CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3. 1 Introduction

This chapter describes the research design and methodology involved in the study. It
defines the survey method used, including the data collection method.

Research Design

Based on our topic which is; Establishing standard bilingual schools in Cote d’Ivoire:
start-up, challenges and solutions, we decided to carry out a primary research through the use
of surveys such as: questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire is target at school
owners/directors.

The motive behind this project is to establish a solid standard bilingual school that
balances the two languages (French and English), without compromising one for another; and
as well help individuals who are interested in establishing a school in Abidjan, understand
what is actually lacking in some schools and things needed to establish a standard bilingual
school in Cote d’Ivoire, precisely – Abidjan.

Sources of data

The survey was done offline as we went from school to school presenting
questionnaires and interviews.

The collection of data was done through primary sources. Primary data was obtained
from self-employed Private School owners by the administering of questionnaires. An
interview guide was also used to gather data from some staffs of various English and French
Schools.

We opted for a qualitative method because using this approach enabled us to gain
more and deep insight of the challenges in blending the two system of education in a school,
including language barrier and high cost of factors of production (land, labour,
entrepreneurship and capital).
The Study Population

The concept of population is basic to survey research and is defined as any set of persons or
objects that possess at least one common characteristics (Busha & Harter, 1980).

The study population consists of

The survey was based within the region of Abidjan. The areas covered includes: Cocody,
Yopougon, Adjame, and Riviera and the group was divided into two for the field.

Instrument for Data Collection

These refers to materials for data collection. Kothari (2004) suggests that the choice of a
relevant study instrument is determined by the nature of data required for the study and the
study objectives. Based on the specific objectives of this study, questionnaires were used in
the data collection to shed more lightoin the required information. Although using
questionnaires have a number of weaknesses including the likelihood of using closed-ended
questions instead of open-ended questions, which are more difficult and time consuming
(Bryman & Bell, 2007). This instrument is quite suitable for this study.

Analysis of Data

To ensure accuracy in the data processing, the researcher did data editing and cleansing of the
data before analyzing the data. As the analyses were done electronically, it was necessary to
codify the data collected in order to make possible inputting into the data processor. The
codes were transformed into units to facilitate their description and analyses. Diagrammatic
presentation was done by means of tables and graphs and analyzed by means of percentages.

Although there were several electronic means of analyzing data, the researcher used Excel for
this analysis.