Writing Chapter 3: Methods and Procedure

Begin the chapter with a brief explanation of what the chapter is all about. The common introductory
explanation is as follows:

Writing the Introductory Paragraph

This chapter presents the discussion on the research methodology of the study, the subjects, sampling
technique, research instruments, procedure of data gathering, and statistical treatment that will be uses for
accurate data analysis and interpretation

Research Methodology

This section specifies what method of research will be used – descriptive, correlational, experimental, or
documentary analysis.

Subjects/Respondents of the Study

A distinction should be made between subjects and respondents of the study. Subjects are persons
investigated in the study. When learning abilities of pre-school pupils are being assessed in the study, the pre-
school pupils are the subjects. The pupils’ teachers and mothers who will be interviewed and asked to fill out a
questionnaire are the respondents of the study. Respondents, therefore, are providers of information needed in
the study, elicited orally or in writing.

It is important to state your number of subjects or respondents and who they are. Also, explain how the
number will be decided upon.

Sampling Technique

Explain what sampling technique will be used – random, purposive, stratified, etc.—why you used it, and
what procedure will be followed to carry out the technique.

Research Instruments

It is necessary to have a separate discussion for this, if several research instruments have been utilized in
the study. Research instruments are questionnaires, tests, interviews, observations, etc.

Procedures of Data Gathering

Identify your sources of data. If a questionnaire will be used, explain what kind and how it will be
constructed if it is original, how it is pre-tested, distribution, retrieval, collation, etc. Thus, your procedures
may include: Construction of the questionnaire, Validation, Distribution, Retrieval, Collation, Presentation of
Data and Interpretation of Data.

Statistical Treatment of Data

Specify the statistical treatment/s you will use for interpreting your data and why they are necessary. Also,
include the scale or verbal interpretation for the statistical processing of your data; mention the name of the
office or agency, or the person taking charge of it.
Sample CHAPTER 3 (NOTE: Past tense was used because it is a finished research. For proposals, future tense verbs should be
employed.)

CHAPTER 3

Methods and Procedure

This chapter presents the methods to be used in the study. It also describes the

subjects of the study, the instruments used, the procedure of data gathering, and the

statistical treatment of the data.

This study will determine the effectiveness of Blended instruction in the teaching of

Communication Skills 1 by comparing the students’ performance in their posttest scores

and in their final grades.

Method of Research Used

The descriptive, experimental, and survey methods of research will be used in this study.

Descriptive because its main concern is to get the holistic view of the characteristics of the subjects

exposed to blended learning as well as those receiving the textbook-based instruction. This study is

also experimental because two sets of subjects (experimental and control) will be compared in terms of

their performance in English subjects. Pretest and posttest scores of the subjects will also be

compared. Both quantitative and qualitative research shall be observed as it will elicit opinions and

numerical data from the respondents through survey questionnaire.

Subjects of the Study

In this experimental study, 10 classes (sections) of CEU English teachers will be

selected to participate in the process. Five sections of which will comprise the

experimental group, and the other five sections, the control group.

Students receiving blended instruction will be chosen as experimental group of the

study. Those receiving classroom instruction will be the control group. The subjects and

respondents of this study will be the first-year students of Centro Escolar University

enrolled Mendiola and in Makati. A total of three hundred seventy-five students (375)

will be composed of the experimental and control groups. They will be handled by five

faculty members in Communication Skills 1 in the first semester of school year 2009-10.
 As seen in figures 1 and 2, ten sections will be chosen to participate in the

experiment. Five sections (experimental) will be exposed to blended instruction; while the

other five (control), to the classroom (traditional) instruction. Each teacher will handle one

control and one experimental sections that are comparable based on their pretest and GPA.

The control group will total 185 students and the experimental group, 190 students.

Therefore, Sections 1-5 will comprise the Control group as shown in Figure 1; and Sections

6-10 will comprise the Experimental group, Figure 2.

Sampling Technique Used

Convenience sampling will be utilized in this research. Since the researcher teaches

in the College of Nursing, she will use Nursing students as her subjects and respondents.

The four groups will be selected on the basis of their comparability computed statistically.

After determining them, the researcher will subject the two sections to online instruction,

and the other two to the traditional way.

Research Instruments Used

The following instruments will be used in the conduct of the research:

1. Teacher-made tests. These are the achievement tests that will evaluate

quantitatively the students’ performance in the control and experimental groups. These also

comprise the pretest and posttests.

2. Questionnaire. The questionnaire will be used to assess the students’ perceptions of

online instruction, including the electronic materials to be used in presentation.

 Section 1 Section 2
32 students 39 students

Section 3 Section 4
35 students 40 students

Section 5 Total
39 students 185 students

Figure 1

The Subjects in the Control Group

Handled by Five Teachers

 Figure 2

The Subjects in the Experimental Group

Handled by Five Teachers

Validation of Instruments

The 10 expert faculty members will validate the questionnaire. Their

corrections and suggestions will be incorporated in the draft for the next stage of

validation. The 15 students who will not be included as the final respondents will be

asked to answer the questionnaires. Their responses will be tested for reliability.

Procedure of Data Gathering

This study will consist of eight stages:

Stage 1 deals with the training of English faculty members to blended

instruction. All English teachers in the International Languages department will be

trained in the computer laboratory for one week. However, in the final selection of

teachers, only 5 teachers will be included, whose classes will be identified as

comparable in the experimental procedures.

Stage 11 deals with the development of online instructional materials.

http://www.quia.com, will be subscribed to open a virtual classroom. Other

websites to be used are: http://wizard.4teachers.org, www.slideshare.net,

www.blogger.com, http://tinypic.com/, www.mulitply.com, and www.quizmoz.com,

www.nicenet.org will be utilized as the students’ site for conferencing with

their teacher and peers outside classroom hours. This will be their main site; other

sites, including their quizzes and exercises are linked here.

Stage 111 deals with the construction and content validation of the

questionnaires and pretest and posttest materials. The 10 expert teachers in the

International Languages Department will be requested to validate the questionnaires

and the pre/post tests. The questionnaires will also be used for dry run to 15 students

whose results will be subjected to reliability test.

 Stage 1V deals with establishing comparability between the experimental and control

groups through a pretest.

Stage V deals with training/orienting of experimental groups to online navigation of the

virtual classroom. The five sections who will be selected as the experimental group will be

trained and oriented to the blended instruction format.

Stage V1 deals with the actual conduct of the study using blended and traditional

instructions.

Stage V11 deals with administration of posttests to the control and experimental groups and

gathering of data in the posttests and final grades in Comskills 1.

Stage V111 deals with the tabulating, analyzing and interpreting of the data gathered

using several statistical tools.

Statistical Treatment

To interpret the gathered data, the researchers will use the following:

1. Percentage, arithmetic mean and standard deviations to describe the profile of the

respondents.

2. ANOVA to determine the comparable groups for the experimental and control sections.

3. The t-test (test of difference between paired observations/groups) will be used to

determine if there is a significant difference between the performance (posttests and final grades)

of the students in the experimental and control groups.