀a฀technology฀application฀to฀which฀
researchers฀ have฀ given฀ special฀ attention,฀PPT฀has฀received฀its฀share฀of฀criticism฀ in฀ the฀ popular฀ press฀ (e.g.,฀ Harris,฀
2004;฀ Norvig,฀ 2003;฀ Thompson,฀ 2003;฀
Wineburg,฀ 2003).฀ Some฀ researchers฀
believe฀ that฀ although฀ PPT฀ is฀ a฀ useful฀
supplemental฀ tool฀ for฀ a฀ presentation,฀
it฀ has฀ become฀ a฀ substitute฀ for฀ it.฀ Tufte฀
(2003)฀ stated,฀ “At฀ a฀ minimum,฀ a฀ presentation฀ format฀ should฀ do฀ no฀ harm.฀
Yet฀ the฀ PowerPoint฀ style฀ routinely฀ disrupts,฀ dominates,฀ and฀ trivializes฀ content.฀ Thus,฀ PowerPoint฀ presentations฀
too฀often฀resemble฀a฀school฀play—very฀
loud,฀very฀slow,฀and฀very฀simple”฀(¶฀9).฀

In฀an฀instructional฀environment,฀one฀of฀
the฀more฀common฀complaints฀reported,฀
especially฀ by฀ students฀ who฀ see฀ little฀
novelty฀in฀the฀PPT฀medium,฀deals฀with฀
instructors฀who฀directly฀read฀PPT฀slide฀
material฀to฀students฀the฀entire฀class฀period฀(see฀Burke฀&฀James,฀2008).฀As฀such,฀
students฀may฀find฀that฀the฀dynamics฀of฀
teaching฀ and฀ interaction฀ are฀ lost฀ with฀
such฀a฀passive฀approach.฀
Although฀ some฀ studies฀ in฀ the฀ classroom฀setting฀have฀found฀positive฀instructional฀outcomes฀associated฀with฀the฀use฀
of฀PPT,฀such฀as฀higher฀academic฀scores฀
(e.g.,฀ Bartsch฀ &฀ Cobern,฀ 2003;฀ Szabo฀
&฀ Hastings,฀ 2000),฀ others฀ have฀ found฀
negative฀or฀no฀consequences฀associated฀
with฀PPT฀use฀(e.g.,฀Amare,฀2006;฀Daniels,฀ 1999).฀As฀ such,฀ the฀ findings฀ have฀
been฀ largely฀ inconsistent.฀ In฀ an฀ expansive฀survey฀effort฀involving฀1,223฀business฀ students,฀ Ahmadi,฀ Dileepan,฀ and฀
Raiszadeh฀ (2007)฀ found฀ that฀ the฀ positive฀ aspects฀ of฀ using฀ PPT฀ outweighed฀
the฀ negative฀ consequences.฀ More฀ than฀
73%฀of฀respondents฀indicated฀that฀PPT฀
slides฀ are฀ helpful฀ in฀ understanding฀

course฀ material.฀ Not฀ only฀ did฀ the฀ students฀in฀Ahmadi฀et฀al.’s฀study฀agree฀with฀
the฀positive฀aspects฀of฀using฀PPT฀slides,฀
they฀ also฀ tended฀ to฀ refute฀ the฀ negative฀
aspects฀of฀PPT฀use.฀More฀than฀74%฀of฀
students฀disagreed฀that฀PPT฀slides฀make฀
it฀ difficult฀ to฀ focus฀ in฀ class,฀ and฀ 83%฀
of฀ students฀ said฀ they฀ do฀ not฀ miss฀ class฀
because฀ of฀ the฀ availability฀ of฀ printed฀
PPT฀notes฀(a฀result฀also฀found฀by฀James฀
฀

