Beyond Viewing Counts, Likes & Co: An Analysis of Instructional Videos on Youtube

Abstract

The aim of this study is to open up criteria of instructional videos through a search of the scientific literature. Shoufan (2019) tested the Video Cognitive Value (VCV) of instructional videos as a function of cognitive and other characteristics. Here, the VCV is formed from the likes and viewing counts. Based on Shoufan’s results, the present study aims to answer the following two research questions: 1. Can comparable correlations be reproduced for instructional videos from another subject area? 2. Can the correlations be further explained by criteria regarding the instructional design? For this purpose, 100 videos using the YouTube API were collected. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed. However, only 9% could be explained by cognitive characteristics and 5% by instructional design criteria of the total variance in VCV. The recent study could not reproduce Shoufan’s results and supplementary criteria could not explain further data variance. With regard to the literature, criteria such as likes and viewing counts cannot describe the instructional quality ratings of instructional videos. More promising approaches to evaluate quality perception of instructional videos (e.g., comments) are mentioned.