CHAPTER
3 RESEARCH
METHODOLOG
Y
Parts of Research
Methodology:
Research Design Instrumentatio
n
Respondents of
the Study Procedure
Research Locale Statistical
Treatment
Research Design
Under this section, the researcher has to
choose the most appropriate research design
which is applicable to the study. The method of
research that will be used should be
explained and defined briefly including its
appropriateness to the study.
Sample Research Design
This study employed the descriptive method of
research in determining the level of mathematical competence
of the college freshmen identified using the mathematics
assessment test. As cited in the book of Adanza (1999), Best
defined the descriptive method as a research method that describes
and interprets a certain behavior or condition. It
establishes associations between variables; the practices that
prevail and the beliefs and processes that are going on and effects
that are being felt or trends that are developing. In particular, the
researcher utilized the assessment or evaluation type.
Respondents of the
Study
The researcher has to explain how and
where the subjects are taken. The brief description
of the respondents is presented and how they will be
selected.
Sample Respondents of the Study
The subjects of the study were the college
freshmen enrolled in Rogationist College during the
school year 2006-2007 and under the departments of
Accountancy, Engineering, and
Business Administration Education and
Technology. The Information
researcher
technique. Freshman used the purposive
students from these
departments were taken as sampling
samples since they offer
courses that require high mathematical skills and
abilities.
Research Locale
The place / institution where the study
will be conducted. The brief description
of the locale must be included and
the justification why conducting the
study on the said place is also
presented.
Sample Research Locale
This study was conducted in Rogationist College – College
Department, Silang, Cavite. It is one of the colleges in Cavite
composed of two departments, the college and the high school
department. The college department consists of six departments
namely Business Administration and Accountancy, Engineering,
Education, Information Technology, Hotel and Restaurant
Management and Technical Education. The researcher is currently
working as a mathematics instructor in the college department.
Despite the fact that the high school department is already
established, the college department is still in the process of
establishing its name. The said college can be considered as young
because it only has 861 students from which
402 are freshmen. Since it is not yet stabilized, there
are no researches
conducted for further development of the college. This study
Instrumentation
In this section, there is a need to
describe and explain explicitly the adoption or
construction, validation and administration of
research instruments that will be used in
gathering data.
Sample Instrumentation
To assess the competence of the respondents in
mathematics the researcher adapted the instrument “Test of
Logical Operation (TLO) in Mathematics”. The said instrument
was designed, constructed and developed by Leongson (2001) for
his master’s thesis, which investigated the cognitive skill
achievement in mathematics of 59 college freshmen of
Bataan Polytechnic State College. Consequently, its validity
and reliability had already been established. This instrument
consists of seven reasoning patterns such as
classification, seriation, logical multiplication,
compensation, proportionality, probability reasoning and
correlation based on Piaget’s logical operations. There were
five items on each reasoning pattern giving 35 items and that
should be answered in one and a half hour. The items were
limited to the topics covered mostly in high school
mathematics curriculum, which includes the topics in
Procedure
The procedure followed in
conducting the study should be likewise be
explained in complete detail.
Sample Procedure
After the approval of the proposal of this study, the researcher
coordinated with her department head, dean and rector of the school to
allow her to utilize the freshman students’ records such as fourth year high
school grade in mathematics and the results of their mathematics college
entrance test (Appendix F and Appendix G).
The researcher sought the permission of the author of the Test
of Logical Operation (TLO) to be utilized as the main instrument of the
study (Appendix A). With the permission of the school’s administration
and with the coordination among the teachers of the students in their
respective mathematics subject, the said instrument was administered to the
college freshmen during the school year 2006-2007.
Afterwards, the students’ grade in fourth year high school mathematics
and results of their mathematics college entrance test were correlated to
Statistical Treatment of the Data
The researcher must utilize the most appropriate
statistical tools used to answer the research questions of
the study. The statistical tools must be described and
the formula must be presented and
explained. If the level of significance is needed, it
must be stated to determine the significance of the findings.
Sample Procedure
Afterwards, the students’ grade in fourth year
high school mathematics and results of their
mathematics college entrance test were correlated to
their scores in the TLO.
Sample Statistical Treatment
The following statistical methods were utilized for the analysis of
the data and
interpretation of the results:
In order to know the level of the mathematical competence of
the college freshmen in mathematics, the mean score was determined,
given by the formula
n
fX
wher X
=X mean
e: f = frequency
x = score
n = total number of
respondents
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Reference
s
Appendice
s