et฀ al.,฀ 2006).฀ However,฀Ahmadi฀ et฀ al.’s฀
study฀also฀pointed฀out฀that฀students฀may฀
rely฀ only฀ on฀ PPT฀ presentations฀ in฀ preparing฀ for฀ exams;฀ as฀ such,฀ the฀ authors฀
stated฀that฀the฀effectiveness฀of฀PPT฀may฀
lead฀ to฀ students฀ neglecting฀ their฀ textbooks฀in฀course฀learning.฀
Given฀mixed฀findings฀across฀the฀educational฀research฀regarding฀PPT’s฀effectiveness,฀ moderating฀ variables฀ may฀ be฀
at฀play.฀In฀other฀words,฀there฀are฀potentially฀situational฀and฀student฀preference฀
variables฀that฀influence฀whether฀PPT฀is฀
received฀ favorably฀ by฀ learners.฀ Therefore,฀ in฀ the฀ present฀ study,฀ we฀ sought฀

to฀ gather฀ quantitative฀ and฀ qualitative฀
data฀ regarding฀ students’฀ perceptions฀ of฀
the฀ effectiveness฀ of฀ PPT฀ across฀ different฀ business฀ courses,฀ students’฀ insights฀
about฀ when฀ and฀ why฀ PPT฀ is฀ effective,฀
and฀the฀frequency฀and฀nature฀of฀PPT฀use฀
by฀business฀faculty.฀
METHOD
Student฀and฀Faculty฀Sample฀
Description
As฀part฀of฀a฀larger฀study,฀undergraduate฀ business฀ students฀ enrolled฀ in฀ randomly฀ selected฀ accounting,฀ business฀
law,฀ economics,฀ finance,฀ information฀
systems฀ or฀ decision฀ sciences,฀ management,฀ and฀ marketing฀ courses฀ at฀ an฀
urban,฀ comprehensive฀ university฀ in฀ the฀
Midsouth฀ were฀ sampled฀ for฀ the฀ study.฀
Only฀ one฀ instructor฀ whose฀ course฀ had฀
been฀selected฀for฀sampling฀declined฀his฀
class’s฀ participation.฀ Thus,฀ data฀ were฀
gathered฀ from฀ 14฀ of฀ the฀ 15฀ courses฀
initially฀targeted,฀for฀a฀course฀response฀
rate฀of฀93.3%.฀

We฀ also฀ surveyed฀ business฀ faculty฀
members.฀ In฀ an฀ effort฀ to฀ obtain฀ a฀ sufficient฀ sample฀ size฀ of฀ the฀ business฀ faculty฀ who฀ use฀ PPT฀ in฀ the฀ classroom,฀
we฀ surveyed฀ faculty฀ at฀ three฀ comparable฀business฀schools,฀all฀of฀which฀were฀
urban,฀ comprehensive,฀ and฀ similarly฀
tiered฀Association฀to฀Advance฀Collegiate฀
Schools฀of฀Business-accredited฀business฀
schools฀located฀in฀the฀United฀States.฀In฀
all,฀51฀of฀the฀101฀surveys฀were฀returned,฀
and฀ 2฀ were฀ eliminated฀ for฀ incomplete฀
data,฀resulting฀in฀a฀final฀faculty฀response฀
rate฀of฀48.5%.฀In฀the฀end,฀44.9%฀of฀the฀
faculty฀ sample฀ was฀ located฀ at฀ the฀ same฀
university฀as฀student฀participants.

Data฀Collection฀Procedures:฀
Student฀Sample
Over฀ a฀ 2-week฀ period฀ of฀ time,฀
instructors฀ administered฀ questionnaires฀
to฀students฀in฀class.฀At฀the฀discretion฀of฀
the฀ individual฀ course฀ instructor,฀ some฀

