Chapter III
Methods And Procedure
This chapter shall discuss the research methods available for the study and what is applicable for it to use. Likewise the chapter shall present how the research will be implemented and how to come up with pertinent findings.
Method of Research to be Used
There are three kinds of research methods, correlational, experimental and descriptive. (Walliman and Baiche, 2001) The correlational kind of research method is used due to ethical problems with experiments. Moreover, it is also used due to practical problems with experiments. Moreover, inferring causality from correlation not actually impossible, but very difficult. This mode of study is widely applicable, cheap, and usually ethical. Nonetheless, there exist some "third variable" issues and measurement problems. The correlational research refers to studies in which the purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational statistics (r). The square of a correlation coefficient yields the explained variance (r-squared). A correlational relationship between two variables is occasionally the result of an outside source, so we have to be careful and remember that correlation does not necessarily tell us about cause and effect. If a strong relationship is found between two variables, using an experimental approach can test causality.
On the other hand, the experimental method is the only method that can be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships. (Creswell, 1994) That is, it is the only one that can be used to explain the bases of behavior and mental processes. In this method, the subjects are split into two (or more) groups. One group, called the experimental group gets the treatment that the researcher believes will cause something to happen (this treatment is formally called the independent variable). The experimental and control groups are compared on some variable that is presumed to reflect the effects of the treatment, or outcome. This is formally referred to as the dependent variable.
And lastly, the descriptive research method uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive approach. This descriptive type of research will utilize observations in the study. To illustrate the descriptive type of research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The research described in this document is based solely on qualitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.
This study intends to identify the critical success factor when initiating or expanding e-learning programs as perceived by the faculty and the program director. Specifically, intends to identify the opportunities provided by e-learning on higher education according to faculty training, faculty incentive to teach online such as reward and promotion, and online support for faculty and student; the drawbacks provide by e-learning on higher education according to faculty training, faculty incentive to teach online such as reward and promotion, and online support for faculty and student; the level of efficiency of utilizing e-learning in higher education; and the existence of a significant relationship between the perception of the faculty and the program directors regarding e-learning.
The primary source of data will come from a researcher-made survey questionnaire, which will be given to the respondents. The respondents of this study will be randomly selected program directors and e-learning faculty members.
The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from social science journals, theses and related studies on modern technologies, online applications, and education.
For this research design, the researcher will gather data, collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals, distribute sampling questionnaires; arrange interviews; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and verbal material. Afterwards, the researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion based on the null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on the dealing with the development of e-learning processes.
Respondents of the Study The general population for this study will be composed of program directors and e-learning faculty members, numbering thirty (30) respondents.Sampling Techniques
The researcher will use a combination of cluster and random sampling. First, the researcher will cluster the three identified educational institutions employing e-learning in their curriculum. From each cluster, the researcher will randomly pick known program directors and e-learning faculty members in that institution.
To make the sampling easier for every specific cluster, the researcher will seek the respective school administration to facilitate the names and addresses of the respondents or have them together in one place (i.e, in a organizational meeting) so that the surveys can be given in one session. The researcher will pick ten (10) respondents per cluster, for a total of thirty (30) respondents.
Instruments to be UsedTo determine the critical success factors of e-learning, the researcher will prepare a survey questionnaire which will be given to the intended respondents.
Part 1 of the survey will ask for the characteristics of the program director and the e-learning faculty in terms of age, gender, civil status, educational attainment, number of subjects facilitated, and length of service.
Part 2 will determine the opportunities provided by e-learning on higher education according to faculty training, faculty incentive to teach online such as reward and promotion, and online support for faculty and student; the drawbacks provide by e-learning on higher education according to faculty training, faculty incentive to teach online such as reward and promotion, and online support for faculty and student; and the level of efficiency of utilizing e-learning in higher education; and the existence of a significant relationship between the perception of the faculty and the program directors regarding e-learning. The respondents will grade each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents will be given five response choices. The equivalent weights for the answers will be:
Range Interpretation
4.50 – 5.00 Very Efficient
3.50 – 4.00 Efficient
2.50 – 3.49 Satisfactory
1.50 – 2.49 Inefficient
0.00 – 1.49 Very Inefficient
Part 3 will identify the problems of the program managers and e-learning faculty members from a list of choices. The respondents will also be free to give their own experiences, which are not stated in the choices.
Validation of the Instrument
For validation purposes, the researcher will initially submit a survey questionnaire and after approval, the survey will be given to two respondents, one program director and one e-learning faculty member. After the survey questionnaire will be answered, the researcher will ask the respondents for any suggestions or any necessary corrections to ensure further improvement and validity of the instrument. The researcher will again examine the content of the survey questionnaire to find out the reliability of the instrument. The researchers will exclude irrelevant questions and will change words that would be deemed difficult by the respondents, to much simpler terms.
Administration of the Instrument
The revised instrument will then be administered to the respondents of the study, which will be chosen through a combination of cluster and random sampling. The researcher will exclude the two respondents who will be initially used for the validation of the instrument. The researcher will also tally, score and tabulate all the relevant data in the survey questionnaire.
Statistical Treatment of Data
When all the survey questionnaire will have been collected, the researcher will use statistics to analyze all the data.
The researcher will statistically treat the data on Part 1, characteristics of the program director and the e-learning faculty in terms of age, gender, civil status, educational attainment, number of subjects facilitated, and length of service.
The statistical formulae to be used in the second and third part of the survey questionnaire will be the following:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.
n
% = -------- x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5
x = --------------------------------------------- ;
xt
where: f – weight given to each response
x – number of responses
xt – total number of responses
The researcher will use chi-square to relate the perception of the e-learning faculty members and the program directors in terms of faculty training, faculty incentive, and online support.
3. Chi-square
Σ ( O – E)2
X2 = -----------------
E
The researcher will be assisted by the SPSS in coming up with the statistical analysis for this study.
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