AN ANALYSIS OF COLLEGIATE AVIATION PILOTS AND FATIGUE by Aaron Teo A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science School of Aviation and Transportation Technology West Lafayette, Indiana May 2020 THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE APPROVAL Dr. Julius C. Keller Purdue Polytechnic Institute Dr. Flavio Mendonca Purdue Polytechnic Institute Dr. Lu Chien-Tsung Purdue Polytechnic Institute Approved by: Dr. Mary Johnson 2 I would like to thank my parents, Jason and Christine, and my sister, Laura, for their unwavering support, confidence, love, and encouragement in helping me achieve my goals. Without them, I will not be where I am today. I would also like to thank my uncle, Prof. Teo, for all the support and inspiration he has shown me. Lastly, I would also like to thank my committee members, especially Dr. Keller, Dr. Mendonca, and Dr. Lu, for all their patience and guidance in helping me throughout this process. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is said that it requires 100 supporting people on the ground for every plane in the air. Similarly, there were many people involved in the process throughout my aviation journey. I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity and be involved in the aviation industry. I want to thank Dr. Julius Keller, Dr. Flavio Mendonca, and Dr. Lu Chien-Tsung, for their unwavering support and guidance throughout my research activities. Every member of my committee has shown great professionalism and willingness to share their knowledge and wisdom with me. I want to express my earnest appreciation to Dr. Julius Keller, my major professor and faculty advisor, for the constant guidance and mentorship that he has shown me throughout my academic life at Purdue University. As an undergraduate student, Dr. Keller and Dr. Mendonca introduced me to the research writing process by inviting me to participate as an undergraduate researcher on an aviation-related study. Thanks to this tremendous opportunity, I gained an innumerable amount of knowledge as well as interest in the research process. Dr. Keller and Dr. Mendonca also allowed me to present alongside them at an aviation psychology conference, where I was given a chance to meet like-minded professionals. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for all their love, care, support, and understanding throughout this process and my life. Without their guidance and support, I would not have obtained the required foundational skills and determination for success. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... 8 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 10 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................... 10 Research Questions and Hypotheses .......................................................................................... 11 Significance of the Problem ....................................................................................................... 12 Statement of the Purpose ............................................................................................................ 13 Definitions .................................................................................................................................. 14 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................... 15 Delimitations .............................................................................................................................. 16 Limitations .................................................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 18 Case Study .................................................................................................................................. 18 Causes and Symptoms of Fatigue ............................................................................................... 20 Sleep-Related Fatigue ............................................................................................................. 20 Workload-Related Fatigue ..................................................................................................... 24 High workload environment ................................................................................................ 25 Low workload environment ................................................................................................. 26 Connections to Aviation ......................................................................................................... 27 Fatigue Among College Students ............................................................................................... 28 Fatigue on Academic Performance ........................................................................................ 29 Fatigue in Collegiate Aviation Pilots ..................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 32 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 32 Research Type ............................................................................................................................ 33 Population ................................................................................................................................... 34 Sample ........................................................................................................................................ 34 Sampling Approach .................................................................................................................... 34 5 Unit of Measurement .................................................................................................................. 35 Research Instrument ................................................................................................................... 36 Data Sources ............................................................................................................................... 39 Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................................ 39 Data Analysis Procedures and Trustworthiness of Data ............................................................ 40 Potential Biases .......................................................................................................................... 43 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 45 Description of Data Conditioning and Analyses ........................................................................ 45 Principal Component Analysis ............................................................................................... 45 Demographics ......................................................................................................................... 49 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 51 Research Question 1 ............................................................................................................... 51 Research Question 2 ............................................................................................................... 62 Research Question 3 ............................................................................................................... 68 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 70 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................... 71 Summary of the Study ................................................................................................................ 71 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 73 Discussion of Results ................................................................................................................. 75 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 78 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................................. 79 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................