Enhancing Student Knowledge through a Customized Academic Software Guide: A Study in the Department of Family Welfare Education

Effective use of academic software is crucial for enhancing research quality, especially in multidisciplinary programs such as the Department of Family Welfare Education, which covers nutrition, culinary arts, fashion, and beauty. However, a survey showed that 68% of students lacked confidence in using SPSS, Mendeley, and Zotero due to limited training and guidance. This study developed and evaluated an academic software guide to strengthen students’ research skills. Using a Research and Development (R&D) design with 60 stratified-sampled students, the intervention included modular tutorials and hands-on exercises. The pretest–posttest results showed a significant improvement, with scores rising from 56.2 to 84.7 (a 50.7% increase; p < 0.001). Moreover, 91.6% of participants reported better scientific writing skills. The findings indicate that the developed guide effectively enhances students’ proficiency and should be integrated into institutional policy to improve digital literacy and research productivity in higher education.