CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter the researcher is going to highlight the ways to be used to collect data as well as the tools which are going to be used. The researcher is to mainly focus on the research design and analysis of data.
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design is a scheme of action or frame work for answering the research questions. It is also a way in which the researcher plans and structures the research process. Magenda(2003) defines research methodology as a plan of action, design strategy or process that the researcher chooses and uses inorder to get the desired outcome.
The researcher used unstructured interviews and questionnaires in gathering the necessary data. Hitchcock and Hughes (1995) assert that in an unstructured interview, there is scope for the interviewer to introduce new material into the discussion which had not been thought of beforehandbut arose only during the course of the interview. The questionnaires were issued to teachers from the commercial department and a few from the administration staff.
3.3 POPULATION AND SAMPLING
Tuckman (1994) defines population as a group that a researcher is interested in , gain information and drawing conclusions. The target population in this study comprised fifty eight Form 1m pupils at Chitakatira High School who are doing Principles of Accounts and the teachers from the commercial department and other staff members.
According to Hitchcock and
4. The key methods of collecting primary data (1.1). Justify the choice and application of data collection methods and research instruments to explore an area under investigation (2.3). Evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses (2.4)
nature of the research approach calls for a means of data collection and analysis of findings
The research topic is selected, the testable research question is developed, research on the topic is found, the literature review is completed, and a decision is made on the research design. Now, one of the most important steps in the research process to accomplish is the collection of data. Notwithstanding the research project and whether the method of research is whether qualitative or quantitative, data must be collected. Data collection is essential whether the method of choice is a mail survey, a telephone survey, an interview, an experiment, field research, or secondary data analysis. Data collection is an important aspect of any research study. Inaccurate data can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results. During the data collection step, a significant amount of time, energy and attention are required. In order to ensure the data collection process is valid and successful, one should adhere to the four steps involved: (1) the construction of a collection data form which is used to organize all data that is collected; (2) the designation of the coding strategy used to represent data on a data collection form; (3) the collection of the actual data; and (4) entry into the data collection form (Salkind, 2012).
A research design can be understood as the planning of any scientific research from the first to the last step. In this sense it is a program to guide the researcher in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting facts (Bless and Higson-Smith, 1995:63).
There are a number of methods of collecting data, some of them are – questionnaire, surveys, checklists, interviews, observations, focus group etc (Cordray, 1986; Einhorn and Hogarth, 1986).
Through the understanding of the elements involved in a research paper, a person can obtain the ability to complete good research. In research there are two questions asked; what is going on for descriptive research and why is it going on for explanatory research. The research design is simply the theory building approach to research. Although research design is the hardest part of research it is vital for research to be guided.
In conclusion, there are many different data collection methods that are used for research. Many arguments in
In general, there are several methods for data collection and the different data collection methods provided its own advantages and disadvantages (Sekaran 2003, p. 223). For carrying out the data collection, the appropriate methods should be applied. In the research, the data collection could be done through the interview, for example, face-to-face and telephone interview. To collect the data by using interview technique, the questionnaire is commonly employed as the instrument for gathering data, the questionnaire could be able to distribute by mail or electronic mail. In addition, the data collection could be conducted by observation of individuals with or without audio or video recording. Before choosing the methods for data collection the expertise of the researcher, the degree of accuracy required, time and resources must be taken into consideration. Thus,
This chapter will outline the research design and methodology proposed to be followed. First, the overall research design will be justified. Next, the independent and dependent variables will be
Research methodology is a way how the research is conducted step by step and in order. There are two methods used for data collection which is the primary data and secondary data. These data can be obtained and used many ways. The data is taken and analyzed in advance to produce a result that we can use for research and future reference. This study will relate to the objective we want to achieve and finding the answer to every objective we seek. In order to successfully achieve the objectives we seek, we must know
Research approach towards the plans and where the procedures towards the research that span the process from the broad assumptions to the detailed methods of the data collection, analysis and the interpretation. Research Approach has two kinds of sorts
This chapter observes the methodological approach used in this project. It starts with a purpose of the research and will be followed by explanation of a methodological outline which is required to achieve the purpose of the research.
A research design is a plan of proposed research work. It may be defined as the specification of the methods and procedures for
This chapter shows the results from both quantitative and qualitative research methods. This research is implemented by completing questionnaires by secondary school teachers and students. The questionnaires were completed by 200 teachers and 144 students. Also, four secondary school teachers (from private and public secondary schools) participated in the qualitative research method (semi-structured interview). The interviews were via telephone.
Research design is the plan, the structure and strategy of investigation conceived as to obtain answer to research question and to