Exam Night Phenomenon among Students of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran

The exam night phenomenon is a phenomenon observed among Iranian students in recent years. This means that students study the lessons offered during the term only on the night before the exam. The aim of this study was to investigate students’ views and reasons regarding the exam night ýphenomenon of night.
This qualitative study was conducted through phenomenological method and purposive sampling. The participants consisted of BSc students of Babol University of Medical Sciences (Iran) who had completed at least two half semesters and had experienced the exam night phenomenon. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using open coding and a deep coding.
The 3 main themes of personal problems (mental preoccupation, lack of motivation, student’s personality, working while studying, and study methods), educational issues (teacher, textbooks, interest in courses and the field of study, and compact classes and the resulting fatigue), and implicit issues (university atmosphere, family, and the influence of friends) were effective in the exam night phenomenon.
According to the results, the exam night phenomenon and its effective factors is an important issue which affects the students’ study method, final score, and many other issues.