students฀received฀extra฀credit฀or฀participation฀ points฀ for฀ completing฀ the฀ questionnaire.฀ As฀ students฀ could฀ theoretically฀encounter฀the฀survey฀in฀more฀than฀
one฀class,฀the฀questionnaire฀instructions฀
directed฀students฀not฀to฀fill฀out฀a฀second฀
survey฀ but฀ rather฀ to฀ return฀ the฀ blank฀
questionnaire฀ to฀ the฀ instructor฀ in฀ the฀
event฀ of฀ having฀ completed฀ the฀ survey฀
in฀ a฀ different฀ course.฀ The฀ difficulties฀
inherent฀ in฀ gathering฀ valid฀ course฀ size,฀
attendance฀ (on฀ day฀ of฀ survey฀ administration),฀ and฀ survey฀ duplication฀ data฀
from฀a฀variety฀of฀instructors฀not฀directly฀
involved฀with฀the฀study฀regrettably฀precluded฀the฀collection฀of฀data฀necessary฀to฀
calculate฀a฀meaningful฀student฀response฀
rate.฀ Of฀ the฀ 262฀ surveys฀ we฀ collected,฀
32฀were฀eliminated฀as฀unusable฀because฀
of฀incomplete฀or฀invalid฀information฀or฀
because฀ the฀ survey฀ respondents฀ were฀
classified฀ as฀ graduate฀ students฀ or฀ were฀
not฀ business฀ majors.฀ This฀ elimination฀
process฀ resulted฀ in฀ a฀ final฀ sample฀ size฀
of฀230฀students.
RESULTS
In฀terms฀of฀business฀faculty฀PPT฀use฀
across฀business฀courses,฀Table฀1฀shows฀
that฀the฀most฀frequent฀faculty฀response฀
was฀ never฀ (32.7%),฀ indicating฀ that฀ a฀
third฀ of฀ faculty฀ did฀ not฀ use฀ any฀ type฀
of฀ slideware฀ support฀ in฀ their฀ courses.฀
Yet,฀the฀second฀most฀frequent฀response฀

TABLE฀1.฀Business฀Faculty฀
Members’฀PowerPoint฀Use฀฀
(N฀=฀49)
Response฀

Frequency฀ Use฀(%)

Never฀
Infrequently฀
Moderately฀฀
฀ infrequently฀
Moderately฀฀
฀ frequently฀
Frequently฀
Always฀

16฀
4฀

32.7
8.2

5฀

10.2

4฀
7฀
13฀

8.2
14.3
26.5

March/April฀2009฀

247

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:52 11 January 2016

from฀ faculty฀ about฀ their฀ use฀ of฀ PPT฀
in฀ the฀ business฀ classroom฀ was฀ always฀
(26.5%).฀Coupled฀with฀14.3%฀frequently฀using฀PPT฀in฀the฀classroom,฀approximately฀41%฀of฀faculty฀in฀our฀sample฀are฀
heavy฀PPT฀users.
Table฀2฀illustrates฀that฀the฀most฀heavily฀used฀PPT฀features฀in฀business฀classes฀ included฀ slide฀ backgrounds฀ (79%),฀
inclusion฀ of฀ concept฀ examples฀ (76%),฀
charts฀ (73%),฀ and฀ different฀ colored฀
fonts฀(70%).฀Given฀the฀ready฀availability฀ of฀ PPT฀ background฀ templates,฀ the฀
use฀ of฀ backgrounds฀ and฀ different฀ font฀
colors฀is฀not฀surprising.฀Yet,฀inappropriate฀ background฀ and฀ text฀ contrasts฀ and฀
abuse฀of฀multiple฀colors฀in฀PPT฀can฀be฀
problematic฀(Sloboda,฀2003).฀
Instructors฀in฀our฀sample฀used฀sound฀
effects฀ (3%),฀ videos฀ (3%),฀ and฀ animations฀ (27%)฀ far฀ less,฀ which฀ according฀
to฀ some฀ research฀ is฀ probably฀ a฀ fortunate฀ finding.฀ For฀ example,฀ Bartsch฀
and฀Cobern฀(2003)฀compared฀the฀effectiveness฀ of฀ overheads,฀ basic฀ PPT฀ (text฀
only),฀and฀expanded฀PPT฀(with฀graphics฀
and฀sounds);฀they฀found฀students฀scored฀
significantly฀ better฀ at฀ the฀ end฀ of฀ the฀
semester฀in฀the฀basic฀PPT฀condition฀on฀
content฀recall.฀More฀moderately฀used฀in฀
our฀sample฀were฀slide฀transition฀effects฀
(46%),฀graphics฀(i.e.,฀clipart;฀46%),฀and฀
discussion฀ questions฀ posted฀ on฀ slides฀
(42%).฀The฀latter฀finding฀is฀encouraging฀

