1) Research design, This study used a two-group quasi-experimental design to examine whether app-based spaced retrieval improves short- and medium-term retention of academic collocations. The independent variable was study condition (spaced-retrieval app vs self-study). The primary outcomes were gains on an immediate post-test and a delayed post-test. A brief questionnaire provided supporting data on learner perceptions and study behaviour., 2) Participants / data sources, Twenty-eight doctoral students from a large European university volunteered for the study (16 female, 12 male; mean age 29.4). Participants represented engineering, life sciences, and social sciences, and all reported writing in English at least monthly. Eligibility criteria were: (i) currently enrolled in a PhD programme and (ii) no prior systematic training in spaced retrieval. All participants provided informed consent and were free to withdraw at any time without penalty., 3) Materials / instruments, We used (i) a 40-item vocabulary test consisting of target academic collocations (e.g. pose a challenge, yield results), (ii) a short background questionnaire (discipline, L1, prior exposure to academic writing instruction), and (iii) a study log exported from the spaced-retrieval app showing total minutes studied and number of review sessions. The app delivered retrieval prompts and scheduled reviews automatically. All test items were piloted with a separate cohort (n=8) to check clarity and difficulty., 4) Procedure, Participants completed a pre-test and background questionnaire in Week 1. They were then assigned either to an app-based spaced-retrieval condition or to a conventional self-study condition, and both groups received the same list of target collocations. Over the following 14 days, the app group completed daily 10-minute review sessions, while the self-study group was asked to review the list independently for the same total time. An immediate post-test took place on Day 15 and a delayed post-test on Day 29; both tests were administered online under timed conditions., 5) Data analysis, Responses were analysed in two stages. First, we computed a retention score for each participant (immediate post-test minus pre-test; delayed post-test minus pre-test). Second, we compared mean scores across groups using an independent-samples t-test and reported effect sizes (Cohen’s d) with 95% confidence intervals. For the questionnaire, Likert-scale items were summarised descriptively and open comments were coded for recurring themes (e.g. workload, usability, perceived transfer to writing)..

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