CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODS

Introduction

The chapter will be organized under the following sub-headings: research design,

population, sampling size and technique, data collection method and instruments, data, methods

for data processing and analysis and finally the ethical considerations for the study.

Study Design

Study Design is the blueprint or plan that is systematical created to answer research

questions and control variance (Bernard, 2013). Many research designs are often employed by

research across the field of nature sciences including research design such as Experiments,

surveys, and cross-sectional research design among others (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). In this

study, the Cross-Sectional Quantitative Study Design was used. The cross-sectional quantitative

study design according to Thomas (2022, p 1) “is a type of research design in which you collect

data from many different individuals at a single point in time”. In the type of study design, data

are gathered from either the entire population or a portion of it to address specific research

issues. In the context of this study, the cross-sectional quantitative study design make it possible

to collect data from respondents from a single point to explain the issue of Examining Business

Management Teachers’ Goal Orientation For Curriculum Implementation in selected senior high

schools in Ghana.

The cross-sectional quantitative design is advantageous because it allows for the

collection of a large amount of data on a wide range of variables in a relatively short period.
Study Area.

The study will be conducted in 4 selected Metropolitan/Municipalities/District

Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana, which are the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality,

Mfatsiman, District, Cape Coast Metropolitan and Tema Metropolis. The preceding paragraphs

will provide brief decription of the four MMDAs.

Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (KEEA) Municipal

The Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (KEEA) Municipal where Elmina as its

administrative capital, is one of the 22 MMDAs in the Central Region (GSS, 2021). The district

has a total size of 468 square kilometres (919.8795 square miles) and is located between

longitude 1o 20' West and 1o 40' West and latitude 5o 05' North and 5o North 15 North (GSS,

2021).. According to the 2021 population and housing census, 166,017 people are living in the

Municipality, including 80,570 men and 85,447 women (GSS, 2021).

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly which is one of Ghana’s 261 Metropolitan and has a

population of 361,480 people with 174,657 being the male population and 186,823 being female

population (GSS, 21) .Tema is a city located in the Greater Accra Region in Ghana ,it is situated

approximately 25 Kilometers (15.5miles) east of the Capital city. It has a coordinates 5.66670 0

North and 0.016760 East (GSS, 2021).

Cape Coast metropolitan Assembly

 Additionally, Cape Coast metropolitan Assembly is the only Metropolis out of the 22

districts in the Central Region. Cape Coast Metropolis lies within latitudes 5 20 0 and longitude1

110 to1.41 west of the Greenwich Meridian. . It has about 189,925 people with 92,790 males and

97,135 female (GSS, 2021). It has an area land size of 122 km2.

Mfantsiman District

The Mfantsiman District is located in the Central Region of Ghana, it has Saltpond as its

administrative capital. It has an area land size of 612 km2 with a latitude of 513330 North and

longitude of 1.06670 West . It has a population of approximately 149,608 people (GSS, 2021)

with about 73,444 constituting the male population and 76,164 constituting the female

population.

Target Population

The target population for this study will be Business management teacher in 12 selected

senior high school in two regions of Ghana. Numerically, it is estimated that there are 6 Business

Management teacher in each senior therefore based on this estimate, the study population for in

12 selected senior high sch0ools in the country will 72 Business Management Teachers.

Inclusion Criteria

This study included all Business Management teachers in the 12 selected senior high

schools in Ghana. The schools include Methodist Senior High , Mfantsiman Girls’Senior

High ,Kwegyir Aggrey Senior High in the Mfantsiman District, Chemu Senior High, Methodist

Senior High and Tema Senior High in the Tema Metropolis ,Adisadel College ,St. Agustine’s
College ,University Practice Senior High ,Ghana National College, Academy Christ the King

Senior High in the Cape Coast District and Edinaman Senior High in the Komenda Edina

Eguafo Abirem Municipality.

Exclusion criteria

This study will exclude all Business Management Teachers who are not part of the 12

selected Schools in Ghana. Additionally, this study will also exclude all teachers in the senior

high schools who are not Business Management teachers.

Sample and Sampling Techniques

Sampling is the processing of selecting a subset of the population of a research (Saunders

et al., 2016). A sample on the other hand is s a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection

of units from a population used to determine truths about that population (Field, 2005). Because

it often difficult to study entire population due to insufficient resources and time, select a sample

which is representative of a population is very important in research.

In other to determine the appropriate sample size for this study, the Krejcie & Morgan,

(1970) formula which is based on the 0.05 confidence level was utilized. Also it is important to

note that the sample size for the study will be calculated based on the study population of 72

Business Management Teachers in the 12 selected Senior High Schools

Where;

s=¿Required sample size

 2
χ =¿The table value of chi-square for 1 degree of freedom at the defined confidence level

(3.841)

N=¿The population size. Thus the estimated people suffering from various forms of mental

illness in patients with mental health illness

P=¿ The population proportion (assumed to be 0.05 since this would provide the maximum

sample size)

d = the degree of accuracy expressed as a proportion (0.05)

(3.841)(72)(0.5)(1−0.5)
s=
¿¿

s=60.77

Therefore the sample size for the study will be 61 Business Management teachers in the 12

selected senior high schools across Ghana.