TABLE฀2.฀PowerPoint฀Feature:฀
Business฀Faculty฀Members’฀Use฀
(N฀=฀33)
PowerPoint
฀฀฀element฀

Frequency฀ Use฀(%)

Slide฀฀
฀ backgrounds฀
Sound฀effects฀
Animations฀
Different฀฀
฀ colored฀fonts฀
Graphics฀
Slide฀transitions฀
Examples฀of฀฀
฀ concepts฀
Discussion฀฀
฀ questions฀
Application฀฀
฀ problems฀or฀฀
฀ exercises฀
Charts฀
Videos฀

248฀

26฀
1฀
9฀

78.8
3.0
27.3

23฀
14฀
15฀

69.7
42.4
45.5

25฀

75.8

15฀

45.5

22฀
24฀
1฀

33.3
72.7
3.0

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

given฀prior฀research฀that฀supports฀effective฀ questioning฀ for฀ student฀ learning฀
and฀ the฀ active฀ engagement฀ of฀ learners฀
(Bloom,฀ 1956;฀ Savion฀ &฀ Middendorf,฀
1994;฀Wilen,฀1987).
The฀ business฀ students฀ were฀ then฀
asked฀to฀rate฀the฀perceived฀effectiveness฀
of฀PPT฀presentations฀in฀various฀business฀
classes฀ to฀ determine฀ whether฀ its฀ use฀ is฀
more฀effective฀in฀certain฀types฀of฀courses.฀Specifically,฀students฀rated฀effectiveness฀ of฀ PPT฀ use฀ for฀ lecture฀ instruction฀
in฀accounting,฀business฀law,฀economics,฀
finance,฀ information฀ science฀ or฀ decision฀ science฀ (including฀ statistics฀ and฀
management฀ science),฀ management,฀
and฀ marketing฀ disciplines.฀ Students฀
responded฀ using฀ a฀ 6-point฀ Likert-type฀
scale฀ranging฀from฀1฀(PPT฀is฀very฀ineffective)฀ to฀ 6฀ (PPT฀ is฀ very฀ effective).฀
Table฀3฀displays฀the฀mean฀scores,฀sample฀ sizes฀ for฀ each฀ discipline,฀ standard฀
deviations฀by฀discipline,฀and฀the฀results฀
of฀t฀tests฀that฀tested฀mean฀values฀against฀
a฀neutral฀value฀of฀3.5.
As฀ the฀ overall฀ mean฀ scores฀ in฀ Table฀
3฀ indicate,฀ PPT฀ presentations฀ were฀
perceived฀ as฀ being฀ most฀ effective฀ in฀
the฀ management฀ discipline,฀ followed฀฀
closely฀ by฀ marketing฀ and฀ economics.฀
Business฀ law,฀ information฀ systems฀ or฀
decision฀ science,฀ and฀ finance฀ received฀
more฀ moderate฀ ratings,฀ whereas฀
accounting฀ received฀ the฀ lowest฀ perceived฀effectiveness฀rating฀of฀the฀disciplines฀ studied.฀ In฀ fact,฀ accounting฀ was฀
the฀ only฀ discipline฀ that฀ was฀ rated฀ significantly฀lower฀than฀a฀neutral฀value฀of฀

