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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, research locale, participants, population and
sampling procedure, research instruments, validity and reliability, data gathering procedure and
data analysis procedure.

Research Design

This study employed a Descriptive-Qualitative Research Design since this is an attempt

to describe the insufficient apparatuses and its significant effect on the scientific skills of the
junior and senior high school students. Moreover, this study sought to determine the specific
apparatuses needed in the laboratory to suffice the scientific learnings of the participants.

This study is consisted of the following stages; a. Conceptualization of the problem and
formulation of hypotheses; b. Preparation of research instrument; c. Data Gathering; d.
Analyzing and interpreting of data; and e. Presentation of the study.

This process is summarized in Figure 3.0. A Work Flowchart of the study.

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Conceptualization of the Problem and

Formulation of Hypotheses

Preparation of Research Instrument

Data Gathering

Analyzing and Interpreting of Data

Presentation of the Study

Figure 3.0 Work Flowchart of the Study

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Research Locale

The study was conducted at Saint Joseph School Foundation Incorporated, Zamboanga City. The
school has a total population of 754 students.

This school has three academic levels: elementary, junior high school and senior high
school. Elementary has a total population of 194 students. Junior high school has total population
of 156 students, while senior high school has a total population of 404 students. The junior high
school department consists of the grade levels 7, 8, 9, and 10 while the senior high school
department offers four strands namely Science and Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
(STEM), General Academic Strand (GAS), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), and
Accountancy and Business Management (ABM). In the current academic year, grade 7 has a
total population of 42 students, 37 students for grade 8, 41 for grade 9, and 36 for grade 10. The
ABM has a total population of 52 students (20 from Grade 11 and 32 from Grade 12), HUMSS
has a total population of 138 students (93 from Grade 11 and 45 from Grade 12), GAS has a
total population of 85 students (43 from Grade 11 and 42 from Grade 12), and STEM has a total
population of 129 (83 from Grade 11 and 46 from Grade 12).

Participants

The respondents of the study were the 32 junior high school students and 80 senior high
school students of Saint Joseph School Foundation Inc. enrolled in school year 2019-2020.

Population and Sampling Procedure

The researchers used the Gay’s Formula to come up with the desired number of
participants (112) for the study. The number of participants (112) was divided by the number of
sections from Junior High School to Grade 12 Senior High School to get the number of
respondents per class. This study used two instruments for data collecting.

Research Instrument

This study used two instruments for data collection.

To determine the significant effect of insufficient laboratory apparatuses to the scientific

skills of the junior and senior high school students of SJSFI, a two-item interview questionnaire
and 24-item test-questionnaire were administered. Such questions were formed based from the
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research questions regarding how the insufficient laboratory apparatuses affect the scientific
skills.

Validity and Reliability

The interview-questionnaire regarding the effect of insufficient laboratory apparatuses to

the scientific skills of the junior and senior high school students prepared by the researchers were
validated by a panel of experts who looked into their quality, grammaticality, relevance and
correctness.

Data Gathering Procedure

After the instruments have been prepared, the researchers sought permission from the
school principal of SJSFI to inform her of the involvement of the students in the study.

In order to collect data for the study, several steps were taken. A survey and test were
conducted to the 112 junior high school and senior high school students of SJSFI. Instructions
were given to the students to properly answer the given questions. The respondents were given
two survey questions and 24 test questions. The answers of the respondents were interpreted and
tallied with a pen and paper. After a survey and test were conducted, the researchers reviewed,
interpreted, checked and made a printout of the results. All these were done upon the approval of
the school principal.

The effect of insufficient laboratory apparatuses to the scientific skills of the junior and
senior high school students of SJSFI were measured through survey and test questionnaire. The
respondents were asked two close-ended survey questions and 24 questions in a multiple-choice
type of test. They were given 15 minutes to answer both questionnaires. The papers were then
turned over to the evaluators for rating.
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Statistical Tools

This paper used mean in the presentation and computation of the students’ scientific
skills and in knowing the laboratory apparatus that needs to be enhanced on the school
laboratory. It also made use of one sample t-test, mean percentage and standard deviation to
know if the insufficient laboratory apparatus gives any significant effect on the student’s
scientific skills.

Data Analysis Procedure

Content analysis was used to analyze the data from survey questionnaire that was
gathered through personal survey. Content analysis is a research method used to identify patterns
in recorded communication. One can systematically collect data from text which can be written,
oral or visual (Lou, 2019 par. 1). This method was used to translate and create conclusion from
the data from the survey questionnaire answered by the respondents. Content analysis gives the
researchers the ability to structure the qualitative data to satisfy the accomplishment of research
objectives. However, human error can be involved in content analysis since there is the risk for
researchers to misinterpret the gathered data, thereby generating unreliable conclusions
(Krippendorff& Bock, 2008).