Student’s Learning Challenges with Relational, Document, and Graph Query Languages

Abstract

As the need for database management skills continues to grow, there is an increasing demand for education on database models and their corresponding query languages. However, the body of research addressing the difficulties encountered by novice learners when working with query languages in database systems is still limited. In this study, we examined over 357215 submissions from 462 students’ homework problems during the Fall 2022 semester covering concepts in SQL, MongoDB, and Neo4j query languages. Our analysis through breaking down the most common syntax errors by concept confirms previous research and demonstrates that certain data operations pose challenges to students across different database systems. Specifically, we found that aggregation operations and Join operations were particularly difficult for students, which aligns with prior SQL education research. Therefore, we suggest that instructors consider incorporating visuals and assignments that enable students to build mental models for different database models.