3.5,฀ indicating฀ that฀ PPT฀ was฀ perceived฀
by฀ undergraduate฀ students฀ to฀ be฀ ineffective฀ for฀ the฀ accounting฀ discipline.฀
Perceptions฀ of฀ PPT’s฀ effectiveness฀ in฀
the฀ finance฀ discipline฀ did฀ not฀ significantly฀ differ฀ from฀ the฀ neutral฀ value,฀
whereas฀the฀remaining฀disciplines฀were฀
all฀rated฀significantly฀higher฀(e.g.,฀more฀
effective)฀than฀the฀test฀value฀equating฀to฀
neutrality.฀
To฀ help฀ understand฀ why฀ students฀
view฀ PPT฀ as฀ effective฀ in฀ some฀ courses฀
but฀ not฀ others,฀ we฀ asked฀ business฀ students฀ enrolled฀ in฀ a฀ training฀ and฀ development฀course,฀students฀who฀were฀then฀
studying฀ adult฀ learning฀ principles,฀ to฀
offer฀ further฀ insight.฀ The฀ findings฀ are฀
listed฀in฀the฀Appendix.฀The฀20฀students฀
in฀the฀training฀class฀were฀asked,฀“What฀
is฀good฀ about฀faculty฀using฀PPT฀ in฀the฀
classroom?”฀ and฀ “What฀ is฀ bad฀ about฀
using฀ PPT฀ in฀ the฀ classroom?”฀ Individual฀ responses฀ were฀ clustered฀ and฀ presented฀ back฀ to฀ the฀ class฀ and฀ students฀
could฀ vote฀ for฀ the฀ items฀ they฀ agreed฀
with฀most,฀allowing฀for฀multiple฀votes.฀
Although฀the฀data฀are฀limited฀by฀sample฀
size,฀ it฀ is฀ interesting฀ that฀ the฀ most฀ frequently฀cited฀positive฀attributes฀of฀PPT฀
included฀its฀ability฀to฀help฀organize฀and฀
structure฀content฀and฀to฀present฀courserelevant฀ visuals,฀ pictures,฀ and฀ graphs.฀
PPT’s฀ organizational฀ strengths฀ have฀
been฀cited฀in฀other฀studies฀(e.g.,฀Griffin,฀
2003;฀Mason฀&฀Hlynka,฀1998),฀and฀the฀
importance฀ of฀ using฀ relevant฀ on-screen฀
pictures฀was฀also฀supported฀in฀the฀literature฀(Mayer,฀1989;฀Mayer,฀1997;฀Mayer,฀

TABLE฀3.฀Student฀Perceptions฀of฀the฀Effectiveness฀of฀PowerPoint฀฀
Presentations฀Across฀Business฀Disciplines
Discipline฀
Accounting฀
Business฀law฀
Economics฀
Finance฀
Information฀or
฀ decision฀science฀
Management฀
Marketing฀

n

M

SD

t

df

p

173฀
178฀
199฀
129฀

2.94a฀
4.32b฀
4.83b฀
3.82฀

1.92฀
1.67฀
1.48฀
1.83฀

–3.817฀
6.559฀
12.662฀
–1.129฀

172฀
177฀
198฀
128฀

.000
.000
.000
.261

187฀
210฀
172฀

3.97b฀
5.06b฀
4.89b฀

1.96฀
1.29฀
1.51฀

3.271฀
17.454฀
12.053฀

186฀
209฀
171฀

.001
.000
.000

Note.฀All฀items฀used฀a฀6-point฀Likert-type฀scale฀ranging฀from฀1฀(PowerPoint is very ineffective)฀
to฀6฀(PowerPoint is very effective).฀Respondents฀were฀given฀the฀option฀of฀answering฀“don’t฀
know,”฀which฀resulted฀in฀a฀different฀sample฀size฀for฀each฀business฀discipline.
a
Mean฀is฀significantly฀lower฀than฀the฀neutral฀value฀of฀3.5฀at฀the฀p฀