Sampling is a technique (procedure or device) employed by a researcher to systematically

select a relatively smaller number of representative items or individuals (a subset) from a pre-

defined population to serve as subjects (data source) for observation or experimentation as per

objectives of his or her study (Sharma, 2017). Sampling is very important in the arena of

research since most often it is impossible to get the needed financial and logistical resources to

under a survey of an entire population (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).

There are several sampling for cross-sectional study design and this includes, simple

random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling and the cluster sampling technique

(Saunders et al., 2016). However, in the context of this study which seeks to examine the

business management teachers goal orientation for curriculum implementation in some selected
senior high schools in Ghana, the simple random sampling technique will be used. The rationale

for the adoption of simple random sampling is that it would give an individual in the study

population an equal chance of participating in the study. As noted by Saunders et al. (2016), the

simple random sample provides a study population with an equal chance of participating in the

study hence making a study free from bias.

Data Collection Instrument

Data collection instruments as defined by Taherdoost (2021) refers to the tools and

method that researchers use to collect or gather information and data for their research. The

instrument to be use in this study is a structured questionnaire designed to collect data on

business management teachers goal orientation for curriculum implementation in 12 selected

senior high schools in Ghana. The questionnaire was the primary instrument used to collect data

from the study participants with trained research assistants.

The questionnaire consisted of both closed-ended and open-ended questions. In terms

structure, the questionnaire was divided into several sections, including demographic

characteristics. The demographic section of the questionnaire was used to collect data on the

participant's age, gender and other relevant demographic characteristics. This section is

important because it helps to describe the characteristics of the study population and allows for

comparisons across subgroups. Apart from the question in Section A, the rest of the Sections

dealt with three specific objectives of the study.

Pre-testing

Prior to the actual commencement of the data collection, pre-testing was done to ensure

the reliability and validity of the instrument developed for the data collection. The Pre-testing
was done using 5 respondents in the study, the result from pre-testing indicated that the

instrument was achieving the research objective that intended to achieve.. Thus it was measuring

what it was supposed to measure.

Data Collection Procedure

The data collection procedure in research refers to the systematic process of gathering

relevant information or data from various sources in order to address a specific research question

or hypothesis. Similarly, according to Viswambari and Selvi (2014, p 2) “data collection

procedure is the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of interest, in an

established systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated research questions, test

hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes”.

In the context of this study the data collection procedure will be questionnaire

administration. The questionnaire administration as a data collection procedure involves the

process of distributing and collecting questionnaires to gathering data information of interest

from respondents. In relation to this the research instrument (questionnaire) was administered to

Business Management teachers to answer. The questionnaire was administered to respondent by

first seeking their consent and afterward the rationale of the study was explained to the

respondents. For section of the respondents that were literate and have the sound mind to read

and write on their own, the questionnaire was given to them to fill and return it. On the other

hand, for those respondents who cannot and write on their own or are not in the right state of

mentally to respondents to their questions on their own, the researcher and the field assistant

provided a guide to them to complete their questionnaire.

Data Processing and Analysis

 The completed questionnaires was serially numbered and coded into the SPSS software

(Version 25.0). The analysis involve coding, organizing, describing, interpreting, cross tabulating

and drawing conclusions. The analysis will be done in two stages. The first stage of analysis

focused on descriptive statistics that involved computing frequencies, percentages, means and

standard deviations. The data were synthesized and transformed into tabular form to illustrate the

relative proportions where applicable.

The second stage included inferential statistics. This was be adopted for presenting and

analysing the data in this study. Logistic regression was utilized to show the direction and

magnitude of the effect and relationship between the variables. P values were used to compute

the significance of each added variable or set of variables to the explanation reflected in R-

squared. This approach was to allow the researcher to identify the unique contribution of each

predictor to the outcome variable.

Ethical Consideration

The study will take into consideration all the ethical issue in the process of conducting this study.

All the individuals participating in the study would be on voluntary basis.

The Details of the study would be highlighted to every participant together with the use,

intention and benefits of performing this research. Participants will be ensured of their

anonymity and confidential of the data they will provide for this study. In order to ensure that the

respondents in study participate on voluntarily basis, respondents that will participate in this

study will be required to complete a consent form before starting to respond to the issues on the

research instrument. This is necessary to ensure that respondents are not force against their will

to participate in the study.

Reference

Thomas, L. (2022). Cross-Sectional Study | Definition, Uses & Examples. Retrieved from :

[Link]

%2Dsectional%20study%20is,observe%20variables%20without%20influencing%20them

(accessed on 01/09/2023)

Bernard, H. R. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage.

Creswell J. W. & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed

Methods Approaches. Sage Publications

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business students.

Pitman Publishing imprint

Taherdoost, H. (2021). Data Collection Methods and Tools for Research; A Step-by-Step Guide

to Choose Data Collection Technique for Academic and Business Research

Projects. International Journal of Academic Research in Management (IJARM), 10(1), 10-

38.